As I said before in this thread, no criminal charges would be brought. That one was obvious. Also, the civil filing seemed to be the next obvious step. Again, there has been no crime committed. If you had actually stolen someone's identity and it could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that you were representing yourself as this person, you would have been charged criminally. That ain't gonna happen.
Since it's a civil suit, I would reccommend getting an attorney that specializes in first amendment rights. If what you said is TRUE TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE, there is no redress for the person who felt wronged. You cannot be sued for representing facts as you understand them.
Also, since it's a civil suit, you have the right to countersue. I would avail myself of that opportunity. Travel costs, lawyer fees, missed work, punitive damages aginst the plaintiff for frivolous action are all on the table.
You cannot be sued for breach of confidentiality in any way shape or form. You were a resident at Elan and are free to discuss your experiences there and give commentary about your feelings on the subject. Nobody can sue you for that, period. You simply are not bound by any laws in that regard.
Furthermore, I would not discuss any particulars of your case online. You're feeding information to those who would use it against you. It's one thing for them to SAY you posted those comments, but it's an entirely different story for them to PROVE it was you sitting at the keyboard, at a certain time and certain date typing those words. Keep quiet until you see what they've got. If they can't PROVE it was you (not just allege it), well, their case has serious problems. I sincerely doubt they will be able to prove a case without some admission from you.
Cases like this typically end with a settlement saying you will not post anything about so-and-so but do not make any admission of guilt about prior acts.
More than likely, you can hire a lawyer who will have the case thrown out and you will never have any proceedings. You should hire somebody local to the venue to give yourself presence there.
I recently went through a case similar to this in criminal court and 99% of my evidence was not allowed at trial because nobody actually WITNESSED the defendant typing those words at his keyboard and there is no way to PROVE he did (even though it's pretty obvious, you just can't make that leap without PROOF).
Your post says you've been "charged," but remember, you have been charged with nothing. There is no criminal case whatsoever. You've been alleged to have committed a tort which is a far cry from a crime.
Anyway, now that I've heard the details, it sounds like a fizzle...
Good luck.
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All that being said, it's not cool to mess with people like that. It's bad joss to behave that way. Whether they "deserve" it or not, try to hold yourselves to a higher standard. This is clearly not the way to go about your business.
