Dear Ms. Portman:

Your letter to Neil Bibbins has been passed on to me. As you know, Lycos has been contacted by Daryl Kidd, who claims that portions of your Angelfire site, www.angelfire.com/ga2/portman/ are libelous. We have examined the site, and while it is clear that you and Mr. Kidd are embroiled in a serous dispute, frankly, I have no idea whether they are true or false. In addition, Lycos is not equipped to be, nor do we wish to be, the arbiter of disputes between users of its sites.

With that in mind, I have a proposal that will allow you to maintain your Angelfire Site if you remove some of the more inflammatory comments in the summary, as identified in part by Mr. Kidd. Again, I have no knowledge of whether these passages are libelous under the law. As a practical matter, however, your removal of these passages will address several arguments raised by Mr. Kidd and allow Lycos to avoid becoming directly involved in this dispute. The changes only relate to the summary of the case as contained at www.angelfire.com/ga2/portman/summary.html.

1. In the sixth paragraph, please remove the sentences, "He (hereafter referred to as Kidd) appeared to sabotage the case by avoiding some key issues and failing to enter other key evidence. The opposing attorney later said that what Kidd did to Portman in court was tantamount to rape."
2. In the eight paragraph, please remove the phrase, "Soon after, Kidd claimed unexpected and exorbitant legal fees; he knowingly mailed the Final Judgment to the wrong address."
3. In the eleventh paragraph, please remove the phrase, "Kidd has refused to relinquish M. Portman's divorce file to her or to the State Bar, even though the Law demands that he do so."
4. In the twelfth paragraph, please remove the sentence, "However, when the facts are all known, we think you'll agree that the State Bar's actions are simply evidence of the underlying fraud." (You may want to remove the entire parenthetical clause.)
5. In the twelfth paragraph, please remove the sentence, "The plaintiff was finally able to obtain copies of most of the divorce file although the State Bar was unable (or unwilling) to force Kidd to abide by the law.

These are the only changes to the site that need to be made. Please understand that Lycos rarely involves itself in the editing of any Angelfire homepages, but we are trying to balance your interests with the interests of another user who claims that your site is libelous. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Brad Steiner, Lycos, Inc.
Corporate Counsel