CLEVELAND, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- An Ohio judge and her daughter have settled a defamation suit against The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, the newspaper reports.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold and her daughter, Sydney, sued the paper, then-editor Susan Goldberg, Advance Internet and other related companies in April after the Plain Dealer published stories about comments posted by "lawmiss" and "governmentwatcher" on cleveland.com, the newspaper's site and an affiliate of Advance Internet.
The Plain Dealer wrote that comments had been made on the site by someone using an account linked to the judge's e-mail address. Many of the online posts commented on Saffold's cases.
The judge denied making any posts about her cases. Sydney Saffold, a former law student, said she was responsible for some of the "lawmiss" comments.
Advance Internet has acted to prevent the newspaper from accessing the e-mail addresses of commenters.
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but Advance Internet is making a donation to a church choir in memory of Saffold's mother, Retha Morris, who died in April.
