ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, December 28, 1993                   TAG: 9312280115
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

COMPUTER LIBEL SUIT SETTLED; ISSUE IS NOT

A man who criticized a company's stock on a computer bulletin board has declared victory after settling the resulting libel suit, but First Amendment lawyers say the case falls short of expanding protection for electronic conversations.

Medphone Corp., a Paramus, N.J.-based medical equipment company, set off a national furor last year after it sued Peter DeNigris, of Babylon, N.Y., for posting a series of downbeat comments about the publicly traded company on "Money Talk," a bulletin board run by the Prodigy computer service where investors can swap tips.

Some observers thought the case might test the limits of freedom of speech on computer bulletin boards. Although Medphone had sued DeNigris for up to $40 million, each side agreed last month to exchange $1 and settle.

"Freedom of speech prevailed," said DeNigris, 42. But libel lawyers say he and others who use electronic bulletin boards should not get carried away.

"The electronic bulletin board is not . . . like talking to someone in the privacy of your home or office," said Floyd Abrams, a New York lawyer.

- Newsday 


 by CNB