Judge Dismisses Jack Thompson's Lawsuit Against Take Two and Sony

[Andy Chalk]

Judge Dismisses Jack Thompson's Lawsuit Against Take Two and Sony

Jack Thompson's wrongful death suit against Sony [http://www.take2games.com/]has been dismissed by a New Mexico judge.

murder [http://gamepolitics.com/2007/12/18/breaking-jack-thompsons-new-mexico-gta-lawsuit-is-thrown-out-by-judge/]of his father, stepmother and stepsister. The murder gained national attention at the time because it took place at ABC news anchor Sam Donaldson's ranch, which was managed by Posey's father Delbert. Posey was 14 at the time of the killings, which took place in 2004.

The case was dismissed by Judge Valerie Huling, who ruled that the New Mexico Court had no jurisdiction over Take Two and Sony, since neither company has offices in the state. She also ruled that New Mexico laws did not support the wrongful death claim made in the case. Details [http://gamepolitics.com/2007/12/19/courtroom-drama-details-of-new-mexico-gta-murder-lawsuit/]of the arguments made by plaintiffs and defendants at the hearing have also been posted on GamePolitics.

Commenting on the dismissal, Take Two issued a statement saying, "We are pleased that the Court took decisive and appropriate action to dismiss a case that Take-Two has always known had no basis in law or fact." Thompson has 30 days to appeal.


Permalink

 

[johnhummel]

On the one hand, I am glad for Take Two - they won what is pretty clearly a baseless case. Might as well sue the author of "Catcher in the Rye" for the Reagen assassination.

At the same time, it's too bad it was dismissed because of a technicality - that of Take Two not having offices in New Mexico. Still, a win is a win. And a loss for Mr. Thompson is, well, pretty par for the course. (Seriously - what was the last case he *won*?)

 

[Andy Chalk]

He was declared legally sane by a US District Court in Florida.

 

[KurtNiisan]

Seriously, I wonder why the justice system in the USA still tolerates him. He's the biggest Goddamn waste of human being/space there is!

 

[Gildedtongue]

I'm surprised that every game site doesn't have a Jacqueline Thompson tag.

But, glad to see that the judge was smart enough to dismiss the man.

Honestly, I don't want to see Thompson dead. I'd rather him live a long, long life, castrated from doing harm to the greater populous, being disbarred and the media finally not listening.

Granted, the Media, especially News Corp., love a raving lunatic.

 

[The Irrelevant Gamer]

He was declared legally sane by a US District Court in Florida.

Can we see about getting that appealed, and when the appeal fails can we get a judicial review of the ruling, and when that is dismissed can we write letters about ourselves in the third person, comparing our plight to that of Jesus?

 

[PurpleRain]

He's the fun nazi. If I can't kill people on GTA then I'll get bored and do it for real!!! We need the games to keep our bloodlust down.

 

[Andy Chalk]

Can we see about getting that appealed, and when the appeal fails can we get a judicial review of the ruling, and when that is dismissed can we write letters about ourselves in the third person, comparing our plight to that of Jesus?

I think that was actually the second time Thompson had to demonstrate his mental fitness to a court; in fact, Thompson used to (and probably still does) make noise about being the "only legally sane lawyer" in Florida.

Of course, being sane doesn't mean he's not completely batshit crazy. But that's a condition not recognized by the courts.

 

[nimerix]

3...2...1... pwnt.

 

[KurtNiisan]

I'm surprised that every game site doesn't have a Jacqueline Thompson tag.

- We could always have a "Jade-fan" tag :3
http://chugworth.com/crap/jadecomic.jpg

 

[Andy Chalk]

But that's not really true. If parents were to scrutinize games more, guys like Thompson would see their entire reason for being go up in smoke. First, it would make parents aware of the facts about videogames rather than just the overexcited nonsense that spews forth from rabid critics, and second, it would result in far more pervasive use of the ESRB system, which would take away most of the bullets in Jack's arsenal.

Acting like we have something to hide is what empowers critics like Thompson. (Not that there actually are many critics quite like Thompson, of course.) But we don't; we want scrutiny. We want parents to have a good, hard look at what they're buying for their kids before they lay down their money. We want everyone to know that these games are for kids, and these games are for adults, and this is how you tell the difference. That's how the Thompson brigade will be brought low.

 

[FurryMIG]

Politicians are about as big a threat to the gaming industry as the middle-east is to the United States.