It is unclear from the BBC’s account whether the sock-puppetry amounted to anything that would have been actionable in an American court. A detail worth noting, though: “Initially, when confronted by the allegations of his involvement, Prof Figes instructed his lawyer to threaten legal action.”
4 Comments
At first he falsely claimed that his wife had written the reviews. I believe that might be actionable if the wife were so inclined.
At the very least, dinnertime at the Figes house must feature interesting conversation about Russian history, good literature, and what a colossal jerk Orlando Figes is.
[…] Olson, from whom I got this story, wonders whether Figes would have been forced to pay damages in an American court. Probably not. But […]
Oh, no, Patrick. I am sure Mrs. Figes is hugely devoted to the Professor. There’s no way you could be married to that sort of guy and not be. Hard to imagine that this is a manifestation of a previously unknown facet of an otherwise sparkling personality.
That’s “Ms. Palmer” to you.
The author of this blog, kind soul that he is, did not point out that Figes’ wife is herself an attorney. She had a good reputation up until this incident.