ABFFE UPDATE

May 8, 2009 Previously in ABFFE Update Volume 11, Number 4

        Booksellers Fight Threat of Civil Suit

There is a disturbing new trend in censorship legislation. Bills have been introduced in Utah and Louisiana this year that give private citizens the right to sue booksellers and other retailers for committing an "unfair" trade practice by selling "offensive" material to a minor. The defendants in these lawsuits would have to hire a lawyer to defend them and could be forced to pay thousands of dollars if they lost.

Last week, Tom Lowenburg of Octavia Books in New Orleans testified against Senate Bill 152 during a hearing before the Louisiana House Commerce Committee. S.B. 152 authorizes civil suits against booksellers who have been accused of selling any book that depicts nudity to a minor. The book does not have to meet the legal definitions of "obscenity" or material "harmful to minors." It can even be a book that is written for minors. In addition, the bill provides that the attorney general must send a warning letter to the retailer whenever a complaint is received alleging that such a sale has occurred. After five complaints have been received, a private citizen or the attorney general can sue.

S.B. 152 and other civil liability bills would have a chilling effect on bookstores, making them a target of harassment by individuals and groups that want to censor titles that they find offensive. The Louisiana bill does not give the attorney general any discretion in issuing a warning letter to the bookstore: if he receives a complaint, he must send the letter. "This bill would make our job hell," Lowenburg testified on June 18. "It makes individuals mini-police in enforcing content."

The commerce committee voted 12-2 to defer action on the bill after the attorney general reported that enforcing the law could cost up to $1.6 million. Although there is a chance the bill could be revived, it is expected to die when the legislature adjourns later this week. To read more about S.B. 152, click here.

Earlier this year, the Utah legislature actually passed a bill similar to S.B. 152. Aimed at the video and movie retailers, it authorized citizens to sue if a business for breaking its promise to enforce the ratings systems that are designed to bar minors for purchasing or renting games and movies with violent or sexual content. Utah booksellers joined the fight to defeat this bill because it might be used to file lawsuits against a bookstore that sells a younger minor a book that carries an age recommendation for older minors. The bill was finally vetoed by the governor.


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