Update on the Gina Ford legal situation

[JustineMumsnet]

Hello all,
Some of you may have seen a Gina Ford interview in the Mail on Sunday today, in which she refers to the Mumsnet legal situation, so we thought it was only right to update you as to where we are.

We are due to go to mediation on March 7th. Our position with regard to this hasn't changed - since very early on in the dispute we have suggested mediation as a sensible way forward and so we are pleased to be meeting with Ms Ford and her lawyers on March 7th.

In the meantime GF has issued a claim form, which means that the court clock is now running and we have to put in our defence within 28 days.

Obviously, as Ms Ford has made clear by this action and by her statements in the Mail on Sunday if mediation fails, she intends to sue.

We're sorry that we are still having to ask you not to discuss Gina Ford or her methods but given the potential for something that may be used against Mumsnet to slip through, this probably remains the safest course of action.

We will, of course, keep you fully updated.

Thanks for all your support.
Mumsnet HQ

mediation is a method of dispute resolution, quite structured with a mediator sitting, to try and resolve a case before getting to court. the majority of cases DO settle before a courthearing, but generally just before the hearing or even on the day, hence wasting costs in preparing for a hearing and also tying up court time unnecessarily. so the idea is that matters are settled earlier on saving time and money

Good luck MNHQ

I am very sad that this is still rumbling on, I too thought it had all gone away

mp, I think usually you both get in the same room first with your lawyers. Usually your lawyer says a bit for 15 mins and then theirs or the people can if they want. The mediator explains the process and then you separate into separate room and the mediator goes back and forth telling each side how many 100s of thousands it costs to go to court and how weak both side's cases are and then eventually if one side will pay something the mediator goes back and forth with figures. If you agree it then it's written down and signed. That's it.

I don't know about this case but even if there a libel I think if you remove it expeditiously as someone who just kind of hosts something rather than like the Times web site publishing it, then you aren't liable but I might be wrong. So if there's no case the mediation can be a good chance to show the other party they haven't a leg to stand on and are going to have to get out of the litigation quickly or risk paying big costs. On the other hand they've sued which is rare if you don't think you have good legal grounds.

Most mediations do settle things and often both sides are unhappy so that probably means the mediator has done a good job in getting both to compromise. I thought mediation and efforts to settle were usually confidential so I wouldn't normally expect people involved to be writing about them.

Good luck MNHQ. Having followed the GF thing right from the start (including defending her on the original thread on the day of the summer party) I am amazed at how different the situation as reported in the MOS was to my recollection.....

PMSL @ the comments on the Daily Mail page

new books due out spring 2007

Too many big words here Im offski - whos got a copy of the Daily Mirror?

i have added a thread in the "other" section - what mumsnet has done for me - . can someone link it to here ? i'm not sure how to do it and i've got a three year old and baby on my lap right now

Messages about the marvellosity of MN here please.

thank you barefoot dancer

Good luck mn, free mn. I mean free as in free not as in "Free MN, Free the MN Three". Oh god, I'm rambling...

Message withdrawn

Good luck on the 7th. Freedom of speech, expressing our opinions, sharing our experience ...
As I have been censored. I will find another site to post on, rant, and return composed.
The irony is, I have good things to say about my personal experience of certain techniques, shame I can't.
Is there anything we can do to show you our support?

lisalisa - well said

But I was trying to say I thought the law was if you don't check posts first and then you remove them quickly as soon as you're asked you're not liable so there should be no problem . That's how most site deal with it. The irony is if you check things before they are put up which some sites do you become like a publisher of a newspaper or the Times web site and liable for the content or so I thought. So you're better off not checking and then just reacting to take down notices as they come in.

well,
good luck mnhq

Good luck, its irrelevant whether I agree with certian childcare authors methods, what i disagree with is anyone using the full weight of the law in this way. Trying to stop freedom of speech and making a moral/emotioanl argument about it isn't admirable by any stretch of the imagination.

(btw I used to be one of those private members and consulting patients and I can assure you that they do have 'nicknames' too!) I am dying to tell someone about that but I'VE been slapped with an email forbidding me to talk about my own experiences.

Oh sunnyjim, that's intriguing.

Can we do something on 7 March Justine? Like barricade ourselves to weapons of mass destruction with picket boards.

or stand together with tape over our mouths saying mumsnet ... the silent protest in that way would prove how wrong it is to try to stop freedom of speech ...

... people have wanted to do that to me for years!!!!!

I agree Liesel, maybe we should have a petition where we all post support under our real names rather than our "silly nicknames" (LOL!)
Good luck MN, like they can stop us mothers-in-force (evil cackle)