In Fox v. Smith, No. 1438, February term 2018 (C.P. Philadelphia, Aug. 30), Judge Arnold L. New held that, under current caselaw, a cause of action for defamation, false light and conspiracy could have proper venue in Philadelphia County because: the plaintiff, a Democrat, was running for mayor in Chester Heights, Delaware County, in the November 2017 election.

The court reasoned that, under prior, controlling caselaw, venue for a defamation claim can arise in a county where a defamatory statement is minimally circulated and recognized by one person to be defamatory even if that county is by no means the location where the statement was made or intended to be circulated and circulation in one or more other counties is considerably greater and the place or places the statement was intended to be circulated. In this week’s column, I’ll discuss the venue on the internet.

Venue on the Internet