From "Ray Saintonge":
> Expensive depends on what's involved.<<
The problem is the use of the law as a bludgeon rather than as a tool to obtain what the
law says.
See Robert Novak v. APD List Members (PetsWarehouse Lawsuit) at
http://www.petsforum.com/psw/Default.html . The author of that page is a lawyer and party
to the legal action. Also someone I'm personally acquainted with, since we both have
contracts with the same major media company.
While every act of speech involved in that lawsuit appears to be entirely lawful, it
hasn't prevented people from having to pay large sums in settlements and legal fees,
simply because the complainant was willing to burn his own money to make others pay for
doing something he didn't like.
You can see comparable actions in many copyright cases, particularly those involving the
RIAA.
Unfortunately, the question often isn't what the law is but instead trying to work out
how to behave so you reduce your chance of an unjust lawsuit to an acceptable level.