Whether or not if what someone Tweets can be considered libel is being put on trial in California.
Singer Courtney Love is being sued by her former lawyer Rhonda Holmes for libel when she implied in a tweet that the lawyer accepted bribes during a legal spat between Love and the managers of her late husband Kurt Cobain's estate.
Though there have been other cases filed involving defamatory Twitter statements, this is the first Twitter libel, or "Twibel" case to be tried in a U.S. court.
"The Courtney Love Twitter lawsuit is monumental because the judge has now determined that tweeting in California can potentially give rise to liability under the theory of defamation," attorney Brian Claypool, not connected to the case, told ABC News.
Defamation is when someone makes a statement that damages someone else's reputation.
In 2010, Love tweeted: "@noozjunkie I was f---ing devastated when Rhonda J Holmes Esp of san diego was bought off @fairnewsspears perhaps you can quote," CTV News reported.
"'Bought off' " means somebody got to [Holmes], somebody paid her a bribe," attorney Mitchell Langberg told ABC News.
Love posted the tweet from her now defunct account @CourtneyLoveUK; her new Twitter account is @Courtney. Love, 49, said Wednesday during the trial that what she tweeted was her opinion, and not a fact, CTV News reported. Opinions cannot be considered damaging to someone's reputation.
Love also asserted she thought the tweet was only sent to two people, ABC News reported.
If the court decides in Holmes' favor, the decision will affect millions of Twitter users. According to Business Insider, Twitter had over 230 million active monthly users at the time it went public in November 2013.
"The Courtney Love case will set a precedent that will result in, potentially, the average person being liable as well," Claypool told ABC News.
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