Harlan & Cimoszewicz v. Wprost

This means that penalties are applied outside the system of protection traditionally afforded to the defendant in constitutional and criminal law.

 

The issue becomes more sensitive as the defendant is the Press with its constitutionally protected freedoms. A $5Mln verdict can have an extreme chilling effect in Poland. U.S. has remarkable protection for freedom and expression and for the press, so it’s not that easy for a plaintiff to obtain a judgment against the media in a defamation law suit. However, I would not be happy with allowing a practice of suing Polish publishers in Chicago where the jurisdiction link can perhaps be established as in this case by presence of Polish audience. (In this litigation an additional link was the domicile of Plaintiffs who as I understand live in the U.S. but not in Chicago — it is not really clear at this moment what would be the theory of jurisdiction of the Chicago Court should the Polish Defendants object to the jurisdiction). Even with all the protection afforded to freedom of speech and press in the U.S., such forum shopping would constitute an excessive economical hardship for average Polish publishers.