Lawsuit over Huffington Post origins can go to trial

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A New York judge has ruled that a lawsuit claiming that Arianna Huffington and Ken Lerer stole the idea for the Huffington Post has enough merit to go to trial. Jeff Roberts reports that a judge ruled that plaintiffs Peter Daou and James Boyce’s claim could go forward “under a New York law that allows people to sue if someone steals an idea that is both novel and concrete. In the ruling, the judge noted that Huffington appeared to have conceded that the idea was indeed a new one when she told Playboy in 2006, ‘There’s a tremendous advantage in being the first with something … We were the first hybrid of news and group blog.’ ” Roberts reports that the ruling, which he has in his post, increases pressure on Huffington to settle. AOL spokesman Mario Ruiz responded to the lawsuit thusly: “Seven out of the eight claims were thrown out. To describe this as any kind of victory is as laughable as their lawsuit.” || Earlier: Democratic consultants accuse Huffington of stealing their idea | Huffington Post: Vanity Fair should have killed ‘nonstory’ about lawsuit