`JOHN DOE' FILES MOTION FOR PRIVACY IN XIRCOM CASE.Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer John Doe John Doe formerly, any plaintiff; now just anybody. [Am. Pop. Usage: Brewer Dictionary, 329] See : Everyman is fighting back. The Internet detractor de·tract v. de·tract·ed, de·tract·ing, de·tracts v.tr. 1. To draw or take away; divert: They could detract little from so solid an argument. 2. known only as ``A View From Within'' has retained an attorney and filed a motion to kill Xircom Inc.'s subpoena subpoena (səpē`nə) [Lat.,=under penalty], in law, an order to a witness to appear before a court. A subpoena ad testificandum [Lat. for information from Yahoo!, the online information company. But a spokesman for the Thousand Oaks-based maker of modems for mobile computers said Thursday that the company will continue to pursue its case. ``We will fight it,'' said Randall Holliday, Xircom's general counsel. The dispute started earlier this month when Xircom officials discovered two Internet message board postings criticizing the quality of a key Xircom product, poking fun at executives and alleging a bad work environment. Xircom filed a lawsuit in Ventura County Superior Court against the person, identifying him only as John Doe since the company didn't know his true identity. Xircom alleges that the writer's messages were damaging to the company and subpoenaed Yahoo! to get the identity of ``A View From Within.'' John Doe, who claimed to be a Xircom engineer in the postings, also supposedly violated a confidentiality agreement signed by employees. But in an unusual twist in a unique legal action, John Doe filed a motion in Ventura County Superior Court this week asking the court to prevent Yahoo! from divulging his identity and saying that ``A View From Within'' is, in fact, not a company employee. A spokesman for John Doe's law firm, Baker and Hostetler in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , declined to comment. Yahoo! has not yet acceded to Xircom's request. The Internet company does not comment on specific cases, a spokesman said, but has the right to comply with subpoenas and law enforcement requests as outlined in its online users agreement. Andrew Mansfield, an Internet law attorney with O'Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles, said Internet companies usually comply with a proper subpoena. Even if John Doe cites privacy issues in his or her defense, the law does not protect the writer if the message defames the victim, Mansfield said. ``You can't be reckless or negligent negligent adj., adv. careless in not fulfilling responsibility. (See: negligence) ,'' he said. If John Doe's motion to quash the subpoena doesn't work, the only way to win a defamation defamation In law, issuance of false statements about a person that injure his reputation or that deter others from associating with him. Libel and slander are the legal subcategories of defamation. Libel is defamation in print, pictures, or any other visual symbols. suit is for his or her messages to be true. But the writer's identity would be revealed in subsequent court actions. Mansfield said online writers often fail to understand that the relationship between the Internet writer and Internet host such as Yahoo! is not as sacrosanct sac·ro·sanct adj. Regarded as sacred and inviolable. [Latin sacr  s as the attorney-client privilege In the law of evidence, a client's privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent any other person from disclosing, confidential communications between the client and his or her attorney. , the relationship between clergy members and their flocks.
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