The first amendment binds only the government, not private torts. It has never applied to libel, slander, fraud, or a host of other things either. Bringing it up in this context, especially as a one-line throwaway, is an act of extreme bad faith. No sane definition of "free speech" precludes accountability for one's words or their tangible effects.
Sorry, can't read minds. What I can read is the many other sub-threads where the "first amendment" point had already been addressed. Maybe if some new argument had been presented it would be easier to consider good faith, but not even an old one was. Just a casual dismissal, which is almost as bad as someone making meta comments more often than substantive ones.
