Dear Lawyers Who Read OMAAT: A Theoretical Question For You

I’d like to throw out a question to the OMAAT community, for any attorneys who might be interested in chiming in. If I were taking this theoretical situation seriously, I’d directly consult an attorney, but this is all such a joke that I figure it makes for good blog fodder…

I have a theoretical legal question

Let me share a theoretical scenario, for no reason whatsoever:

• You’re a blogger, and you wrote a post about a dispute that an international airline is having with an aviation regulator in a certain country
• You simply published a post sharing both sides, including quoting the airline and the government
• The airline then wants to accuse the government of publishing false and defamatory statements (with questionable merit), so this is part of a dispute between those parties; let’s ignore that this is an airline run by a person who may be known for making some rather questionable statements
• Then the law firm accuses you of republishing false and defamatory statements (again, just quoting the government)
• The law firm then demands that you preserve all information you have about this matter (whatever that means), and disclose the full details of the number of individuals who accessed the story you wrote
• The law firm then claims that if you don’t do this within seven days, they will force you to provide this information through whatever means necessary, and you’ll be on the hook for the cost

How would you handle this situation?

Let’s assume, theoretically, that the letter is also just kind of ridiculous, and you want to share it, to expose the lengths some airlines go to bully people. Would you publish it on your blog? Let’s assume the only mention of anything being confidential is the signature line stating that the email is confidential, just as is a standard signature for many.

Would you feel comfortable publishing the letter on your blog, before deciding whether you’re going to provide that information or not? And how does the international aspect of this come into play, given that I’m based in the US, and this airline has subsidiaries in multiple countries?

Let’s also assume, theoretically, that you’re not worried about any action the airline might try to take against you in terms of banning you (because, theoretically, you’re not worried if you don’t have access to £9 fares).

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to update my list of best airline CEOs, because if you’re gonna go all Egypt on me…

Bottom line

Theoretical situations are always fun, so if anyone have any insights, let’s have some fun!