ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota appeals court has overturned a $60,000 award against a Minneapolis blogger whose post led to a man’s firing.

The case against John Hoff, known as “Johnny Northside,” had drawn attention for its free speech implications.

Hoff wrote a blistering post in 2009 about a man named Jerry Moore, accusing him of being involved in mortgage fraud. Moore was quickly dismissed from a University of Minnesota job in which he was to study foreclosures. Moore then sued Hoff.

A district court jury found that Hoff’s post was true, but his actions interfered with Moore’s employment contract.

The Star Tribune reports that the appeals court ruled in Moore v. Hoff that Hoff can’t be liable if the information he posted is true.

Tags: blogging, libel and defamation, Minnesota, online libel