Mickelson Wins Lawsuit against Anonymous Blogger


After filing a lawsuit to find out the identities of two anonymous bloggers who spread what he terms "vicious" rumors about himself and his family, Phil Mickelson received a court order on Monday to force a Quebec-based Internet provider to release the identity and coordinates of the author of "vexatious comments" posted on a Yahoo website.

The 39-time PGA Tour winner and four-time major champion filed the suit January 25 against Videotron S.E.N.C., demanding that the Canadian Internet company reveal the identities of "Fogroller" and "Longitude," two user pseudonyms on a Yahoo website who, according to Mickelson's lawsuit, "suggest that plaintiff has an illegitimate child, that his wife has affairs and other similar vexatious statements that are absolutely untrue and, simply put, vicious."

It turns out that the two pseudonyms are the same person. After receiving the court order from a Quebec Superior Court judge, Mickelson's Quebec-based lawyer, MarcAndre Coulombe said Videotron has 10 days to provide the full identity of the individual.

The suit, filed in Quebec Superior Court, sought to have the bloggers identified for their "several highly defamatory statements," according to Courthouse News Service, citing a copy of the lawsuit.

Mickelson's complaint, according to Courthouse News Service, further stated: "It is urgent, and in the best interest of justice, to accurately identify the person using the 'Fogroller' pseudonym and posting these offensive and defamatory statements, in order to stop the dissemination of false and wrongful statements about the plaintiff and obtain reparation for the prejudice already suffered."

Mickelson's wife, Amy, who he married in 1996, is recovering from breast cancer. The couple has three children.

The 41-year-old Mickelson filed the petition in San Diego Superior Court to subpoena Yahoo for information about Fogroller and Longitude. Soon after, Yahoo provided Fogroller's Internet protocol address, which is registered to a Videotron subscriber.

Videotron responded by demanding that Mickelson, represented in Quebec by the Canadian law firm Stikeman Elliott, secure a court order before it would disclose the user's identity.

Now that the court order has been issued, it's up to Videotron to release the blogger's identity. Once that occurs, it's uncertain what the next step is for Mickelson and his legal team.