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LEGAL ACTIONS AGAINST BLOGGERS

Compiled by MLRC Staff Attorney Eric P. Robinson

Last Additions / Updates: March 24, 2009

The best link to this page is http://www.medialaw.org/bloggerlawsuits

Cases are listed by jurisdiction (state), then in alphabetical order.
Click on a jurisdiction to go directly to that section:

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: This list is protected by copyright. Feel free to link to it, using the link above, or use the information contained here. But please give us credit, and a link if possible.

What is this list? This is a list of legal cases in the United States in which bloggers have been sued for libel, privacy and related claims, or been subject to criminal investigations or prosecutions. For more details on this list, see “Notes and Sources” below. Cases are organized by state, then alphabetically. If you know of something we missed, please let us know.

Have any bloggers ever lost in court? Yes. There have been several cases that ended with verdicts against bloggers,in which the bloggers were ordered to pay damages to people who they wrote about on their blogs. These cases, all of which are discussed in detail below, are Banks v. Milum, Cornwell v. Sachs (II) (default), Kaplan v. Salahi, Kono v. Meeker; Laughman v. Selmeier; Omega World Travel v. Mummagraphics, Inc., Scheff v. Bock (default), Staten v Steele and Wagner v. Miskin. The total of awards in these cases is $16,128,280.

There has also been one mistrial, in which the jury could not reach a verdict (Sollami v. Sheppard); a retrial is pending. There have also been several cases in which the parties settled before going to trial; many of these settlements have involved some monetary payment to the plaintiff.

Cases that have resulted in monetary awards are in red;

Settlements (which may include monetary payments) are in brown.

Criminal cases involving bloggers are in purple.

Cases are listed by jurisdiction (state), then in alphabetical order.
Click on a jurisdiction to go directly to that section:

ARIZONA

Barrett-Jackson Auction Company, LLC v. ThumbCo, No. 07-00561 (D. Ariz. filed March 15, 2007).

Status: Settled.

A company that sponsors auctions of antique cars sued Michigan Probate Court Judge David Clabuesch after various blogs and websites claimed that the company had “quick-gaveled” a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda that Clabuesch sold at one of the auctions, thus allowing it to be sold for less than its expected value. Clabuesch denied posting any of the comments. On Jan. 9, 2008, the parties reached a settlement that apparently included a financial payment.

Links and Court Documents:

www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/0317sr-bjsuit0317Z8.html

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/UPDATE/703180358/1148/rss25

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0110neauction0110suit.html

http://www.wallstreet-online.de/nachrichten/nachricht/2230186.html

Settlement statement: http://www.barrett-jackson.com/statement/

Gilding v. Carr, No. 2007-016329 (Ariz. Super. Ct., Maricopa County removed Nov. 19, 2008).

Gilding v. Carr, No. 2:08-cv-02137 (D. Ariz. removed from state court Nov. 19, 2008).

Status: removed to Federal court; motion to dismiss pending

John Gilding, supervisor of an FAA employee who committed suicide, filed a lawsuit for defamation and false light based on two blog posts by the former president of National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) on his blog, http://themainbang.typepad.com/ Gilding argues that the postings were false and misleading. The case was moved to federal court in November 2008, where a motion to dismiss has been filed.

Links and Court Documents:

http://azlaw.com/blog/index.php

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/gilding-v-carr

Kruska v. Perverted Justice Foundation, No. 2:08-cv-00054 (D. Arizona filed January 10, 2008).

Status: Dismissed in part; pending in part

After journalist Jan Kruska expressed her opinion on the over breadth of anti-pedophile laws, several websites, including www.jankruska.com and www.jankruska.net, (both registered through defendant GoDaddy.com), posted allegations that Kruska was herself a convicted pedophile and child molester. Kruska filed a complaint alleging both state and federal tort and criminal actions against these websites and several affiliated individuals, including Barbara Ochoa, who Kruska claims threatened her if she did not remover her “entire web presence.” The court granted Ochoa’s motion to dismiss, granting Kruska leave to amend her complaint, which she did and filed on June 30, 2008. The claims against GoDaddy.com were dismissed under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Links and Court Documents:

www.citmedialaw.org/threats/kruska-v-perverted-justice-foundation

Complaint: http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/arizona/azdce/2:2008cv00054/366532/1/

http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2008/07/godaddy_gets_23.htm

http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/packet/200902/arizona-district-court-rules-website-targeting-plaintiff-does-not-crea

Order granting motion to dismiss by GoDaddy.com and defendant Bob Parsons: http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/packet/200902/arizona-district-court-rules-website-targeting-plaintiff-does-not-crea

McCann v. Doe, No. CV 2006-092226 (Ariz. Super. Ct., Maticopa County filed 2006).
Status: Dismissed
After a similar lawsuit in Massachusetts was dismissed, real estate developer Paul McMann attempted to sue the unknown creator of the www.paulmcmann.com web site in Arizona. The Arizona court rejected McMann’s attempt to unmask the anonymous blogger, and dismissed the case.
Links and Court Documents:

Order dismissing case: http://www.citizen.org/documents/mcmannvdoearizopin.pdf
Press release on dismissal: http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2364
Other case documents: http://www.citizen.org/litigation/forms/cases/CaseDetails.cfm?cID=371

Mesa Airlines v. Uslan, Civil No. 07-178 (D. Ariz. dismissed June 25, 2007).

Status: Dismissed

Mesa Airlines, which does business as the airline go! serving the Hawaiian islands, sued Mike Uslan over postings on the dontflygo.com blog site, which Mesa alleged he controlled. Uslan, a pilot with rival Aloha Airlines, was reported in one newspaper article to have been a founder of an anti-go! group named “Hawaii's Airline Employees

Repelling Ornstein," or “HERO.” ("Ornstein" refers to Jonathan Ornstein, the Chief Executive Officer of Mesa's parent company, Mesa Air Group, Inc.) Mesa Air Group is an Arizona corporation based in Pheonix, and the dontflygo.com site was initially registered with an Arizona-based hosting company that provided anonymous hosting. Nevertheless, the court dismissed the case on personal jurisdiction grounds, holding that that Mesa had not sufficiently alleged Uslan’s connection to the site.

Links and Court Documents:

Summary and case documents: http://www.mesavsuslan.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Airlines_v._Uslan_lawsuit

http://honoluluweekly.com/diary/2007/03/navy-to-use-sonar-despite-earlier-rulings-2/

http://starbulletin.com/2007/06/23/business/story02.html

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2007/02/26/daily45.html?surround=lfn

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2007/06/25/daily17.html?from_rss=

http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=524317

Order granting motion to dismiss: http://www.dontflygo.com/documents/decision.pdf

Polich v. Nahmod, No. CC2008-149566 (Ariz. Just. Ct., North Valley filed July 11, 2008).

Status: Preliminary injunction issued (Sept. 26, 2008).

Blogger David Nahmod has written extensively on his David's Open Forum blog (davidsopenforum.blogspot.com) and other sites (including Lavender Newswire) on the demise of his five-year relationship with Beecher Goodwin, which he claims was sabotaged by Kathryn Rock, who Nahmod alleges took advantage of Goodwin’s manic depression to urge Goodwin to stop being a homosexual as part of her conservative, religious agenda. The court granted a restraining order against Nahmod to stop what Rock and her husband Stephen Polich alleged was harassment by him, and upheld the order at a Sept. 25 hearing.

Links and Court Documents:

http://davidsopenforum.blogspot.com/2008/09/day-in-court.html

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2008/09/despite_a_gag_order_sf_blogger.php

http://sfweekly.com/2008-08-20/news/conservative-arizona-couple-gets-judge-to-gag-gay-sf-blogger/

http://davidsopenforum.blogspot.com/2008/08/coming-soon-trip-to-north-valley.html

http://davidsopenforum.blogspot.com/2008/12/beecher-goodwin-hijacked-life.html

Docket: http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/JusticeCourtCases/caseInfo.asp?caseNumber=CC2008149566000

Shurwest Product Connection, LLC v. Premium Producers Group LLC, No. CV2007-003021 (Ariz. Super. Ct., Maticopa County filed Feb. 26, 2007).
Status: Pending

An investment company sued a company that makes software to rate investments over comments on the software company’s blog about an annuity product offered by the plaintiff, and the subsequent inclusion of the investment company in a list of non-independent wholesale firms. A defense motion to dismiss the case was denied on Sept. 21, 2007.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060825/REG/608250701/-1/INDaily04

Docket available at http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/CivilCourtCases/caseSearch.asp (enter case number)

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/shurwest-product-connection-llc-v-premium-producers-group-llc

Order denying defendant’s motion to dismiss: http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Civil/092007/m2855169.pdf

Tucson Greyhound Park v. Greyhound Protection League, Civil No. C-20080047 (Ariz. Super., Pima County filed 2008).

Status: Non-monetary settlement

The operators of the Tucson Greyhound Park sued several activists who were urging the closing of the track for alleged abuse of the dogs; among those sued was blogger Karyn Zoldan, who posted on the End Tucson Greyhound Racing website and blog (www.endtucsongreyhoundracing.com). After the court refused to issue a temporary restraining order and then a preliminary injunction, the parties reached a non-monetary settlement.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/fromcomments/254963.php

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/tucson-greyhound-park-v-zoldan

Articles: http://www.endtucsongreyhoundracing.com/blog/first-amendmentlawsuit/

ARKANSAS

Cruse v. 451 Press LLC, No. CV 08-1462 (Ark. Cir. Ct., Baxter County filed May 15, 2008), removed to federal court, Civil No. 08- 03031 (W.D. Ark. June 18, 2008), remanded back to state court (W.D. Ark. Sept. 3, 2008).

Status: Pending

A former special education teacher who was acquitted of misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a minor sued over comments on the Teacher Smackdown web site (www.teachersmackdown.com), which she alleges falsely reported that she had pleaded guilty to the charge. The complaint was filed on May 15, 2008; on Sept. 3, 2008, defendant Ann-Marie Nichols, who posted an article to the site, filed her answer.

Links and Court Documents:

Case summary and douments: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/cruse-v-teacher-smackdown

Complaint: http://www.citmedialaw.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2008-05-15-Cruse%20Complaint.pdf

http://baxterbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080531/NEWS01/805310307

http://baxterbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080908/NEWS01/809080306

Romeo v. Ballard, No. 2006-1067 (Ark. Cir. Ct. dismissed Dec. 17, 2006).

Status: Dismissed

A detective in the Saline County, Ark. sheriff’s office sued Gary Ballard, the operator of a web site (philmask.com; no longer operational) that focused on criticism of Saline County Sheriff Phil Mask. The detective, Sgt. Sandy Romano, sued over an article from the Benton Courier -- republished on the site -- over allegations by Gary Ballard’s wife that Romano had threatened her. The article states that Romano had been “dismissed from the Benton Police Department after she was charged with possession of drugs with intent to deliver;” elsewhere, the site refers to Romano as a “drug user.” The suit claimed that the web site did not mention that the charges had been dismissed.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/romen-v-ballard

Court documents available at https://www.ark.org/grs/app/saline (search for plaintiff or defendant)

Steinbach v. Cutler, Civil No. 06-00620 (E.D. Ark. filed May 16, 2006).

Status: Claims against most defendants dismissed; dismissal of claims against Hyperion Books reversed; pending.

In addition to his suit in the District of Columbia, in May 2006 Robert Steinbach filed a separate suit over the book, The Washingtonienne, a novel based on Jessica Culter’s “Washingtonienne” blog (http://washingtonienne.blogspot.com; no longer existent, but archived at http://washingtoniennearchive.blogspot.com/). The court dismissed the suit on jurisdictional grounds on Feb. 7, 2007. On appeal, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal against most of the defendants, but reversed dismissal of the claims against Hyperion Books. The case against Hyperion continues.

Links and Court Documents:

Appeals decision: http://www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/08/03/071509P.pdf

Ward v. Cisco Systems, No. 08-4022 (W.D. Ark. filed March 13, 2008).

Status: Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed claims against blogger; claims against blogger’s former employer remain.

In addition to a suit in Texas state court, patent attorney T. John Ward, Jr. also sued the author of the Patent Troll Tracker blog (www.trolltracker.blogspot.com; now members only) and his employer. The plaintiff than voluntarily dismissed the claims against the blogger, a motion that was granted by the court (2008 WL 4079286).

CALIFORNIA

Apple Computer, Inc. v. DePlume, No. 05-CV-33341 (Cal. Super. Santa Clara County filed Jan. 4, 2005).

Status: Non-monetary(?) settlement

In addition to the Doe case below, Apple brought a separate lawsuit in California against the 19-year-old operator of the Boston-based website "Think Secret" (www.thinksecret.com) and various anonymous entities for allegedly publishing trade secrets on that website. In December 2007, the parties announced a settlement in which the blog would stop publishing.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,66213,00.html

http://www.zeropaid.com/news/4970/Teen+Sued+For+Disclosing+Apple's+Secrets

http://www.rcfp.org/sidebar/index.php?i=149

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/settlement.html

Case docket: http://www.sccaseinfo.org/pa5.asp?full_case_number=1-05-CV-033341

Apple Computer, Inc. v. Doe, No. 1-04-CV-032178 (Cal. Super. Mar. 11, 2005) (granting discovery motion), rev’d sub. nom. O'Grady, et al. v. Super. Ct. of Santa Clara County , Case No. H028579 (Cal. App. 6th Dist. May 26, 2006).

Status: Discovery motion denied; lawsuit against alleged leakers withdrawn

In Dec. 2004, Apple Computer, Inc., filed suit against numerous unknown entities in connection with the leak of confidential information prior to the release of an Apple product codenamed "Asteroid." The information, which Apple claims are trade secrets, was posted on a number of websites, including AppleInsider (www.appleinsider.com) and PowerPage (www.powerpage.org). Apple sued the unknown people who leaked the information. In an attempt to determine who these people were, Apple subpoenaed Nfox, the e-mail service provider for PowerPage, seeking e-mail messages that could identify the source(s) of the leaked information. The trial court ruled that Apple is entitled to subpoena an e-mail provider to try and identify the source(s), but declined to determine whether the bloggers qualified as journalists under the California shield law. But the Court of Appeals reversed, holding that bloggers and webmasters have the same protections against divulging confidential sources as traditional media. In July 2006, Apple announced that it would not appeal the ruling; in January 2007, Apple withdrew the case.

Links and Court Documents:

Docket available at: http://www.sccaseinfo.org

Case information and updates: http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Apple_v_Does/

Cal. App. decision at http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Apple_v_Does/H028579.pdf

Bosley Medical Institute, Inc. v. Kremer, No. 01-1752, 2004 WL 964163 (S.D. Cal. dismissed April 30, 2004), aff’d in part and rev’d in part, 403 F.3d 672 (9th Cir. 2005).

Status: Settled.

Defendant Michael Kremer, dissatisfied with hair restoration services at the Bosley Medical Institute, Inc., created a website (www.BosleyMedical.com; no longer existing) to complain. In 2000, the Institute filed a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization over Kremer’s use of an allegedly confusing URL for his site. WIPO ruled for Kremer, finding “legitimate fair use and free speech rights with respect to the use of the Domain Name for a criticism site.” Bosley Medical Group v. Kremer, Case No. D2000-1647 (WIPO Feb. 28, 2001). Then, in Sept. 2001 the company sued over Kremer’s use of its trademark “Bosley Medical” in federal court, and alleged that Kremer was “cybersquatting” (using a famous name as a web site URL in order to sell it to the entity most often associated with that name), which is actionable under Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. S.1125(d). The trial court dismissed all of the Institute’s claims. The Institute appealed, and the appeals court affirmed in part and reversed in part. The appeals court held that while Kremer’s noncommercial use of the trademark as a domain name was not actionable as infringement, but reversed on the cybersquatting claim and on the lower court’s dismissal of claims under state trademark law. In March 2007, the trial court denied Kremer’s motion for summary judgment on the cybersquatting claim and also denied his motion to dismiss the state law claims. 2007 WL 935708 (S.D.Cal. March 17, 2007). In July 2007, the parties settled.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.internetlibrary.com/cases/lib_case369.cfm

http://www.digestiblelaw.com/cybersquatting/blogQ.aspx?entry=2990

http://copyfight.corante.com/archives/2005/04/05/im_not_only_a_member_of_the_hair_club_for_men_im_also.php

Appeals court decision: http://www.casp.net/cases/bosley.html

Brabus Ventures v. Zablotskyy, No. VG08390958 (Cal. Super. Ct., Alameda Co. filed June 4, 2008).

Status: Dismissed

Following a series of postings on the “Go Beyond MLS” blog (www.go-beyond-mls.com) in which former real estate agent Vlad Zablotskyy criticized the website www.ePerks.com, operated by Brabus Ventures Corp, Brabus filed a complaint in state court alleging defamation. The complaint claimed that Zablotskyy defamed Brabus by asserting that they had indirectly and falsely accused him of charges of child molestation on the Yahoo! answers website through an attempt to identify them with the IP address used by the poster. Brabus voluntarily dismissed the action on October 23, 2008.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/brabus-ventures-v-zablotskyy

Summons and complaint: http://www.scribd.com/doc/3271851/Barabus-vs-Zablotskyy

Cedillos v. Madigan, No. 05CC07333 (Cal. Super. dismissed Jan. 30, 2006), aff’d, No. G036941 (Cal. App., 4th Dist. June 22, 2007) (unpublished).

Status: Dismissal affirmed.

In 2005, Republican activist and former reserve sheriff’s deputy Ronald Cedillos sued Michael Madigan over comments on his website (www.twistedbadge.com) alleging that Cedillos used a key to damage a Bentley automobile owned by a political rival after they got into a shouting match at a Newport Beach, Cal. restaurant. The trial court dismissed the complaint under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, and the appellate court affirmed.
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-ocbriefs28.2jun28,1,3562054.story?track=rss

Appellate case information at http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/mainCaseScreen.cfm?dist=43&doc_id=532473&doc_no=G036941

Chick v. Kuziw, No. RCV-RS093848 (Cal. Super., San Bernardino County filed March 14, 2006).

Status: Settled

The owner of the Chicks Sporting Goods chain, which has stores in southern California, sued James M. Kuziw for defamation over content of his MySpace page. The parties agreed to settle the case in August 2007, but the final settlement agreement had not been signed by mid-October 2007.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/chick-v-kuziw

Docket available via http://www.sbcounty.gov/courts/flash.asp (search civil cases for case number)

Cohen v. Ford, No. 00-CV-5966 (C.D. Cal. dismissed Feb. 21, 2001)
Status: Dropped
In 1998, Gary Kremen sued Stephen Michael Cohen, alleging that he had fraudulently obtained the sex.com domain name owned by Kremen by forging a letter to Network Solutions in 1995, asking for transfer of ownership of the URL. (That suit eventually ended with a $65 million award to Kremen, and restoration of control of the domain, although the judgment has not been collected.) While that case was pending, in 2000 Cohen sued Luke Ford over coverage of the sex.com lawsuit on his lukeford.com porn-industry blog. But the case was dropped by the plaintiff in 2001.

Duffin v. MySpace, No. BC410118 (Cal. Super., Los Angeles County filed March 19, 2009).

Status: Pending

Plaintiff Cyd Duffin, principal of Colony High School in Palmer, Alaska sued MySpace and several John Doe defendants in California, where the company is based, over a fake profile created on the social networking site in her name which claimed that she went to strip clubs after school hours and was a member of the Klu Klux Klan.

http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_11977752

http://chs.matsuk12.us/knightlynews/2008-2009/Dec2008.pdf

E! Entertainment Television v. De Filippis, Case No. 2008-04355 (C.D. Cal. filed July 2008).

Status: Settled with preliminary injunction

The E! cable network sued the owner of the eNewsBuzz blog (www.enewsbuzz.typepad.com), claiming that the blog’s name infringed on its E! and E!News trademarks. The case was settled in Sept. 2008, with the defendant agreeing to a preliminary injunction barring use of the trademarks.

Links and Court Documents:

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-cacdce/case_no-2:2008cv04355/case_id-419763/

http://reporter.blogs.com/thresq/2008/07/hollywood-docke.html

Eclipse Aviation Corp. v. Doe, No. 108CV110380 (Cal. Super., Santa Clara Co. dismissed July 31, 2008).

Status: Withdrawn by plaintiff

Eclipse Aviation, which manufactures very light jet aircraft, sued several John Does in New Mexico state court , alleging that they were current and former employees who had violated their confidentiality agreements by contributing and posting comments to the Eclipse Aviation Critic blog, http://eclipseaviationcritic.blogspot.com, which was active until 2007, and its successor, the Eclipse Aviation Critic Next Generation blog, www.eclipsecriticng.blogspot.com. Eclipse then filed a related action in California state court, seeking a subpoena to compel Google to reveal information to identify 28 “John Does” who contributed to the sites. Eclipse obtained the subpoena from the California court, but Richard J. Lucibella, one the contributors to the site, challenged the subpoena. In August 2008, as part of a shake-up of company management, the company withdrew its lawsuit.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.charterx.com/resources/article.aspx?id=3286

http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/302137nm04-22-08.htm

Docket: http://www.sccaseinfo.org/pa6.asp?full_case_number=1-08-CV-110380

Motion to quash subpoena: http://www.charterx.com/mediafiles/store/58773/128547467269195924.pdf

Coverage of settlement: http://www.charterx.com/resources/article.aspx?id=3444

Fahmy v. Hogge, No. 2:08-cv-01152 (C.D. Cal. filed Feb. 20, 2008).

Status: Dismissed.

Fatima dosSantos Fahmy filed a complaint against former law school classmate Stephen Graham for defamation, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and false light invasion of privacy for comments made about her on his blog, http://hogonice.com (defunct). On reconsideration of a motion to dismiss, the motion was granted on October 14, 2008 for lack of general and specific jurisdiction over Hogge, a Florida resident.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/fahmy-v-hogge

Complaint: http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/cacdce/2:2008cv01152/408884/1/

Initial denial of motion to dismiss: http://www.linksandlaw.de/news1310-fatima-graham-klage.htm

5th St. Loft, LLC v. Dylan, No. BC392796 (Cal. Super., Los Angeles County filed July 17, 2008).

Status: Dismissed under anti-SLAPP law

The owner of the Shybary Grand Lofts building in downtown Los Angeles sued the bloggers of the truedowntown.com web site, which states its goal “to inspire positive change at the Shybary Grand by identifying issues that need to be dealt with by the board and management company, especially if those issues have ignored California Law.” On Sept. 24, 2008, the court granted the defendant’s motion to strike the complaint under California’s anti-SLAPP law.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/blog/2008/california-developer-sues-homeowners-libel-over-disparaging-blog-comments

Complaint: http://www.citmedialaw.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2008-06-17-Shy%20Complaint.pdf

GTX Global Corp. v. Left, No. BC343334 (Cal. Super., Los Angeles County dismissed July 2006), aff’d, No. B192626 (Cal. App., 2d Dist. May 2007) (unpublished).

Status: Dismissal affirmed

Plaintiff GTX Global Corp. alleged that postings by defendant Andrew Left on his blog (www.stocklemon.com, no longer in its original form) were meant to depress the stock price of the company so that he could profit from “short selling” the company’s stock. The trial court dismissed the lawsuit under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, and the company appealed. The appeals court affirmed the dismissal.

Links and Court Documents:

http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2007/05/blogger_protect.htm
Appellate case information at http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/mainCaseScreen.cfm?dist=2&doc_id=1131281&doc_no=B192626

Gilbert v. Sykes, No. 04AS02094 (Cal. Super., Sacramento County Aug. 23, 2005) (denying anti-SLAPP motion), rev’d, No. C050766 (Cal. App., 3d Dist Jan. 26, 2007).
Status: Libel claims dismissed by appeals court
Georgette Gilbert, dissatisfied with plastic surgery done by Dr. Jonathan Sykes, sued him for malpractice. She also set up a website, www.mysurgerynightmare.com, detailing her experiences. Sykes countersued for libel over the contents of the site, and sought a court order to have it removed. After the court refused to issue such an order, Gilbert sought to have the libel claim dismissed under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which allows courts to dismiss libel and similar claims which attempt to limit discussion of public events and controversies. The trial court denied the motion, holding that Dr. Sykes was not a limited purpose public figure. But an appellate court reversed, granting the anti-SLAPP motion, thus dismissing the libel claims. The malpractice suit continues.
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.metnews.com/articles/2007/gilb012907.htm
http://calapp.blogspot.com/2007/01/gilbert-v-sykes-cal-ct-app-jan-26-2007.html

http://www.citmedialaw.org/sykes-v-gilbert
Appeals decision: http://www.casp.net/cases/Gilbert%20v.%20Sykes.html

Guajome Park Academy, Inc. v. Duperry, Civil No. 06-658 (S.D Cal. filed March 24, 2006).
Status: Pending
In March 2006, the Guajome Park Academy, a charter school in Vista, Cal., sued a former employee and former student, alleging that they had improperly accessed the computer system containing student grades. In July, the former student settled. In November, the school amended its complaint to add the individuals, all former employees, who were behind the web site guajomeunderground.org, a bulletin board site where the grade information was posted along with allegations that a student’s grade was improperly changed. Defendants’ motion for summary judgment was denied in an Aug. 16, 2007 ruling.
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/07/17/news/coastal/21_41_317_16_05.txt
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/07/18/news/top_stories/22_18_317_17_06.txt
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11/07//news/sandiego/5_00_4311_6_06.txt
Amended complaint at http://www.nctimes.com/pdf/GUAJOMEVMcCulloch.pdf

Hagele v. Hanson, No. 06AS00839 (Cal. Super., Sacramento County filed March 2, 2006).
Status: Pending.
In Jan. 2003, Brent Hanson, who operates and posts to websites criticizing refractive surgery, filed suit in Illinois against Glenn Hagele, founder and executive director of the Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance (www.usaeyes.org), a group of such surgeons. Hanson v. Hagele, No. 03M300136 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cooke County 2003) (docket at https://63.251.13.149/cookcounty/Finddock.asp?DocketKey=CAAD0MD0AAABDG0SD). The Illinois case was dismissed in June 2003, after Hanson did not pursue it. After dismissal of the Illinois case, Hanson added postings to his web sites claiming that Hagele had lost the Illinois suit and was being pursued by a collection agency. Hagele then to sued Hanson in California state court on the grounds that these statements were libelous; he added privacy claims after Hanson posted personal information about Hagele, including financial information. The case is pending.
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/hagele-v-hanson

Complaint: http://www.glennhagele.com/brenthanson/hagele-v-brent-hanson-defamation.pdf
Answer to complaint: http://www.usaeyes.info/documents/glennhagele/lawsuits/hagele_vs_hanson_response_10.pdf

Defense motion for default judgment: http://www.citmedialaw.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2006-09-18-Hagele's%20Request%20for%20Default%20Judgment.pdf

Holmes v. Ford, No. BC221609 (Cal. Super. defense motion for summary judgment granted Oct. 31, 2000).
Status: Summary judgment granted
Porn actress Laurie Holmes, the widow of porn actor John Holmes, sued webmaster Luke Ford over comments posted on his lukeford.com porn-industry blog in 1999. The comments were statements made by John Holmes’ manager, Bill Amerson, in a film documentary entitled "Wadd: The Life and Times of John Holmes." In October 2000, the court granted Luke’s motion for summary judgment, and awarded him costs.
Links and Court Documents:

Case noted in http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,39297,00.html

Holmgren v. Murrieta Opinion, No. RIC494950 (Cal. Super. Ct., Riverside Co. filed March 6, 2008).

Status: Pending

Plaintiff Roy Holmgren brought suit for defamation based on allegedly false statements published by anonymous operators and commenters of two blogs, the Murrieta Opinion (murrietaopinion.blogspot.com; defunct) and About Murrieta (aboutmurrieta.blogspot.com). The host of the blogs, Google (owner of Blogspot) has refused to provide Holmgren with any identifying information. Regardless, defendant Jeffrey Kleiner was added to the suit after it was discovered that he was the operator of the Murrieta Opinion blog. The court proposed sanctions against Holmgren in December, 2008 for failure to file proof of service of summons on Kleiner.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/holmgren-v-murrieta-opinion

In re Grand Jury Proceedings; Joshua Wolf, No. 06-90064 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 1, 2006)
Status: After being jailed for 226 days for contempt, blogger was released after agreeing to post material on his web site
A protest on July 8, 2005 in San Francisco tied to a meeting of world leaders in Scotland, turned violent, with a police officer assaulted and suffering a fractured skull. There was also an alleged “potential attempted arson” of a San Francisco city police car. Since the police car had been purchased with federal funds, a federal grand jury began investigating whether a federal crime had been committed. During the course of its investigation, federal law enforcement learned that videoblogger and freelance journalist Joshua Wolf had videotaped portions of the protest, and posted portions of his footage on his website and sold a video clip to Indymedia, NBC, and television stations KTVU and KRON. On Feb. 1, 2006, Wolf was served with a grand jury subpoena ordering him to appear before the grand jury with all his footage. Wolf refused, and on Aug. 1, 2006, the District Court for the Northern District of California ordered that he be held in civil contempt and jailed for his refusal to produce the footage that had not already been shown. Wolf appealed the district court’s contempt order in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which affirmed the contempt order on Sept. 8, 2006. Wolf v. U.S., No. 06-16403, 2006 WL 2631398 (9th Cir. Sept. 8, 2006) (O’Scannlain, Graber, Clifton, JJ.). On April 3, 2007, Wolf was released after he agreed to post the video online, thus making it available to prosecutors, as long as he was not required to testify before the grand jury.
Links and Court Documents:

Court documents available at http://www.medialaw.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Hot_Topics/Reporters_Privilege/Wolf/Wolf.htm

Kaplan v. Salahi, No. BS06288332 (Cal. Super., Small Cl. Ct., Alameda County judgment entered May 7, 2007), motion to strike denied, No. BS06288332 (Cal. Super. Ct., Alameda County June 13, 2007) (affirming small claims judgment).
Status: $7,500 award to plaintiff.
Lee Kaplan, a journalist for FrontPageMag.com, sued Yaman Salahi in small claims court for comments on his blog, “Lee Kaplan Watch” (http://kaplanwatch.blogspot.com/). Kaplan was awarded $7,500, which was affirmed on appeal to the Superior Court. The defendant does not apparently plan any further appeal.
Links and Court Documents:

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/16/1940231&from=rss

Plaintiff’s commentary: http://www.leekaplandeconstructsleekaplanwatch.blogspot.com
Plaintiff’s commentary: http://ww.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28816
Defendant’s commentary: http://kaplanwatch.blogspot.com/2007/06/faulty-case-against-me.html
Docket access via http://apps.alameda.courts.ca.gov/domainweb/casesumbody.html (enter docket number)

Lake v. Ford, No. SC059805 (Cal. Super. dismissed Jan. 18, 2001).

Status: Settled for undisclosed “hefty sum”

Porn actress Christy Lake sued porn-industry blog lukeford.com owner Luke Ford after he posted pictures that he described as showing her having sex with a dog. The case was settled for “a hefty sum” before trial.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/lake-v-ford

Case noted in http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/01/40829

Case noted in http://www.laweekly.com/la-people-2006/the-xxxorcist/13191/

Lavandeira v. Infuse, LLC, Civil No. 08-4764 (C.D. Cal. filed July 21, 2008).

Status: Claims against two defendants dismissed by plaintiff; default judgment against remaining defendant pending

Blogger Mario Lavandeira, who operates the perezhilton.com celebrity news blog, sued the owners and contributors to the similarly-looking and named perezrevenge.com blog site, for trademark infringement and unfair competition. The blogger behind the perezrevenge.com site, Elizabeth Silver, then filed her own suit in New York. In this California case, the court first issued a default judgment for the plaintiff against two defendants, then withdrew it when the defendants challenged the courts jurisdiction. The plaintiff then agreed to dismiss the case against those defendants rather than litigate the issue. A default judgment against the remaining defendant is pending.

Links and Court Documents:

http://reporter.blogs.com/thresq/2008/07/perez-hilton-su.html

Complaint: http://reporter.blogs.com/thresq/files/PerezComplaint.pdf

Lavandeira v. Lewandowski, No. BC388760 (Cal. Super., Los Angeles Co. filed April 8, 2008).

Status: Removed to federal court

See below

Lavandeira v. Lewandowski, Civil No. 08-03074 (transferred from state court May 9, 2008).

Status: Pending.

Blogger Mario Lavandeira, who operates the perezhilton.com celebrity news blog, sued Jonathan Wayne Lewandowski. operator of the JJ’s Dirt.com blog (http://jonathanjaxson.blogspot.com/), after Lewandowski claimed to several reporters and on his blog that he had a relationship with Lavandeira. Lavandeira claimed that Lewandowski made the claims to publicize his blog.

Links and Court Documents:

State court complaint: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0409081hilton1.html

Loan Center of California, Inc. v. Krowne, No. FCS029554 (Cal. Super., Solono Co. filed May 7, 2007).

Status: Non-monetary settlement after defendant’s motion to strike (anti-SLAPP motion) denied

The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter (ml-implode.com), a blog run by Aaron Krowne which tracks mortgage finance companies that are in financial trouble, posted the contents of an anonymous e-mail sent to the site alleging that Loan Center of California was having financial problems. (The e-mail contents were also posted on the AutoDogmatic blog (www.autodogmatic.com), run by a friend of Krowne’s.) Krowne removed the post the same day after Loan Center of California complained, but the company still filed suit. Krowne’s motion to have the suit struck under California’s anti-SLAPP statute was denied on Sept. 7, 2007; the case was settled two months later.

Links and Court Documents:

http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/wp-print.php?year=2007&monthnum=08&day=08&name=mortgage-implode-o-suit

http://www.thereporter.com/ci_6638254

http://ml-implode.com/viewnews/2007-07-26_JudgeFranklinRTaftDeniesMlImplodeMotionToStrikeviaAntiSLAPP.html (denial of motion to strike; includes documents)

http://ml-implode.com/viewnews/2007-07-05_LoanCenterofCaliforniaSuesMortgageLenderImplodeOMeterMotiontoStr.html (complaint; includes documents)

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/loan-center-california-v-krowne

Complaint: http://ml-implode.com/lcc_suit/complaint.pdf

Docket available via http://courtconnect.solanocourts.com

Lochrie v. Norby, No. SCRDCVPT-07-0161960 (Cal. Super., Shasta County)

Status: Restraining order denied

Christy Lochrie, a reporter for the Record Searchlight newspaper in Redding, Cal., writes the “Phat and Pink” blog on the newspaper’s web site (blogs.redding.com/redding/clochrie/). Her former friend Beth Doolittle-Norby started her own blog, “No Phat Pink Chicks” (www.nophatpinkchicks.blogspot.com/), which ridiculed Lochrie’s reporting, appearance and personality. Lochrie sued for harassment, seeking a restraining order to stop Norby from maintaining the blog, and to stay away from her. On Feb. 23, 2007, Superior Court commissioner Gary Gibson denied the restraining order.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.redding.com/news/2008/feb/20/blog-dispute-settled-court

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org//news.aspx?id=19715

News America, Inc. v. Google, Inc., No. 05-MC-80179 (N.D. Cal. filed Aug. 4, 2005).
Status: Dismissed by court

News Corp. subsidiary News America, publisher of the New York Post, subpoenaed Google to try to find the identity of a blogger who was posting the Post’s "Page 6" daily gossip column in total, except for the advertising. There was no further action in the case, although the site (http://page6blog.blogspot.com/) has been removed. The case was terminated by the court on May 4, 2006.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.adrants.com/2005/06/adfree-gawker-and-page-six-blogs.php

NY Post letter to Google: http://www.chillingeffects.org/dmca512/notice.cgi?NoticeID=2121

Nuewirth v. Silverstein, No. SC094441 (Cal. Super., Los Angeles County dismissed Nov. 27, 2007), rev’d, No. B205521 (Cal. App. Feb/ 9, 2009).
Status: Grant of anti-SLAPP motion (dismissing case) reversed

Conservative commentator Rachel Neuwirth sued blogger Richard Silverstein for comments on his Tikun Olam blog (www.richardsilverstein.com) criticizing Neuwirth, including referring to her as "Kahanist swine" (referring to ardent Israel supporter Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was killed in 1990). Neuwirth also sued Stanford University professor Joel Beinin over comments he sent to Haifa University’s “Academic Left” listserv (list.haifa.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/alef). The claims against both defendants were dismissed on an anti-SLAPP motion, after the court found that Neuwirth was a public figure and that the topics discussed were of public interest. Nuewirth appealed, and the appellate court reversed the dismissal on two of the statements at issue. (updated Feb. 12, 2009)

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=18589

http://www.metnews.com/articles/2009/neuw021109.htm

Case info and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/neuwirth-v-silverstein

Trial court docket available at http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/civilCaseSummary/index.asp?CaseType=Civil (enter case number)

Parker v. X17, Inc., No. SC096464 (Cal. Super., L.A. County filed Dec. 19, 2007).

Status: Settled (dismissed by plaintiff in return for publication of apology)

Basketball player Tony Parker sued X17 over statements on the photo agency’s celebrity news blog (http://x17online.com/) which alleged that he had had an affair shortly after his marriage to actress Eva Longoria. In early April 2008, the site published an apology and the lawsuit was dismissed.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20189312,00.html

http://www.jossip.com/x17s-half-hearted-settlement-required-apology-to-tony-parker-and-eva-longoria-20080407/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22331780/

http://www.tmz.com/2007/12/19/tony-parker-to-x17-screw-you-sue-you/

Complaint: http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/1219_eva_tony_wm.pdf

The Permanente Medical Group, Inc. v. Cooper, No. RG05203029 (Cal. Super., Alameda County filed 2005), appeal dismissed, No. A113601 (Cal. App., 1st Dist. July 13, 2006).

Status: Summary judgment granted to plaintiff.

In July 2004, Elisa D. Cooper discovered that internal, technical computer information available on a public web site maintained for computer maintenance purposes by her former employer, Kaiser Health Plan, included patient information. She posted a link to the data on her blog, Corporate Ethics (http://www.livejournal.com/users/corphq/), and later posted the information itself. She also filed a complaint with the federal Office of Civil Rights, which enforces the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). That office, in turn, notified Kaiser, which sought and eventually received a preliminary injunction against Cooper’s posting of the material, arguing that her dissemination of it violated the confidentiality agreement that Cooper signed while working for the company. The California Department of Managed Health Care then ordered Cooper to remove the material -- its first action against an individual, rather than a health plan, since the agency’s founding in 2000. The agency also fined Kaiser $200,000 for posting the patient data to a publicly-accessible site. In the suit against Cooper, the court granted summary judgment to Kaiser on Dec. 19, 2005. Cooper’s appeal of this was dropped.
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.blogherald.com/2005/03/18/kaiser-permanente-sues-blogger-over-patient-information/

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/24/BAGFIBU2AT1.DTL

http://www.thestandard.com/internetnews/002902.php

Docket available via http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/domainweb/

Peters & Freedman LLP v. McMahon, No. 05CC11632 (Cal. Super., Orange County filed 2005); Pratt v. McMahon, No. 06CC01968 (Cal. Super., Orange County filed 2006).

Status: Denial of defense motion to strike suit under anti-SLAPP statute affirmed, No. G038236, 2007 WL 3151681 (Cal.App. 4 Dist. Oct 30, 2007), reh’g granted (Nov 29, 2007), aff’d on reh’g, 2008 WL 391190 (Cal.App. 4th Dist. Feb. 14, 2008)

Defendants Arnold and Elizabeth McMahon maintain a web site, the American Homeowners Resource Center (www.ahrc.com), with the stated goal of “help[ing] citizens in homeowner associations to take back their homes from the two generations of crooked lawyers, politicians, judges and vendors who have stolen them.” Peters & Freedman, a law firm in Encinitas and Palm Desert, Cal. that specializes in homeowners’ association law, sued for libel over comments that the McMahons posted to their site; former Peters & Freedman attorney Jeffrey R. Pratt subsequently filed his own suit The McMahons filed a motion to strike both lawsuits under California’s anti-SLAPP statute. The district court denied the motion in both cases, and an appellate court affirmed, holding that the comments about Peters & Freedman “do not concern a public issue.”

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.metnews.com/articles/2007/pete103107.htm

Appellate decision: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/G037871.PDF

Roe et al. v. McClellan, No. PS010050 (Cal. Super., L.A. County injunction issued Aug. 24, 2007).

Status: Injunction affirmed, B203651 (Cal. App., 2d Dist. Jan. 15, 2009).

Jack McClellan operated websites, www.stegl.org and www.stegl.info (both no longer accessible), which included photographs of clothed girls, aged three to 11, taken at public events, as well as a listing of public events at which such girls were likely to be present. The site, whose initials apparently stood for “Seattle-Tacoma-Everett Girl Love,” stated that its primary purpose was “to promote association, friendship; and legal, nonsexual, consensual touch (hugging, cuddling, etc) between men and prepubescent girls.” Previously, McClellan’s site focused on events in California. Several parents from Santa Clarita, Cal. sought an injunction barring McClellan from physical locations where children congregate and from posting photographs of minors on his site. A California Superior Court judge immediately issued a permanent injunction, without holding a hearing. McClellan appealed, but the appellate court upheld the injunction despite the procedural error. “McClellan is not prohibited from espousing his controversial views,” the appellate court held. “Rather, he is prohibited from his continuing course of conduct to harass, attack, assault, stalk, and keep under surveillance minor children, as to do so places the children in danger and is threatening to them.” (added 1-29-09)

Links and Court Documents:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10149724-38.html

http://www.volokh.com/posts/chain_1185636205.shtml

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local&id=5536136

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/30/earlyshow/living/parenting/main3110525.shtml

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/us/15pedophile.html

Appellate docket: http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/dockets.cfm?dist=2&doc_id=1144953&doc_no=B203651

Appellate decision: http://www.ldrc.com/RoevMcClellan.pdf

Ronson v. Sunset Photo and News LLC, No. BC374174 (Cal. Super., L.A. County filed July 12, 2007).

Status: One defendant (Ishkanian) settled for undisclosed terms; claims against other defendant (Lavandeira) dismissed; plaintiff ordered to pay almost $87,000 in attorney fees

Hollywood disc jockey Samantha Ronson filed a libel suit against celebritybabylon.com blogger Jill Ishkanian and perezhilton.com blogger Mario Lavandeira over a posting on celebritybabylon.com, republished on perezhilton.com, alleging that cocaine found in actress Lindsay Lohan’s car after an accident was Ronson’s. On Oct. 10, Ronson and Ishkanian announced that they had settled their part of the dispute; meanwhile, Superior Court Judge Elihu M. Berle deferred decision on Lavandeira’s anti-SLAPP motion and allowed the plaintiffs to depose Lavandeira. On Nov. 1, 2007, the court granted Lavandeira’s anti-SLAPP motion, dismissing the case; Ronson was also ordered to pay Lavandeira’s attorney fees, which the court declared in January to be almost $85,000. Although Ronson initially sought to have the ruling reconsidered, she eventually paid the fees – by then, almost $87,000 – in early October 2008. Meanwhile, her own attorneys filed suit against her in New York, seeking payment for their services.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/ronson-v-lavandeira

http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=21419e81-7c68-41f9-bb62-43dba7501f91

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3385802&page=1

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2007/07/15/2007-07-15_lohan_buddy_sues_2_blogs_claiming_libel-1.html

http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2007/07/samantha-ronson-sues-perez-hilton-other-celebrity-gossip-blog-for-20-million-over-lindsay-lohan-story/

http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=a5d99c58-a158-4970-8e03-ffb8102fda4b

http://www.charlotte.com/entertainment/story/313957.html

http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=a9854130-4d29-40c7-912a-a02330ecebd9

http://www.knbc.com/entertainment/14804051/detail.html?rss=la&psp=news

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/1212071ronson1.html?link=rssfeed

http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/14168466.html

http://www.knbc.com/news/17623571/detail.html?rss=la&psp=news

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-samantha-ronson11-2008dec11,0,6925049.story?page=1

Case docket available via http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/civilCaseSummary/index.asp?CaseType=Civil (enter case number)

Splash News & Picture Agency, Inc. v. Lavandeira, Civil No. 07-02668 (C.D. Cal. filed April 23, 2007).

Status: Pending

On the heels of similar lawsuit against the same defendant (see below), five more “paparazzi” photo agencies sued perezhilton.com blogger Mario Lavandeira over his sites’ use of their copyrighted photographs. The court has assigned this case to the same judge who is handling the other case.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.hollywoodreporteresq.com/thresq/litigation/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003575965

Complaint available at http://www.hollywoodreporteresq.com/thresq/photos/PerezHilton_suit.pdf

Tendler v. Doe, No. 1-06-cv-064507 (Cal. Super. filed 2006); also see Tendler v. Doe, No. ________ (Ohio C.P. filed Feb. 2006) (infra)

Status: Discovery order issued; denial of attempt to enforce order in California reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

Orthodox Jewish rabbi Mordechai Tendler of New Hempstead, N.Y., was expelled from the Rabbinical Council of America in March 2005 and dismissed by his congregation in 2006 after several women accused him of sexual abuse and harassment. Various blogs, including www.rabbinicintegrity.blogspot.com, www.jewishsurvivors.blogspot.com, www.jewishwhistleblower.blogspot.com and www.newhempsteadnews.blogspot.com. anonymously reported on these developments. Tendler filed a libel lawsuit in Ohio against the anonymous bloggers, and as a preliminary matter obtained a court order ordering Google, owner of blogspot.com, to reveal the bloggers’ identities. The company refused to obey the Ohio order, so Tendler filed suit in California state court. In that court, the bloggers responded by filing a motion to strike under the state’s anti-SLAPP statute. Although Tendler then dismissed the suit, the California judge held that the suit would have been dismissed under the anti-SLAPP law and that Tendler must still pay the defendants’ legal expenses. Tendler appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed on the grounds that a request for to a court subpoenas does not fall within the anti-SLAPP law.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2292

http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2235

http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2233

California appeals decision: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/H031130.PDF

Tallerico v. Doe, No. BC398715 (Cal. Super., Los Angeles County filed Sept. 24, 2008).

Status: Pending.

The lead singer of the rock group Aerosmith, Steven Tyler – whose real name is Steven Tallarico – sued the anonymous authors of two fake blogs, that were removed from the blogspot.com website at Tyler’s request. One of the blogs, tylers849021.blogspot.com, purported to be written by Tyler himself, while the other, shelikespurple.blogspot.com, purported to be written by his girlfriend.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSTRE48O0DQ20080925

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/tyler-v-does

Universal City Studios Productions v. Lavandeira, Civil No. 07-01114 (C.D. Cal. filed Feb. 20, 2007).

Status: Pending

Universal Studios has sued blogger Mario Lavandeira, who operates the perezhilton.com website, for copyright infringement after the site showed still photographs of Jennifer Aniston topless, from footage cut from the film “The Break-Up.” The court has assigned this case to the same judge who is handling the Splash News & Picture Agency case noted above.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-02-21-aniston-hilton_x.htm?POE=LIFISVA

http://www.citmedialaw.org/universal-city-studios-v-lavandeira

Complaint: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0221071aniston2.html

Docket: http://news.justia.com/cases/327883/

CRIMINAL CASE: U.S. v. Cogill, Case No. 2:08-mj-02089 (C.D. Cal. filed Aug. 27, 2008).

Status: Pending.

Kevin Cogill, a contributor to the music blog Antiquiet (www.antiquiet.com), was arrested Aug. 27 by federal agents on charges that he violated copyright laws by posting several unreleased Guns N’ Roses songs.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-gunsnroses28-2008aug28,0,1985815.story

http://www.antiquiet.com/editorials/2008/09/the-united-states-of-america-vs-me/

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/united-states-v-cogill

Criminal complaint: http://www.citmedialaw.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2008-08-26-Cogill%20Criminal%20Complaint.pdf

CRIMINAL CASE: U.S. v. Drew, Crim. No. 08- 00582 (C.D. Cal. indictment filed May 15, 2008)

Status: conviction on three misdemeanor charges, acquittal on three of the felony charges, hung jury on one felony charge (C.D. Cal. Nov. 30, 2008); felony charge dismissed (Dec. 31, 2008).

Lori Drew created a fake MySpace page as part of scheme to find out how a particular 13-year-old girl felt about the woman’s daughter. She posed as a boy who flirted online with Megan Meier for a month. Then another girl who had a password to the account began sending nasty e-mails to Megan, and sent an e-mail breaking off the apparent relationship. Megan then committed suicide. In early December 2007, St. Charles County prosecuting attorney Jack Banas announced that there was insufficient evidence to file harassment, stalking or child endangerment charges against Drew. Federal prosecutors in Missouri also said there was no basis for prosecution, but in May 2008 a federal grand jury in California issued an indictment for conspiracy and computer fraud. The indictment claims jurisdiction with the California court based on the location of MySpace’s headquarters. On June 12. 2008, Drew pleaded not guilty. In August, the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted a brief seeking dismissal of the case, arguing that the prosecution is misapplying a federal computer fraud statute. In late November a jury convicted Drew of three misdemeanor charges of accessing MySpace’s computers without authorization in order to obtain information about the 13-year-old, acquitted her of three felony charges of unauthorized access to MySpace's servers in order to cause emotional distress, and reached a deadlock on one felony charge of conspiracy (which was dismissed at request of the prosecutor). Post-trial motions are pending, and an appeal to the 9th Circuit is expected.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.san&s=97641&Nid=50765&p=975997

http://stcharlesjournal.stltoday.com/articles/2007/12/03/news/sj2tn20071203-1203stc_meier.ii1.txt

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/us/28hoax.html?em&ex=1196398800&en=b1408a7356b77eef&ei=5087%0A

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stcharles/story/77D27634D36233968625739800167159?OpenDocument

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-myspace9jan09,1,6752570.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-myspace16-2008may16,0,3642392.story

http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN1627063520080616

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10006165-93.html

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/08/13/govt-cyberbullying-is-a-new-phenomenon-as-is-social-networking/

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/04/state/n114246D60.DTL

EFF brief: https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/US_v_Drew/Drew_Amicus.pdf

Violet Blue v. Burch, No. CCH-08-568060 (Burch); CCH-08-568061 (Alter) (Cal. Super. Ct., San Francisco County restraining order denied Aug. 8, 2008).

Status: Restraining order denied

Online sex columnist Violet Blue filed a request for a restraining order in July 2008 against David “Ben” Burch and Nina Alter. The claims followed allegedly threatening emails received by her from Burch, as well as disparaging statements made about her on numerous websites, including Burch’s blog (http://www.kickingpebbles.net/?p=108) and Wikipedia.org. The restraining order was denied on August 8, 2008 when the court concluded that the plaintiff had failed to meet her burden of proof.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/violet-blue-v-burch

Plaintiff’s commentary: http://www.tinynibbles.com/blogarchives/2008/08/about-those-restraining-orders.html

Virgin America v. Adrants Publishing, No. 3:09-cv-00337-BZ (N.D. Val. filed Jan. 26, 2009).

Status: Pending.

In response to a fake advertisement for airline Virgin America that appeared on website adrants.com, Virgin brought a six-count complaint alleging, among other things, trademark infringement and defamation. A disclaimer was initially placed on the posting, but was later removed. The fake advertisement featured a photo of the crash of US Airways flight 1549 into the Hudson River and included the caption: “The Hudson Crash: Just One More Reason to Fly Virgin.”

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/virgin-america-v-adrants-publishing

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/automotive-travel/e3iabb39aac80c6a278a5c7bb7e0c26cfec

Complaint: http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/candce/3:2009cv00337/210918/1/

Vogel et al. v. Felice, No. CV0127424 (Cal. Super., San Benito County filed Sept. 2001).

Status: Dismissed

Plaintiff candidates for public office alleged that defendants maintained two web sites -- www.geocities.com/bobvalenzuelasass and www.geocities.com/bobvalenzuelasass.isonfire.com -- which made several derogatory statements about plaintiffs, including that they were “dumb asses” and that one was an alcoholoic and the other was a “deadbeat dad.” Defendants sought to get the case dismissed under California’s anti-SLAPP statute. The trial court denied the motion, but on appeal the California Court of Appeals reversed the lower court and granted the motion dismissing the case. The court also held that calling someone a “dumb ass” is not defamatory.

Links and Court Documents:

Case and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/vogel-v-felice

Appeals Court decision: http://www.casp.net/cases/felice.html

Wald v. Ford, No. SC086263 (Cal. Super., L.A. County filed May 19, 2005)

Status: Settled (unknown terms)

Jeff Ward, who managed the careers of various entertainers including George Carlin, George Forman and Donna Summer, sued owner Luke Ford and various unnamed contributors to the lukeford.net porn-industry blog for allegedly libelous comments about Ward on the site. Ford did not respond to the suit, and was held in default on Oct. 10, 2005. After Ford filed a motion to set aside the default judgment, the parties settled and the case was dismissed in Aug. 2006.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/wald-v-ford

http://tabloidbaby.blogspot.com/2006/05/wald-v-ford-lukes-lawyer-wants-you.html

Case documents (including complaint, motion to set aside default): http://www.lukeford.net/Images/photos3/WaldFord.doc

Docket available at http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/civilCaseSummary/index.asp?CaseType=Civil (enter case number)

X17 v. Enom, Inc., No. ______________ (filed April 2008?)

Status: Pending.

Celebrity photo agency X17 sued the owner of the Hollywood.tv blog (www.hollywood.tv) after the blog posted copyrighted photographs of Lindsay Lohan taken by the agency.

Links and Court Documents:

http://reporter.blogs.com/thresq/2008/04/paparazzi-photo.html

X17 Inc. v. Lavandeira, Civil No. 06-07608 (C.D. Cal. filed Nov. 30, 2006)

Status: Settled, Feb. 2008 (unknown terms)

A photo agency that specializes in “paparazzi” photographs of celebrities filed suit against blogger Mario Lavandeira, who operates the perezhilton.com website, which adds satirical captions to celebrity photos, for copyright violations. Lavandeira responded to the suit by saying that his work was a parody and thus constitutes fair use. In February 2007, the court denied X17’s motion for an injunction barring Lavandeira from copying, reproducing, displaying, or distributing its photographs. In June 2007, X17 filed numerous infringement claims with the Australian company that hosts the site, leading that company to stop hosting it. The site reappeared with a new web host, and Lavandeira filed his own lawsuit, Lavandeira v. X17, Inc., BC373254 (Cal. Super. Ct. filed June 25, 2007), alleging that X17 was engaged in unfair competition with his site. The court granted a defense motion to dismiss that case, a decision that is being appealed.

Links and Court Documents:

Docket available at https://ecf.cacd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iqquerymenu.pl?378927 (PACER log-in required)

http://www.citmedialaw.org/x17-inc-v-lavandeira

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-et-bloggers17dec17,1,5731843.story

http://ww.tmz.com/2007/03/09/perez-hilton-evens-score-in-paparazzi-lawsuit/

http://www.hollywoodreporteresq.com/thresq/litigation/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003604057

http://reporter.blogs.com/thresq/2008/02/posted-by-mat-7.html

Complaint in Lavandeira v. X17 at http://www.hollywoodreporteresq.com/thresq/photos/Lavandiera_v_X17_complaint.pdf

Yoon v. Carney, No. GIC882238 (Cal. Super., San Deigo County filed March 22, 2007).

Status: Pending

An ACLU activist filed suit against the founder of the San Diego Minuteman anti-illegal immigration group and a member of the group over comments posted to a password-protected Yahoo group which she says implied that she is a prostitute, as well as comments in e-mails between the two defendants and to the Minuteman membership.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/yoon-v-carney

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/03/27//news/top_stories/32607204215.txt

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070323-9999-b1m23yoon.html

Case filing information: http://www.sandiego.courts.ca.gov/CISPublic/casedetail?casenum=GIC882238&casesite=SD&applcode=C

Zomba Recording LLC v. Lavandeira, Civil No. 07-06591 (C.D. Cal. filed Dec. 4, 2007).

Status: Defense motion to dismiss pending

Zomba Records, a division of Sony BMG, sued perezhilton.com blogger Mario Lavandeira for allegedly posting unreleased songs by Britney Spears. In retaliation for the suit, in late March Lavandeira pledged that he would not mention any Sony BMG artist on the blog.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.b96hits.com/blog/2008/03/31/blogger-perez-hilton-is-getting-sued/

http://www.thecelebritytruth.com/perez-hilton-discusses-record-company-lawsuit/001280

http://reporter.blogs.com/thresq/2008/04/perez-hilton-re.html

Complaint: http://reporter.blogs.com/thresq/files/zombavperez.pdf

COLORADO

Mink v. Salazar, Civil No. 04-B-23, 344 F. Supp. 2d 1231 (D. Colo. dismissed Oct. 26, 2004), aff’d, Mink v. Dominguez, No. 04-1496, 482 F.3d 1244 (10th Cir. April 16, 2007), reh’g en banc denied (10th Cir. July 19, 2007), cert. denied, Knox v. Mink, No. 07-516 (U.S. Jan. 22, 2008).

Status: Dismissal affirmed in part and reversed in part.

Thomas Mink brought a civil suit challenging the constitutionality of Colorado’s criminal libel statute, after he was threatened with a felony prosecution for mocking one of his college professor on his “Howling Pig” website (www.geocities.com/thehowlingpig/). The district court dismissed the civil suit on grounds that the prosecutor had official immunity, that Mink did not have “standing” to challenge the statute, since he had not actually been charged under the statute. On appeal, the 10th Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Mink’s privacy claims, but reversed dismissal of his claims against the prosecutors. Mink’s asked for the entire court to consider the case, but this was denied. The state then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case; the Court declined, sending the remaining claims back to the trial court. The trial court then dismissed the remaining claims; Mink is appealing that dismissal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.aclu-co.org/docket/200320/200320_description.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-01-20-howling-legal_x.htm

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=12451

http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20050405/NEWS/104050057&SearchID=7322286462859

http://www.splc.org/newsflash_archives.asp?id=1160&year=2006

http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1672

http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1789

Initial trial court dismissal: http://www.aclu-co.org/docket/200320/200320_Ruling_dismissing_case_10-26-04.pdf

Appellate decision: http://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/04/04-1496.pdf

U.S. Supreme Court docket: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/07-516.htm

CRIMINAL CASE: State v. _____ (Boulder County sheriff’s investigation) (Nov. 2006).
Status: Investigation for possible criminal libel prosecution
Boulder County sheriff’s detectives launched an investigation to determine who created a MySpace web page that purported to be a profile of a Superior, Colo. woman, but had not been created by her. The profile, named “Dirty Whore,” stated that the woman was interested in meeting “men, women and/or couples who are looking to have a fun time,” and featured photos taken from the woman’s legitimate MySpace profile. No further information is available.
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5136536,00.html

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5135587,00.html

CONNECTICUT

Bell v. Shah, Civil No. 05-0671 (D. Conn. filed April 27, 2005).
Status: Transferred to S.D. Fla. (March 31, 2006), then settled. See below.
Plaintiff Joel Bell, who serves as a manager for several professional sports players, sued a writer for the the website draftcity.com (which closed when the legal action was threatened) for items on the site disparaging Bell. Ruling on a motion to dismiss, the federal court in Connecticut held that it lacked personal jurisdiction over the defendant, a Florida resident, even though the website was set up and registered by a one-time Connecticut resident. After the federal court in Connecticut moved the case to the federal court in southern Florida, the parties settled (see below).
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.digestiblelaw.com/jurisdiction/blogQ.aspx?entry=3735
http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=379483&view=next&sid=e9b32f008e98909a27989cb35a3f1f98

Choy v. Boyne, No. HHD-CV-06-5005693-S (Conn. Super. Ct., Hartford filed Aug. 17, 2006).
Status: Pending
A doctor filed a libel lawsuit in New York against the author of a website that was critical of the doctor, after the author’s wife had won a malpractice settlement. The New York case was dismissed (see below), but the doctor filed a new suit in Connecticut.

Links and Court Documents:

Docket at http://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/DispDetail.asp?DocNum=HHD-CV-06-5005693-S

Doninger v. Niehoff, No. HHB-CV-07-4014735-S (Conn. Super. Ct., filed July 16, 2007).

Doninger v. Niehoff, Civil No. 07-01129 (D. Conn. removed from state court July 26, 2007).

Status: Denial of preliminary injunction upheld; defense motion for summary judgment pending.

The mother of a high school student sued the principal of her daughter’s school and the superintendent of her school district after they barred the student from running for re-election as student secretary after she posted complaints to her blog about a student-planned concert that was cancelled by school administrators. The state case was moved to federal court in late July 2007. On Aug. 31, 2007, the federal trial court denied a preliminary injunction to force school administrators to allow the girl to run for office; the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed this ruling on May 30, 2008. Doninger v. Dept. of Homeland Security, No. 07-CV-3885 (2d Cir. 2008). The case then returned to the trial court, which heard argument on a defense motion for summary judgment on Nov. 12, 2008.

Links and Court Documents:

Case information: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/doninger-v-niehoff

http://www.ctcentral.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18616270&BRD=1643&PAG=461&dept_id=10486&rfi=6

http://www.nbc30.com/news/13385544/detail.html

http://region19.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html

http://jonathanturley.org/2008/05/30/second-circuit-upholds-punishment-of-high-school-student-for-out-of-school-web-entry/

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2008/11/13/news/a3-db.txt

State complaint: http://mirandamagazine.com/joomla/images//donninger%20lawsuit.pdf

State docket: http://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/DispDetail.asp?DocNum=HHB-CV-07-4014735-S

Federal district court decision denying injunction: http://www.splc.org/pdf/doningerdenial.pdf

Appellate decision affirming denial of injunction: http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov:8080/isysnative/RDpcT3BpbnNcT1BOXDA3LTM4ODUgLWN2X29wbi5wZGY=/07-3885%20-cv_opn.pdf

DELAWARE

Cahill v. Doe, No. 04C-011-022 (Del. Sup. Ct., New Castle Co. dismissed Oct. 10, 2005).

Status: Dismissed with prejudice, Doe v. Cahill, 884 A.2d 451 (Del. 2005).

After viewing negative comments posted by an anonymous commenter on the Smyrna/Clayton Issues Blog, City Councilman Patrick Cahill filed a John Doe lawsuit and obtained a court order to compel Comcast to identify the poster. On appeal the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a trial court decision that used a good faith standard to deny Doe’s request for an emergency protection order. In dismissing the case with prejudice, the Supreme Court held that before an anonymous commenter could be identified the plaintiff had to provide evidence to support each element of his claim to an extent that created triable issues of fact. This case was the first time a state’s high court had addressed the issue of the rights of an anonymous blog commenter.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20051007151046741

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/cahill-v-doe

Appellant Brief: http://www.cyberslapp.org/documents/CahillvDoeAppBriefasfiled.pdf

Amicus Brief: http://www.scribd.com/doc/275487/00882doe-v-cahill-amicus

Order dismissing case: http://courts.delaware.gov/opinions/(idavx455jyc4ibyb1g20bb45)/download.aspx?ID=67130

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Parsi v. Hassan, Civil No. 08-00705 (D. D.C. filed April 25, 2008).

Status: Defendant's summary judgment motion denied, 2009 WL 252244 (D.D.C. Feb. 4, 2009).

Defendant Hassan Daioleslam published articles on his websites (“In Search of Truth: Reports on Mullahs's lobby in US” (www.iranianlobby.com); and hassandai3.blogspot.com) alleging that the National Iranian American Council and its president, Trita Parsi, was a front and lobbyist for the Iranian government. Parsi and the Council sued, and the court denied a defense motion for summary judgment.

Links and Court Documents:

http://irancoverage.com/2008/05/15/niac-files-defamation-lawsuit-against-hassan-daioleslam/

http://www.niacouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1119&Itemid=59

Steinbach v. Cutler, Civil No. 05-00970 (D.D.C. filed May 16, 2005).

Status: Motion to dismiss denied in part (April 4, 2006); case stayed due to defendant’s bankruptcy.

In May 2004, Captial Hill aide Jessica Culter published a pseudonymous blog (http://washingtonienne.blogspot.com; no longer existent, but archived at http://washingtoniennearchive.blogspot.com/) detailing her sexual escapades, identifying several men only by their initials. Cutler's blog became a widespread story after it was publicized on another blog, wonkette.com, and Cutler was fired. Robert Steinbach filed suit on May 18, 2005, saying that he was one of the men whose initials were given in the blog, but that other identifying information was included. Ruling on a motion to dismiss, the court held that the one-year statute of limitations on in the District of Columbia applied, and that this barred claims for all but one of the blog postings. Steinbach’s effort to add Ann Marie Cox, operator of the Wonkette site, as a defendant was rejected by the court in May 2007. In May 2007 Cutler filed for bankruptcy, which is pending. See In re: Jessica Cutler, No. 07-31459-5 (Bankr. N.D. N.Y. filed May 30, 2007). Steinbach then filed a claim with the bankruptcy court. He also filed a separate suit in Arkansas over a book based on the blog.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.calicocat.com/jessica_cutler_washingtonienne.htm
http://www.wonkette.com/politics/robert-steinbuch/index.php
http://www.privsecblog.com/archives/blogging-steinbuch-v-cutler-when-is-a-personal-blog-considered-publicity.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070516/ap_on_go_ot/sex_blog_lawsuit_1
Complaint at http://files.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/torts/steinbuchvcutler51805cmp.pdf

FLORIDA

Bell v. Shah, Civil No. 06-21063 (S.D. Fla. settled June 26, 2007).
Status: Settled for apology and $10,000
Plaintiff Joel Bell, who serves as a manager for several professional sports players, sued a writer for the the website draftcity.com (which closed when the legal action was threatened) for items on the site disparaging Bell. Ruling on a motion to dismiss, the federal court in Connecticut held that it lacked personal jurisdiction over the defendant, a Florida resident, even though the website was set up and registered by a one-time Connecticut resident. The federal court in Connecticut (see above) moved the case to the federal court in southern Florida. The parties eventually settled.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/bell-v-shah

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=379483&view=next&sid=e9b32f008e98909a27989cb35a3f1f98
Docket available at https://ecf.flsd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iqquerymenu.pl?124513 (PACER log-in required)

Difrawi v. Henderson, No. 6:07-CV-1854 (M.D. Fla. filed Nov. 21, 2007).

Status: Pending

Plaintiff brought suit individually and on behalf of Internet Solutions Corp. for defamation and false light invasion of privacy, among other torts, for comments posted on a variety of online sources, including Tampabay.com’s Money Talk blog (http://blogs.tampabay.com/money/, no longer updated). The comments are claimed to infer that plaintiffs participated in fraud and on-going criminal conduct. Numerous motions to dismiss were filed in December, 2007 and are currently pending.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/difrawi-v-henderson

Evans v. Bayer, Civil No. 08-61952 (S.D. Fla. filed Dec. 8, 2008).
Status: Pending.

Katherine Evans was suspended for three days from Pembroke Pines Charter high school in November 2007 after she created a Facebook page that criticized one of her teachers as “the worst teacher she had ever had,” and solicited comments about the teacher. Evans’ site recived three comments supporting the teacher, and she removed the page.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1845

ACLU press release: http://www.aclufl.org/news_events/?action=viewRelease&emailAlertID=3689

Complaint: http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/evans_complaint.pdf

Haberman v. Rhoad, No. 2006 DR 007754 SC (Fla. Cir. Ct., Family Div. Sarasota County injunction issued Sept. 7, 2006).

Status: Injunction modified to specify web sites covered (Jan. 29, 2008).

Kristen Rhoad, who accuses her ex-husband Phil Haberman of abuse and of falsifying his military record, posted several statements about him on her blog, rhoadwarrior.blogspot.com (no longer active), and several other web sites and some newspapers have posted and published similar materials regarding Haberman’s alleged exaggerations of his military experience. Haberman filed a complaint alleging that the statements on Rhoad’s blog and elsewhere were cyberstalking under Florida law, and constituted domestic violence. The judge agreed, and issued a standard injunction barring Rhoad from contacting Haberman or committing any violence against him, and also ordered a psychiatric evaluation of Rhoad. In a section of the form labeled “other provisions regarding contact,” the judge handwrote into injunction the order that Rhoad to “remove, or cause to remove, all blogs, e-mails or other web-based communications to [Haberman] or third parties that refer to [Haberman], and which are posted, or caused to be posted, by [Rhoad].” Rhoad filed a motion to dissolve the injunction on jurisdictional grounds, but the motion was denied. Nevertheless, Rhoad continued to update her site, and was no effort to enforce the order against other sites. In January 2007, the judge ordered Rhoad to appear on charges of civil contempt. Although she faxed two requests for an adjournment, the hearing was held and a warrant was issued for her arrest. This led the blog to be removed. In January 2008, the court modified the order at Haberman’s request to name the specific web sites involved, which he said was necessary to have the content removed.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/haberman-v-rhoad

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/6760022p-6629130c.html

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/spot/archive.asp?postID=3994

http://sarasota.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A112941

http://sarasota.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A114918

Hunt v. Patten, No. 2006 CA 002857 SC (Fla. Cir. Ct., Sarasota County filed March 29, 2006).

Status: Pending.

Former Venice, Fla. city manager sued veniceflorida.com writer John Patten, alleging that Patten helped spread lies about him that led him to be fired from the Venice, Fla. position and have kept him from getting a similar job elsewhere.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/hunt-v-patten

http://www.venicegondolier.com/NewsArchive3/033106/tp1vn6.htm

http://www.venicegondolier.com/Newsstory.cfm?pubdate=070407&story=tp2vn5.htm&folder=NewsArchive3

http://www.veniceflorida.com/features/pleaforhelp.htm

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060409/COLUMNIST36/604090344/-1/COLUMNIST

Complaint: http://www.veniceflorida.com/features/pdf/HuntVsPattenComplaint.pdf

Docket: http://www.clerk.co.sarasota.fl.us/srqapp/civdetail.asp?tb_searchfor=2006+CA+002857+SC&tb_searchby=Case+Number&cb_search=Search

In Re: Sean Conway, File No. 2007-51308(17B) (Fla. Bar 2007) (attorney discipline proceeding)

Status: Pending before Fla. Supreme Court (The Florida Bar v. Conway, No. SC08-326))

The Florida Bar began a disciplinary investigation of attorney Sean Conway for comments he posted on the JAA blog (jaablog.jaablaw.com/), part of the web site of the Justice Association of Broward [County], a group of criminal defense attorneys. The comments questioned the courtroom procedures of Broward Circuit Judge Cheryl Aleman, and called her an "evil, unfair witch" who is "seemingly mentally ill.” Florida’s rules of professional conduct for attorneys bar them from impugning a judge’s qualifications or integrity. Conway and the Bar had agreed to a public reprimand in the case, but the Florida Supreme Court asked for briefing on whether Conway’s comments were protected by the First Amendment.
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-flblawyer1212sbdec13,0,3203146.Story

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/12/14/should-lawyer-be-disbarred-for-harsh-criticism-of-a-judge/

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1198058697610

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202423011816

http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/2008/03/06/its-on-conway-v-florida-bar.aspx

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-flbconway0625sbjun25,0,1926141.story

Fla. Bar investigative file: http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/images/news_photos/46295/Sean_William_Conway.pdf

Supreme Court docket: http://jweb.flcourts.org/pls/docket/ds_docket?p_caseyear=2008&p_casenumber=326&psCourt=FSC&psSearchType=

Internet Solutions Corp. v. Marshall, Civil No. 07-1740, 2008 WL 958136 (M.D. Fla., Apr. 7, 2008).

Status: Dismissed

Internet Solutions Corporation (ISC), which operates various websites on employment recruiting and Internet advertising, sued blogger Tabatha Marshall after her site, www.tabathamarshall.com, claimed that ISC was operating a “phishing” scam. (“Phishing” is the illicit practice of acquiring sensitive personal and financial information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card information, by assuming an apparently trustworthy identity online.) The company sued Marshall, a resident of Washington state, in federal court in Florida, where it is based. But the court dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds, holding that Marshall’s blog had not had sufficient “purposeful contacts” with Florida to allow the federal court to hear the case.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/internet-solutions-v-marshall

http://randazza.wordpress.com/2008/04/08/md-fla-internet-jurisdiction-case-internet-solutions-corporation-v-marshall/

Order dismissing case: http://randazza.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/isc-v-marshall.pdf

Johnson v. Tucker Max, No 2003 CA 004867 (Fla. Cir. Ct. removed to federal court June 6, 2003); Civil No. 03-80515 (S.D. Fla. dismissed July 2003).

Status: Dismissed by plaintiff

Plaintiff, formerly Miss Vermont and Miss Vermont U.S.A., sued over postings on the tuckermax.com blog in which the author recounted his alleged sexual exploits with her. Initially, a Florida state court judge issued a temporary injunction against continued availability of the postings. After the injunction was lifted, the case was removed to federal court. The plaintiff then voluntarily dismissed the case.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/johnson-v-tucker-max

http://www.tuckermax.com/archives/entries/the_almost_banned_miss_vermont_story.phtml

http://www.tuckermax.com/archives/images/tuckernytimesweb.pdf

http://maroon.uchicago.edu/news/articles/2003/05/16/college_graduate_tuc.php

Initial complaint: http://www.tuckermax.com/images/Complaint%20for%20Injunctive%20Relief%20and%20Damages.PDF

Lexington Homes, Inc. v. Siskind, No. 2004-CA01018 (No. 04-CA-1018WS-G) (Fla. Cir. Ct., Pasco County dismissed March 2006).

Status: Dismissed

A housing developer sued the creator a web site (www.bad-lexingtonhomesinc.net; no longer active) that criticized the quality of its homes, saying that it led to decreased sales. The court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds, since the defendants are not Florida residents (they live in New York, but own property in Florida). The company filed an appeal, which it later dropped.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/lexington-homes-v-siskind

http://www.legaline.com/2006/03/florida-court-dismisses-web-defamation.html

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/05/01/Hernando/Builder_sues_man_for_.shtml

Order dismissing case: http://www.citmedialaw.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2005-11-02-Order%20Granting%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss.pdf

Ligonier Ministries, Inc. v. Vance, No. ________ (Fla. Cir. Ct., Seminole County filed Aug. 2006).

Status: Dismissed at request of plaintiff.

A religious organization is suing a critic, Frank Vance, for comments posted on his blog about the group and its leaders, http://vancetribe.blogspot.com/. The religious group also sought a court order prohibiting additional postings. The organization dropped the case in late September 2006.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/ligonier-ministries-v-vance

http://ministrywatchman.com/wp-content/uploads/orlando_sentinel092906.html

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-blog0506sep05,0,931489.story?track=rss

http://www.worldmagblog.com/blog/archives/026345.html

Complaint: http://ministrywatchman.com/wp-content/uploads/Ligonier_Ministries_v_Vance_complaint.pdf

Plaintiff’s emergency motion for ex parte hearing: http://ministrywatchman.com/wp-content/uploads/Ligonier_Ministries_vs_Vance_Ex_Parte.pdf

New School of Orlando, Inc. v. McSween, Civil No. 2007-CA-014312-O (Fla. Cir. Ct., Orange County filed Oct. 28, 2007).

Status: Settled

A private school sued the mother of a former student over comments criticizing the school that the mother posted on her AOL Hometown web site (apparently hometown.aol.com/sayno2newschool/, no longer operational). After receiving a letter threatening legal action over the comments, Sonjia McSween moved her comments to a new site (parentalmusings.blogspot.com/), then another (www.myspace.com/parentalmusings). In February 2008, the parties apparently reached a settlement.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.wftv.com/news/14603642/detail.html?rss=orlc&psp=irresistible

Case docket: http://www.myorangeclerk.com/myclerk/CaseDetails.aspx?ID=5554180

Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc v. McManus, No. 07-CA-011305 (Fla. Cir. Ct., Hillsborough County filed Sept. 5, 2007)

Status: Pending

Odyssey Marine Exploration, which explores and recovers shipwrecks and precious cargo, sued blogger Jim McManus over comments he posted on his web site and on stock bulletin boards claiming that the company overstated the value of its latest find.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2801122.ece

http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2007/11/19/story1.html

Docket: http://publicrecord.hillsclerk.com/oridev/criminal_pack.doc?pcSearchMode=CS&pcCaseId=07-CA-011305&pnCnt=1

Opera Tower LLC v. Lechuga, No. 2008-3086-CA-01 (Fla. Cir. Ct., Miami-Dade County filed Jan. 22, 2008).

Status: Dismissed by plaintiff

The developer of the Opera Tower condominium sued Miami real estate agent and blogger Lucas Lechuga for statements on the Miami Condo Investments blog (http://blog.miamicondoinvestments.com/) about the project. The blog initially stated that several contracts for sale of apartments in Opera Tower were likely to not close, and that developer Tibor Hollo had filed for bankruptcy in the 1980s. After the suit was filed, that blog entry was removed and a modified version posted. Lechuga’s employer, Miami real estate firm Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, was also named as a defendant; the firm fired Lechuga after the suit was filed. In January 2009, the plaintiff dropped the case.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.miamicondoinvestments.com/2008/01/29/opera-tower-llc-tibor-hollo-sues-me-for-25m/

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/397182.html

http://cbs4.com/video/?id=46869@wfor.dayport.com
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/856198.html

Docket: http://www.miami-dadeclerk.com/civil/docketinfo.asp?pCase_Year=2008&pCase_Seq=3086&pCase_Code=CA&pCase_Loc=01&id=AAAA8tAAHAAAoW/AAx

Complaint: http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2008/01/28/20/Complaint.Revised.source.prod_affiliate.56.pdf

Saadi v. Maroun, No. 07-CV-01976 (M.D. Fla. filed Oct. 31, 2007).

Status: Pending.

Lawyer Edward T. Saadi filed a complaint against his cousin Pierre Maroun, Hala Fakhre Maroun, and several anonymous defendants based on blog and forum postings that accused him of engaging in unethical and otherwise criminal behavior. Later Saadi added Maroun’s International, LLC as a defendant. A motion to dismiss the claims of defamation was denied on court findings that the statements were held out as factual, and not as opinions. Hala was subsequently dropped from the lawsuit. Pierre Maroun filed a motion for summary judgment on March 2, 2009.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/saadi-v-maroun

Opposition to Motion to Dismiss (Filed Mar. 30, 2008): http://www.alcc-research.com/files/SAADI_OPPOSITION_TO_MOT_TO_DISMISS.pdf

Scheff v. Bock, No. CACE03022837 (Fla. Cir. Ct. default verdict Sept. 19, 2006).

Status: $11.3 million default award for plaintiff

The owner of a company that consults parents of troubled teenagers won $11.3 million against the mother of such a child for her postings on various Internet bulletin boards disparaging the consultancy. The woman posted the comments after the company had helped her remove her sons from a school operated by the World Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, but had refused to put the woman in touch with other students who alleged sexual abuse at schools operated by the association. Although the defendant initially appeared in the suit, she later defaulted. After a trial on damages, the jury awarded $6.3 million in compensatory and $5 million in punitive damages. The defendant subsequently challenged the default award, but it was upheld on July 25, 2007.

NOTE: This case involves a bulletin board, not a blog itself. But it is included because the high award makes it an important indicator of the risks of libel on the Internet.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/scheff-v-bock

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-10-10-internet-defamation-case_x.htm

http://newsbusters.org/node/8240

http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=21761 (an opinionated reaction to the case)

http://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?n=Unknown&s=FL%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&d=32035

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/06/MNGBEPM57J1.DTL&hw=reputation&sn=012&sc=575

Thompson v. Gelin, No.___ (Fla. Bar complaint filed Oct. 31, 2008).

Status: No action taken

Recently disbarred attorney Jack Thompson filed a complaint with the Florida bar against attorney William Gelin, publisher of the JAABlog (http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/), alleging that the site “traffics in rumors, gossip, and scandal about members of the legal community.” A letter of inquiry was sent to Gelin on December 5, 2008, but no further action has been taken.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/thompson-v-gelin

http://justicebuilding.blogspot.com/2008/12/norm-kent-defends-bill-gelin.html

Veranda Partners LLC v. Giles, No. 07 CA 2622 (Fla. Cir. Ct ., Orange County filed March 13, 2007).

Status: Summary judgment granted; blogger awarded $180,000 for attorney fees

The developer of a community in central Florida sued area resident Larry Giles over his website, www.verandaparknews.com (now archived at http://www.verandaparknews.com/OriginalDuplicateVPN020907.html), criticizing the development’s spending and landscaping. Giles responded with a motion to dismiss the suit under Florida’s anti-SLAPP statute and a counterclaim for abuse of process. After plaintiffs changed attorneys and then did pursue the case, the defense renewed its motions, which the court granted. The court also entered a default verdict on the counterclaims, awarding Giles triple his attorney’s fees, a total of $180,407.69, under Florida’s anti-SLAPP statute.
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/veranda-partners-v-giles-lawsuit

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-mgiles2807mar28,0,2382483.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-slapp0707apr07,0,7548827.story

Complaint: http://mworlando.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/complaint-veranda-giles.pdf

Answer: http://mworlando.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/answer.pdf

Defendant’s counter-claims: http://mworlando.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/counterclaim.pdf

Other case documents: http://mworlando.wordpress.com/the/; also http://randazza.wordpress.com/2007/04/13/an-ongoing-defamation-suit/; http://www.verandaparknews.com/

Final default judgement against plaintiff: http://www.citmedialaw.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2008-09-11-Final%20Default%20Judgment%20Against%20Veranda%20Partners.pdf

U.S. v. Batiste, et al., Crim. No. 06-20373 (S.D. Fla. indictment June 22, 2006).

Status: Gag order modified; Appeal of gag order dismissed by court

Attorney David O. Markus writes the Southern District of Flordia blog (sdfla.blogspot.com) focusing on cases and news involving the court. One of the cases he blogged about was the “Liberty City” prosecution of seven individuals accused to plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago. After a jury trial in December 2007; the jury deadlocked on six of the defendants, but acquitted Lygleson Lemorin of all charges. After his acquittal, the government continued to hold Lemorin on immigration charges, and moved for his deportation. In anticipation of a retrial, District Judge Joan Lenard issued a gag order preventing the remaining defendants and their attorneys from discussing the case publicly; she also extended the gag order to Lemorin and his attorney, Joel DeFabio. When Marcus, the blogger, appeared in court on behalf of DeFabio to challenge the gag order, Judge Lenard extended the order to apparently cover him and his blog as well. Markus sought a clarification, and then filed a petition with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to have the order lifted (In Re: Lyglenson Lemorin, No. 08-10348-E (11th Cir. filed Jan. 24, 2008). On Jan. 28, Judge Lenard modified the order to apply only to the terrorism case -- in which Lemorin was acquitted and he would now be a witness-- but not the pending immigration case. In light of this ruling, the 11th Circuit dismissed the petition.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/news.html?news_id=46858

http://sdfla.blogspot.com/2008/01/gag-order-lifted-in-part.html

http://sdfla.blogspot.com/2008/01/gagged.html

11th Circuit petition: http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/images/news_photos/46826/SUIT001.PDF

Vision Media TV Group v. Richard, Civil No. 08-80797 (S.D. Fla. filed July 17, 2008).

Status: Pending

Vision Media TV Group allegedly contacted Leslie Richard, saying that it would feature her eco-friendly fashion business in a report to be aired on PBS and CNN. But then the company told Richard that she would have to pay $22,900 in production fees and $3,000 in airfare. Richard wrote about the incident on her blog for her business, the Oko Box blog, http://oko-organic-clothing.blogspot.com/, calling it a “scam.” The television company then filed suit.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/local_business_owner_sued_for_20_million_over_blog_post

http://oko-organic-clothing.blogspot.com/2008/07/vision-media-sues-oko-box-for-5-million.html

Complaint: http://www.mountainx.com/files/vmtlawsuit.pdf

Waters v. Miller, No. 2006 CA 002690 SC (Fla. Cir. Ct. settled Jan. 2007).

Status: Settled?

High school teacher Lee Waters is suing over sexual comments posted along with her photo by a North Port High School student on his MySpace profile page. The student was suspended from school, and other disciplinary action was taken. The case was dismissed, apparently due to a settlement, in January 2007.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060423/NEWS/604230392/-1/NEWS0101

Case docket: http://www.clerk.co.sarasota.fl.us/srqapp/civdetail.asp?tb_searchby=Name&tb_searchfor=2006+CA+002690+SC

GEORGIA

Banks v. Milum, No. _____ (Ga. Super. Ct. verdict for plaintiff Jan. 27, 2006), aff’d, No. A06A2394 (Ga. App. March 5, 2007).
Status: $50,000 award for plaintiff affirmed
NOTE: This is the first case against a true blogger of which MLRC is aware that has gone to trial and resulted in a liability verdict.
Attorney Rafe Banks III sued political activist David Milum for statements made on his website on local politics in Forsyth County, Georgia, aboutforsyth.com (under new management). Several postings on the site alleged that Banks had delivered bribes from drug dealers to a now-deceased judge. After a four-day trial and six hours of deliberation, the jury awarded Banks $50,000 in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages. After the verdict, Milum said that someone else was taking over the web site. On appeal, the verdict was affirmed.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/banks-v-milum
http://www.forsythnews.com/news/stories/20060129/localnews/61856.shtml
http://www.forsythnews.com/news/stories/20060129/opinion/61864.shtml
http://www.forsythnews.com/news/stories/20060125/localnews/60583.shtml
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1173363835339
http://www.forsythnews.com/news/stories/20070308/localnews/160529.shtml

Appellate decision: http://www.dailyreportonline.com/Editorial/PDF/PDF%20Archive/A06A2_394.pdf

Dennis v. Watson, Civil No. 07CV05202 JFL002 (Ga. Super., Floyd County default verdict Feb. 4, 2008).

Status: Trial on damages pending; interlocutory appeal pending before Georgia Court of Appeals.

In December 2007, Stephanie Dennis sued Teresa Watson, operator of the RomeNewsbyWatson.com web site, for comments posted on the site which alleged that Dennis was having an affair. [Although such suits are ordinarily barred by section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. it, is unclear whether the argument was made in this case.] Watson moved that the judge hearing the case recuse himself, but the judge refused; Watson then appealed the refusal to the Georgia Supreme Court. While the appeal was pending, the judge held two hearings in the case and on Feb. 4, 2009 held Watson in default when she did not appear, and planned to hold a trial on damages. The following day, Feb. 5, the Georgia Supreme Court transferred the case to the Georgia Court of Appeals, which on Feb. 11 declined to order the lower court to halt its proceedings. (updated Feb. 12, 2009)

Links and Court Documents:

http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news948417.html

http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news947488.html

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=680&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1325823&om=1

http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news947926.html

Supreme Court docket: http://www.gasupreme.us/docket_search/results_one_record.php?docr_case_num=S09M0738

Supreme Court remand: http://www1.romenews-tribune.com/Files/Documents/020709teresawatson.pdf

Fisher & Phillips, LLP v. Doe, Civil No. 05-01719 (N.D. Ga. dismissed Nov. 10, 2005)

Status: Dismissed

Atlanta-based employment law firm Fisher & Phillips LLP sued five "John Does," claiming they published "false and malicious communications" about the firm on the Internet. (The complaint did not identify the web sites at issue.) The firm agreed to dismissal of the case after the court cited it for failure to effectuate service of process.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2005/07/18/newsc olumn2.html?from_rss=1

Docket available at https://ecf.gand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iqquerymenu.pl?130122 (PACER log-in required)

Fulbright & Jaworski v. EarthLink Legal Dept., No. 07-MI-0097 (N.D. Ga. filed 2007).

Status: Pending.

In an effort pursue copyright claims against an anonymous blogger who posted several questions from the 2006 Multistate Bar Examination on the “Tab and Brandy” blog (tabandbrandy.blogspot.com; now removed), the organization that creates the exam (the National Conference of Bar Examiners} subpoenaed Google (owner of the Blogger service that hosted the blog) to obtain the blogger’s IP address. After obtaining the address, the conference’s law firm filed suit against Earthlink, identified through the IP address as the blogger’s Internet service provider, to identify the blogger. The case was dismissed the same day it was filed; it is unclear whether Eartlink provided the information.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/national-conference-bar-examiners-v-earthlink

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1176973462175

Docket available at https://ecf.gand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iqquerymenu.pl?142769 (PACER log-in required)

Gooden v. Milum, No. _____ (Ga. Super. Ct. filed March 2005).

Status: Unknown

In addition to the 2006 verdict above, David Milum was also sued by former county employee Joseph Gooden for other comments on the aboutforsyth.com web site (now under new management). The status of the case, which sought $2 million in damages, is not known.

Links and Court Documents:

Mentioned in http://www.forsythnews.com/news/stories/20060129/localnews/61856.shtml

Hammitt v. Watson, Civil No. 07-4954 (Ga. Super., Floyd County filed Dec. 2, 2007).

Status: Dropped by plaintiffs.

Ed and Brenda Hammitt sued the operator of the RomeNewsbyWatson.com web site over comments posted by a user of the site that accused them of criminal activity. The case was dropped by the plaintiffs two weeks after it was filed. (updated Jan. 6, 2009)

Links and Court Documents:

http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news859120.html

Complaint: http://www1.romenews-tribune.com/Files/Documents/Watsonsuit.pdf

Smith v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Civil No. 06-526 (N.D. Ga. filed March 6, 2006).

Status: Summary judgment granted to plaintiff, ___ F.Supp.2d ____, 2008 WL 760196 (March 21, 2008).

After Wal-Mart threatened to sue Charles Smith over his use of Wal-Mart’s name, logos and similar-looking logos on his web sites criticizing the company, (www.walocaust.com and www.walqaeda.com), Smith filed suit, seeking a declaratory judgment that his uses did not violate Wal-Mart’s copyrights. Both parties moved for summary judgment, and Wal-Mart sought transfer of the URLs to its control. The court granted summary judgment to Smith, and denied Wal-Mart’s motion, holding that Smith’s use of Wal-Mart’s trademarks were parodies, protected under the “fair use” copyright doctrine, and would not lead to confusion.

Links and Court Documents:

http://insidebusiness.freedomblogging.com/2008/03/21/wal-mart-as-bad-as-al-qaida/

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1206441810175

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/03/25/walmart_0326.html

Decision granting summary judgment: http://www.citizen.org/documents/WalmartDecision.pdf

Complaint and other court documents: http://www.citizen.org/litigation/forms/cases/CaseDetails.cfm?cID=206

IDAHO

In re Subpoena Issued Pursuant to The Digital Millennium Copyright Action To: 43SB.Com, LLC, No. MS-07-6236, 2007 WL 4335441 (D. Idaho Dec. 7, 2007)

Status: Subpeona for information to reveal anonymous bloggers quashed in part

In a posting on the 43rd State Blues / Democrats for Idaho blog (www.43rdstateblues.com), an anonymous blogger with the pseudonym “Tom Paine,” posted comments reporting the “unverified” “rumor” that court documents showed “a deliberate series of payoffs for questionable expenses & honoraria to US Senator Larry Craig” by Melaleuca, Inc. Melaleuca,sent a letter to the website’s administrator demanding that the posting be removed from the website. The original posting was removed, but the demand letter itself was posted on the site by someone with the pseudonym “d2.”. Melaleuca then sent a letter to the host of the website, seeking removal of the letter. The letter cited the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (“DMCA”), which allows copyright holders to demand that website hosts removed copyrighted material posted by users to a website. Melaleuca also sought the identity of “Tom Paine.” On June 7, 2007, Melaleuca caused a pre-litigation subpoena to counsel for website owner 43SB, demanded the production of: all server logs and other information that could be used to identify “Tom Paine” and “d2.” 43SB filed a motion to quash the subpoena with the federal district court. The court partially denied the motion as to “sb”, thus requiring 43SB to reveal the information that could be used to identify “sb,” who had posted the takedown demand letter. But it also partially granted the motion in regards to information regarding “Tom Paine,” since that person’s posting – the original rumors – were not subject to the DMCA takedown provisions.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/blog/2007/court-rejects-bid-use-dmca-bypass-first-amendment-protection-anonymous-speech

http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2007/12/takedown_letter.htm

http://www.addict3d.org/news/265332/Copyright,%20Defamation,%20Bloggers,%20DMCA,%20Safe%20Harbors,%20Cease-And-Desists%20And%20Anonymity...%20Oh%20My!

District Court opinion partially granting motion to quash subpoena: http://www.citmedialaw.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2007-11-16-Report%20and%20Recommendation%20of%20Magistrate%20Judge%20--%20District%20of%20Idaho.pdf

ILLINOIS

Doe v. Fortuny, No. 08 C 1050 (N.D. Ill. filed Feb. 20, 2008).

Status: Pending

In August, 2008 Jason Fortuny posted a fake advertisement on website craigslist.com, posing as a women who was seeking a brutal and dominant male sexual partner. The anonymous plaintiff was one of over 100 men who allegedly responded to the ad. Plaintiff sought $75,000 in damages and an injunction for copyright infringement and invasion of privacy, claiming that Fortuny had published the photos and contact information of those who responded to the ad on the website www.encyclopediadramatica.com, as well as to his personal blog, rfjason.com. Fortuny responded with a motion to dismiss on grounds of personal jurisdiction and failure to state a claim.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/doe-v-fortuny

Dominick v. MySpace, No. 2008L005191 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook Co. filed May 12, 2008)

Status: Dropped by plaintiff.

Larry Dominick, town president of Cicero, Ill., filed a petition seeking an order requiring MySpace to reveal the author of two fake profiles of him, which he alleges included defamatory comments and privacy violations. He dropped the case after the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted an amicus brief in the case, arguing that the petition did not demonstrate a viable legal claim sufficient to overcome the poster’s First Amendment right to anonymity.

Case information and documents: http://www.eff.org/cases/dominick-v-my-space

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/06/13

Eastwood v. Goodman, No. ______ (Ill. Cir. Ct., Kane County filed Nov. 2007).

Status: Pending

The owners of a court reporting company sued a woman who had worked as a court reporter for the company, after she began a blog titled “Let’s Stop Eastwood-Stein,””

(stopeastwood-stein.blogspot.com/) stating that she was never paid, and soliciting similar stories from others.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=79395&src=5

Holsten v. Uptown Update and What the Helen, No. ___ (Ill. Chanc. Ct., Cook Co. subpoenas filed Jan. 12, 2009).

Status: Pending.

In connection with a lawsuit filed by a community group in opposition to a redevelopment plan for the Wilson Yard area of Chicago, the developer subpoenaed Google for information regarding two anonymous Chicago-based blogs (www.uptownupdate.com; www.whatthehelen.com), and two additional websites operated by the neighborhood block club (www.buenaparkneighbors.org and www.uncchicago.org). The subpoenas ask for all documents pertaining to the six Uptown residents named as plaintiffs in the original lawsuit. In addition, the neighborhood organizations were asked to turn over all posts, in any form, relating to the Wilson Yard development.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/holsten-v-uptown-update-and-what-helen

Jaeger v. Okon, No. 07-L-004940 (Ill Cir. Ct., Cook Co. filed May 11, 2007).

Status: Confidential monetary settlement

In response to frustration with a development project managed by plaintiff James Jaeger and his development company, defendants Joy and Tom Okon published several critical blog posts on the North Center Neighbors blog, northcenterneighbors.blogspot.com. Jaeger brought suit for defamation based on these posts, as well as e-mails, which alleged corrupt business dealings. The case was settled, on undisclosed terms, outside of court while a motion to dismiss under the Illinois’ recently-enacted anti-SLAPP statute, the Citizen Participation Act, was pending.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/jaeger-v-okon

http://chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=48&SubSectionID=141&ArticleID=4724&TM=39096.86

Matteo v. Rubin, No. 07 C 2536 (N.D.Ill. filed 2007)

Status: Pending

In 2006, Melanie Rubin hired Steven Matteo to photograph her wedding. After the event, Matteo gave Rubin unedited copies of all 1,500 digital pictures that he took. Howard Rubin, the father of the bride, then contacted Matteo with complaints about the quality of the photographs. Matteo attempted to contact Melanie Rubin about the complaints, but he never received a response. In January 2007, Howard Rubin began creating various websites, entitled “Why Not to Hire an Inept Photographer,” which showed several of the wedding photographs and criticized Matteo’s work. Matteo sued for copyright infringement, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, interference with prospective business advantage. On Dec. 3, 2007, the court denied Rubin’s motion to dismiss these claims. (Matteo v. Rubin, 2007 WL 4294734 (N.D.Ill. Dec. 3, 2007).

Links and Court Documents:

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-ilndce/case_no-1:2007cv02536/case_id-208708/

Odelson v. Doe, No. 2007-L-008807 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook County filed Aug. 21, 2007).

Status: Pending

Attorneys Burton Odelson and Mark Sterk sued over statements in the anonymous Proviso Insider blog (provisoinsider.blogspot.com; no archive before 2008) that they were going to be indicted for advising a local school board member on how to lie to a grand jury. Although originally filed against a John Doe defendant, the plaintiffs amended the suit to claim that the statements were written by District 209 School Board President Emanuel "Chris" Welch. While Welch says that he contributes to the blog, he denies writing the statements at issue in the suit. On June 26, 2008, Welch filed his own suit against Odelson and Sterk, as well as his former employer, alleging that they conspired to fire him after removing Odelson and Sterk’s law firm as counsel to the school board.

Links and Court Documents:

Docket: https://w3.courtlink.lexisnexis.com/cookcounty/Finddock.asp?DocketKey=CAAH0L0AAIIAH0LD

http://www.prairiestateblue.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3382

http://forestparkreview.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=3&ArticleID=2849&TM=76073.96

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-proviso-legal-fees_24jun24,0,1234016.story

http://forestparkreview.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=38&ArticleID=3304&TM=29435.78

http://provisoinsider.blogspot.com/2008/06/proviso-board-president-chris-welch_26.html

Sachay v. The Chicago Reader, No. 2008-CL-003932 (Ill. Cir. Ct. filed April 10, 2008).

Status: Pending

The former assistant commissioner of Chicago’s aviation department, James Sachay, sued Frank Coconate for comments on the Chicago Reader’s Clout City blog that were signed “Jimmy Sachay,” which Sachay says that he did not write and alleges were actually posted by political candidate Frank Coconate.

In the posted comments, the person posting as Sachay apologizes for challenging Coconate’s nominating petitions under false pretenses, for “stealing money” from former Illinois Congressman Roman Pucinski, for getting “illegal contracts” for his son, “act[ing] criminally at O’Hare.”

Besides suing Coconate, the suit also named the newspaper as sponsor of the blogs. But on June 3, Sachay amended the lawsuit to remove the Chicago Reader as a defendant.

Links and Court Documents:

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/clout.city.lawsuit.2.697313.html

http://divisionstreet.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/blog-fog/

http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/news-bites/2008/06/06/readers-been-dropped-defendant-sachay-defamation-s/

Complaint: http://www.courthousenews.com/2008/04/11/SachayReader.pdf

Court docket: https://w3.courtlink.lexisnexis.com/cookcounty/FindDock.asp?SearchType=0&Database=2&NCase=2008-L-003932&CDate=&PLtype=1&sname=

Save-A-Life Foundation v. Baratz, No. 2007-CH-12022 (Ill. Cir. Ct. filed May 3, 2007).

Status: Pending

The Chicago-based foundation Save-A-Life Foundation, which teaches and promotes the use of the “Heimlich maneuver” has sued three critics of the first aid procedure and its creator, Dr. Henry Heimlich. Among the critics named in the suit is Jason Harp, who maintains the “Cincinnati Beacon” blog (www.cincinnatibeacon.com), and Peter Heimlich, Henry Heimlich’s son, who maintains his own website (http://medfraud.info/). The foundation is also seeking an injunction against the critics’ comments. In its amended complaint, the foundation added American Broadcasting Company, WLS-TV in Chicago, and WLS reporter Chuck Goudie as defendants over two WLS-TV stories on the controversy.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/save-life-foundation-v-baratz

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0705040577may04,1,7964289.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed

Amended complaint: http://www.citmedialaw.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2007-11-15-Save-A-Life%20Amended%20Complaint.pdf

Court docket: https://w3.courtlink.lexisnexis.com/cookcounty/FindDock.asp?SearchType=2&Database=3&NCase=&CDate=&PLtype=1&sname=Save-A-Life

St. George Corrective Vision v. Kantis, No. 05-L-009942 (Ill. Cir. Ct. dismissed April 2006).
Status: Dismissed

A medical practice that provides laser eye surgery and the center’s medical director sued a former patient who set up a web site (www.lifeafterlasik.com) that criticized the center. In addition to suing for libel, the center also sought an injunction ordering removal of the site. The case was dismissed in April 2006.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/st-george-corrective-vision-v-kantis

Docket: https://63.251.13.149/cookcounty/FindDock.asp?NCase=2005-L-9942&SearchType=2&Database=2&case_no=&=&=&=&PLtype=2&sname=KANTIS&CDate=

Complaint: http://www.glennhagele.com/deanandrewkantis/caro-v-dean-andrew-kantis-defamation-01.pdf

Amended complaint: http://www.glennhagele.com/deanandrewkantis/caro-v-dean-andrew-kantis-defamation-02.pdf

Defendant's Memorandum In Opposition To Plaintiffs' Motion For Preliminary Injunctive Relief: http://www.lifeafterlasik.com/nickcarolawsuithearing1.htm

Welch v. Nyberg, No. 2005L009751 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook County dismissed Dec. 5, 2005); Welch v. Nyberg, No. 2005L009752 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook County dismissed Dec. 5, 2005).

Status: Dismissed

Emanuel “Chris” Welch, president of the District 209 (Proviso Township High Schools) school board, and his brother Bill Welch filed suit against blogger Carl Nyberg after Nyberg filed an ethics complaint against Emanuel Welch over his vote in Aug. 2005 to hire Bill Welch as a school custodian. Besides being his brother, Emanuel Welch represented Bill Welch when he was indicted on drug possession charges in 2003. (The charges were eventually dropped). The ethics complaint alleges that Emanuel Welch did not disclose this representation when voting on his brother's employment. The Welches responded with a libel suit based on postings on Nyberg’s blog (provisoprobe.blogspot.com) about the ethics complaint and the drug charges, as well as a letter that Nyberg sent to the head of Emanuel Welch’s law firm. In late November 2005, the court granted plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss the case without prejudice.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/welch-v-nyberg

http://forestparkreview.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=38&ArticleID=631&TM=63543.2

http://provisoprobe.blogspot.com/2005/09/welch-brothers-file-suit-against.html

http://provisoprobe.blogspot.com/2005/12/defam-welch-suits-dismissed-without.html

http://forestparkreview.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=38&ArticleID=839&TM=3636.928

Welch v. Nyberg, No. ____ (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook County filed July 14, 2008)

Status: Temporary restraining order issued (July 16, 2008)

In a third lawsuit in a long-running feud, Emanuel “Chris” Welch, president of the District 209 (Proviso Township High Schools) school board sued blogger Carl Nyberg over a July 2, 2008 posting (redacted version) on Nyberg’s “Proviso Probe” blog (provisoprobe.blogspot.com) accusing Welch of being a “co-conspirator” in an “illegal kickback scheme” after he sought reimbursement for his legal expenses in another blog defamation case in which Welch is among the defendants (see Odelson v. Doe above). On July 16, Judge Martin S. Agran granted a temporary restraining order requiring Nyberg to remove this claim from the posting.

http://forestparkreview.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=38&ArticleID=3354&TM=83174.76

http://provisoprobe.blogspot.com/2008/07/judge-grants-temporary-restraining.html

http://provisoinsider.blogspot.com/2008/07/proviso-school-board-president-sues.html

INDIANA

Archdiocese of Indianapolis v. Doe, Civil No. 49D120805CT20682 (Ind., Super. Ct., Marion Co. filed May 8, 2008).

Status: Order issued requiring Facebook to disclose information

Tim Puntarelli, Dean of Students at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis, sued Facebook to determine the IP address of the person who posted a fake profile on the site in his name and sent “inappropriate” messages from the profile. He and the school sought information on the poster from Facebook, and he filed suit when Facebook responded that he needed to obtain a court order. The court issued the order the day after the suit was filed.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008805100475

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-in-facebook-lawsuit,0,7111434.story

Glock, Inc. v. Pilz, Civil No. 06-0072 (S.D. Ind. dismissed March 29, 2007).
Status: Dismissed
The Smyrna, Ga.-based gun manufacturer Glock, Inc. sued over comments that Austrian Parliament member Peter Pilz posted in German on his Austria-based web site (www.peterpilz.at), alleging that the company allowed its guns to end up in the Turkey black market, a claim that was repeated on the web site and in an article in the Austrian newspaper Der Standard (derstandard.at). Glock sued in Indiana state court: apparently because the posting mentioned a gun supply company based in Indiana, although that company was not named as a defendant in the suit. At the request of two of the defendants, the case was removed to federal court, which dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/glock-v-pilz
BBC coverage of Pilz’s accusations: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/06_06_06_iraqi_guns.pdf (page 18)

Docket available at https://ecf.insd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iqquerymenu.pl?11029 (PACER log-in required)

IOWA

Kono v. Meeker, No. CL92694 (Iowa Dist. Ct. 2006), aff’d, No. 06-1554, 2007 WL 4322060 (Iowa App. Dec. 12, 2007).

Status: $500,000 award to plaintiff affirmed

California residents Larry and Carole Meeker sell antiques through their “Patented Antiques” website (www.patented-antiques.com/). They reached an agreement with Iowa resident Dana Kono, who collects antique woodworking tools and scientific instruments as a hobby, to trade a surveying transit owned by Kono for seven crank handle chisels owned by the Meekers. They made the exchange by shipping the items in March 2003. Kono then called Larry Meeker to verify that he was satisfied. Their accounts of that conversation differed: Kono claimed that Larry Meeker told him that “the deal would work out fine,” while Meeker claimed that told Kono that he should have mentioned that the transit was Japanese and had the name “Sokkisha” on it, and that he wanted to investigate its value. Without further communication, Meeker sent the transit back to Kono, who refused to accept it. After an increasingly testy e-mail exchange, by early April Meeker had set up a “Dana Kono Watch Page” on the Internet, which recounted the transaction from Meeker’s perspective and said that Kono was “a flat-out liar, thief and cheat,” among other insults and accusations. Kono sued, and after trial the jury awarded Kono compensatory damages of $150,000 for defamation, $50,000 for invasion of privacy, and $50,000 for intentional infliction of emotional distress, and $125,000 in punitive damages against each of the Meekers. The Meekers appealed, but the award was affirmed.

Links and Court Documents:

Appellate opinion: http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/court_of_appeals/Recent_Opinions/20071212/7-596.pdf

http://cornponepapers.blogspot.com/2007/12/its-not-nice-to-say-bad-things-about.html

KENTUCKY

Huff v. Nickolas, No. _____ (Ky. Cir. Ct., Jefferson County filed March 8, 2007).
Status: Dismissed

Businessman Anthony Huff and his wife Sheri Huff sued Mark Nickolas over Allegations made in his political blog, www.bluegrassreport.org. In response to the suit, Nickolas said that the allegations were true, but added that he removed them from the blog after he was contacted by the Huffs’ lawyer. The case was apparently dismissed once the material was removed.
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/huff-v-nickolas
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770308040
http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/politics/2007/08/hes-ba-ack.html

MAINE

The Gentle Wind Project v. Garvey, Civil No. 04-103 (D. Me. summary judgment granted, case dismissed Jan. 3, 2006);
The Gentle Wind Project v. Garvey, No. ____ (Me. Dist. Ct. dismissed Nov. 9, 2006).
Status: Dismissed
The Gentle Wind Project, which describes itself as “not-for-profit world healing organization with a remarkable healing technology,” sued critics who called the organization a cult for libel and other claims, including alleged violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) law. On a motion by the defendants, the federal district court granted summary judgment on the RICO claim. Since this claim was the only basis for federal jurisdiction, the court then dismissed the entire case. Gentle Wind then refiled the suit in Maine state court, but voluntarily withdrew that suit in November 2006.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/gentle-wind-project-v-garvey

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/clinical/gwp

http://www.rickross.com/groups/gentlewind.html

Federal case mentioned in http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1136838328818

http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2006/11/10/gentle_wind_project_drops_lawsuit_against_whistle_blowers/

http://factnet.org/?p=23

Federal court dismissal at http://www.med.uscourts.gov/opinions/carter/2006/GC_01032006_2-04cv103_Gentle_Wind_v_Garvey.pdf

Warren Kremer Paino Advertising v. Dutson, Civil No. 06-047 (D. Me. dismissed May 5, 2006).

Status: Dismissed

An advertising agency responsible for online advertising for Maine tourism sued the Maine Web Report blog (http://www.mainewebreport.com), which criticized the ads and the selection of the agency, for defamation, libel, and copyright infringement. The agency dropped the suit after it was criticized on various blogs.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/warren-kremer-paino-advertising-v-dutson

http://www.mainewebreport.com/2006/04/27/state-contractor-files-federal-lawsuit-against-me/

http://www.mainewebreport.com/2006/05/05/warren-kremer-paino-withdraws-lawsuit/

Complaint available at http://www.mainewebreport.com/Complaint.pdf

MARYLAND

Global Direct Sales v. Krowne, Civil No. 08-02468 (D. Md. filed Sept. 19, 2008).

Status: Pending.

The federal department of Housing and Urban Development has had a long-standing rule barring home sales where the buyer’s down-payment is funded by the seller. In 2007, HUD adopted new rules (72 Fed. Reg. 56002, 56007 (2007), later stayed by the District Court for the District of Columbia) prohibiting efforts to avoid this rule by sellers giving money to a non-profit organization, which in turn gave a sum a bit less than the amount as a gift to the buyers. Global Direct Sales then partnered with the Penobscot Indian Tribe in Maine to make similar transactions with the tribe serving as intermediary. The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter (ml-implode.com) blog posted an article criticizing this arrangement; Global Direct Sales and the tribe sued over this article.

Links and Court Documents:

Case information and documents: http://ml-implode.com/viewnews/2008-10-09_FHASellerFundedDownpaymentOutfitSuesMLImplodeInEffortToSilenceCr.html

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/global-direct-sales-llc-v-krowne

Tilghman v. Albero, No. 020300040262007 (Md. Dist. Ct., Wicomico County filed July 10, 2007).

Status: Pending.

Salisbury, Md. mayor Barrie Parson Tilghman filed suit against Joe Albero over statements in his Salisbury News blog (sbynews.com) alleging that she improperly used city funds to pay personal legal expenses.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070811/NEWS01/708110313

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070819/NEWS01/708190323

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071030/NEWS01/710300324

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25&sid=1384533

Court docket available via: http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiry-index.jsp (enter case number)

Webster v. Albero, No. 0203-0003308-2007 (Md. Dist. Ct., Wicomico County transferred out Aug. 9, 2007) (transferred to Worcester County and renumbered); Webster v. Albero, No. 0204-0001876-2007 (Md. Dist. Ct., Worcester County settled July 28, 2008).

Status: Settled (no monetary payment).

Salisbury, Md. police chief Allan Webster filed suit against Joe Albero over statements in his Salisbury News blog (sbynews.com). In August, the case was transferred to Worcester County court; in September, Albero invoked Maryland’s reporter’s shield law in order to protect the sources for his information. On April 10, 2008 the court denied Albero’s claim that he was protected by Maryland’s reporters privilege law, and scheduled trial for July 30, 2008. Two days before trial, the parties settled; according to Albero’s blog, there was no monetary payment.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.sbynews.com/index.php/site/comments/the_chief_of_the_salisbury_police_department_is_suing_me_rotflmao/

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070703/NEWS01/707030336/1002

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070819/NEWS01/708190323

http://wjz.com/local/local_story_184065540.html

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070710/NEWS01/707100332/1002

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070903/NEWS01/709030301/1002

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071030/NEWS01/710300324

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804100418

http://sbynews.blogspot.com/2008/07/breaking-news-webster-v-albero.html

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080731/NEWS01/807310391/1002

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=6132&type=UTTM

Court docket available via: http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiry-index.jsp (enter case number)

MASSACHUSETTS

Denner v. Gillenwater, No. 05-5469 (Mass. Super., Suffolk County 2008).
Status: Temporary restraining order issued (Oct. 10, 2008).

Derrick Gillenwater sued lawyers Jeffrey Denner and Kevin Barron for malpractice, and began blogging about the case at his blog (jeffreydenner.blogspot.com, now defunct). The attorneys then sought a temporary restraining order against Gillenwater’s blogging, which the court granted on Oct. 10, 2008. Gillenwater continued to post to the blog, and on Oct. 21 another judge held that he had violated the restraining order by continuing to publish the blog, with the name “Jeffrey Denner" with "Geoffrey Dinnir." Meanwhile, another blog – the “Jeffrey Denner's ineffective assistance of counsel” blog (dennerlaw.blogspot.com) – appeared. Denner sent a copy of the court order to Google, which shut down the blog on Dec. 1. But the site was restored after the pseudonymous blogger behind the site, "Boston Bob," told Google that he was not Gillenwater.

Links and Court Documents:

Case information: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/denner-v-gillenwater

Restraining order: http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=943151&da=y

http://www.citmedialaw.org/blog/2008/mystery-blogger-caught-first-amendment-flap

DiAdamo v. Duggan, No. 08-1931D (Mass. Super. Ct. , Essex County filed Sept. 28, 2008).

Status: Pending

Attorney William DiAdamo filed a complaint alleging defamation after radio host Thomas Duggan made comments on his show, repeated on his blog (payingattentionwithtomduggan.blogspot.com), which suggested that DiAdamo had been involved in unethical behavior. An anti-SLAPP motion was denied on Feb. 23, 2009.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/diadamo-v-duggan

Dugas v. Robbins, No. CA 2008-491 (Mass. Super., Barnstable County filed July 7, 2008).

Status: Pending.

Peter Robbins, who writes the “Robbins Report” blog on the CapeCod.com community web site (www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index.php/Robbins), was sued by an individual whom he criticized on his blog as being opposed to the dredging on Barnstable Harbor, saying that a suit brought by Joseph F. Dugas and other residents was “frivolous” and “malicious.” Robbins also criticized Dugas’ attorney, Paul Revere III. Dugas and Revere both sued Robbins and an anonymous commenter on the blog for libel. The defense has responded with a motion to dismiss the case under Massaschusetts’ anti-SLAPP law.

Links and Court Documents:

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/dugas-v-robbins

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/09/08/libel_lawsuit_filed_against_cape_blogger/

http://medianation.blogspot.com/2008/08/cape-cod-blogger-is-sued-for-libel.html

Jean v. Massachusetts State Police, Civil No. 06-40031 (D. Mass. prelim. inj. issued April 7, 2006), aff’d, No. 06-1775, 492 F.3d 24, 35 Media L. Rep. 1929 (1st Cir. June 22, 2007).
Status: Preliminary injunction against defendant’s demand the video be removed from plaintiff’s website affirmed.
Political activist Mary Jean maintained a website, www.conte2006.com, critical of then-Worcester County, Mass. district attorney John Conte. On Jan. 29, 2006, she posted a video – captured by a “nanny-cam” -- of a warrantless search of a man arrested on a misdemeanor charge. Although the tape had been recorded illegally, Jean obtained it legally from the man whose home was searched. In a letter dated Feb. 14 and another dated March 29, the police department demanded removal of the video from the site. Jean then sued in federal court, seeking an injunction to bar the police from prosecuting her for displaying the tape on her site. The trial court granted the injunction in April 2006, and the appeals court affirmed in June 2007.
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.conte2006.com/arrest%20video.htm

http://www.legaline.com/2007/06/first-amendment-protects-posting-of.html
Preliminary injunction at http://www.conte2006.com/prelinjuct4706.htm
District Court docket available via https://ecf.mad.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iqquerymenu.pl?102180 (PACER log in required)

Appellate decision: http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/06-1775-01A.pdf

MacDonald v. Paton, No. ______ (Mass. Super., Worcester filed Sept. 14, 1999).
Status: Dismissed
Plaintiff Mark A. MacDonald, at the time a town selectman in Athol, Mass. sued the operator of a local website who posted a satirical “definition” in the "First Dictionary of Athonics" section of her site which implied that MacDonald was a Nazi. The defendant moved to have the case dismissed under Massachusetts’ anti-SLAPP statute. The trial court denied the motion, but on appeal the Court of Appeals reversed and granted the motion.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=3002

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/macdonald-v-paton

Appellate decision: http://www.casp.net/cases/paton.html

McMann v. Doe, Civil No. 06-11825-JLT (D. Mass. dismissed Oct. 31, 2006).

Status: Dismissed

Real estate developer Paul McMann sued the unknown creator of the www.paulmcmann.com web site, which promised to feature tales of his alleged misdealings. The court rejected two attempts by McMann to unmask the identity of the site’s creator, and dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction. The court also noted that the contents of the site were actionable under Massachusetts law. McMann then sued in Arizona (see above), with a similar result.

Links and Court Documents:

http://pacer.mad.uscourts.gov/dc/opinions/tauro/pdf/mcmann_subpoena.pdf

MICHIGAN

In Re: ______ Anderson, Nos. 2004-295,192-GA; 2004-295,193-CA; and 2006-307, 599-CZ (Mich. Probate Ct., Oakland County).

Status: Gag order expected to be rescinded

A probate judge presiding over a long-running dispute between Diane Anderson and her brother David Anderson over care of their elderly mother ordered Diane Anderson to take down a web site she was maintaining (www.davidcarlandersonandelderabuse.com), where she commented on the proceedings. Szymanski said that he issued in order in frustration over Anderson’s behavior in court. “She is not willing to accept rulings and she continues to argue,” he told the Detroit Free Press. “I warned her four or five times.” After Anderson refused to remove the site, Judge David Szymanski ordered her immediately jailed at a morning hearing on Dec. 8, 2008. After she was held for about an hour, she was returned to Judge Szymanski’s court. She again refused to remove the site, and was jailed again for another three hours before she was released, pending a hearing on Dec. 11. On Dec. 10, the site disappeared. At the Dec. 11 hearing, Judge Szymanski rescinded his order, and said that Anderson could continue posting on her site.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881210119

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881211066

Quixtar, Inc. v. Does, No. 07-59739-CZ (Mich. Cir. Ct., Ottawa County filed Oct. 8, 2007).

Status: Pending

Quixtar, formerly known as Amway, sued several “John Does” for postings and comments on a variety of blog websites, including freetheibo.com; forums.freetheibo.info; drinlors.biz (no longer operational); theiborebellion.blogspot.com; qreilly.blogspot.com; freetheiboblog.typepad.com; quixtarlostmycents.blogspot.com; saveusdickdevos.blogspot.com; teamfoundingfathers.blogspot.com; chrismcstu.blogspot.com; quixtartoday.blogspot.com; and integrityisteam.blogspot.com, as well as several videos posted on YouTube. The suit alleges that the unknown defendants are involved in a rival organization (unidentified in the complaint, but known as TEAM as led by Quixtar dissident Orrin Woodward), and that the comments that they posted interfered with Quixtar’s business relationships with their distributors, known as Independent Business Owners ("IBOs"). A Quixtar spokesman told reporters that the suit seeks to identify only former IBOs who the company alleges used proprietary information in their postings, and said that the company planned to reimburse the legal expenses incurred by any bloggers who do not turn out to be former IBOs.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.mlive.com/kalamazoo/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-26/119294051655220.xml&coll=7
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/13/business/main3364365.shtml

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&Date=20071014&ID=7625946

Complaint: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Amway/quixtar-subpoena-2007-10-08.pdf

MINNESOTA

Bible & Gospel Trust, et al v. Wyman, Civil No. 04-cv-00700 (D. Minn. filed Feb. 9, 2004).

Status: Settled (stipulated dismissal June 16, 2005).

The Exclusive Brethren religious group sued Richard K. Wyman, operator of the websites www.exclusivebrethren.net and www.cloudnet.com/~dwyman/pb.html, which criticized the group as a cult and contained documents in which the group claimed exclusive copyright. The group sued for copyright infringement. The parties settled, with Wyman assigning his sites to the Brethren and agreeing not to publically comment about the group, and the Brethren agreed to pay Wyman $10,000.

Links and Court Documents:

Selected court documents: http://peebs.net/ExclusiveBrethrenNews/Press/Backgrounder-20080220.pdf

Gregerson v. Vilana Financial, Inc., Civil No. 06-1164 (D. Minn. blog claim withdrawn Aug. 15, 2007).

Status: Defendant’s defamation counterclaim withdrawn; $19,462 award on underlying copyright counterclaim

In March 2006, Chris Gregerson filed a copyright suit against Andrew Vilenchik, alleging that Vilenchik had used photos from his website in advertisements for his company, Vilana Financial, without permission. Gregerson wrote about the lawsuit on his website www.phototour.minneapolis.mn.us, leading Vilenchik to file a separate suit in Minnesota state court for libel. The libel claim was moved to federal court in August 2006, and in November 2006 the court denied Vilenchik’s motion to enjoin Gregerson from referring to his company and web site. At an August hearing in the underlying copyright case, Vilenchik withdrew his defamation case. (Later in August 2007, the court dismissed the claims against Vilenchik, but granted summary judgment for Gregerson against Vilana Financial. After a bench trial on damages on the copyright claim, the court awarded the Gregerson $19,462.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/gregerson-v-vilana-financial-inc

http://www.cgstock.com/essays/vilana

http://www.phototour.minneapolis.mn.us/essays/vilana.html#defamation_lawsuit

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/25/0159250&from=rss

Verdict: http://www.cgstock.com/essays/gregerson_v_vilana_judgment_152.pdf

Olson v. Brodkorb, No. 19-CX-06-006432 (Minn. Dist. Ct., Dakota County filed Jan. 4, 2006).

Status: Dismissed.

Democratic public relations consultant Blois Olson sued Republican operative Michael Broadkorb, the blogger behind the site Minnesota Democrats Exposed (www.minnesotademocratsexposed.com), for libel. The suit stemmed from a report in late December posted on the blog by Broadkorb, who published the blog anonymously from July 2004 until he revealed his name when the lawsuit was filed. The post claimed that while Olson publicly criticized the Congressional campaign of Coleen Rowley in several news stories, Olsen did not reveal that the campaign had declined to hire his consulting firm. On March 9, 2007, Judge Timothy Blakely granted a defense motion for summary judgment.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=16262

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/163827.html

http://www.legaline.com/2006/01/minnesota-political-blogger-sued-for.html

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2006/01/blog_fight.asp

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1045172.html

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1045093.html

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/bigquestion/?p=593#comments

Previous denial of motion to dismiss: http://www.minnesotademocratsexposed.com/olsonvmdemotiondenied6062006.pdf

MISSISSIPPI

Moore v. O'Bannon, No. _____ (Miss. Cir. Ct., Hines County filed March 2006).

Status: Unknown

Jackson, Miss. minister Rev. Ronald K. Moore and his wife sued Valerie O'Bannon, a Jackson native now living in Minnesota, over a web site (which no longer exists) that she launched in January 2006 which claims that she and Moore had a five-month affair. In February, Moore won an order from a Mississippi Chancery Court judge ordering O'Bannon to take down the site, and tried to have her jailed for contempt when she did not do so. But the Chancery judge held that the matter belonged in Circuit Court, and Moore filed suit in that court shortly thereafter.

Links and Court Documents:

http://s2.excoboard.com/exco/archive.php?ac=t&forumid=4052&date=06-20-2006&t=754127-1

Articles available in (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger archives, searchable at http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?s_site=clarionledger&p_product=JCLB&p_theme=gannett&p_action=keyword: Minister files defamation suit (March 28, 2006); Clergyman wants woman jailed (February 8, 2006)

MISSOURI

Brazil v. Roe, No. 0711-CV02429 (Mo. Cir. Ct., St. Charles County filed March 29. 2007)

Status: Pending

County Councilman Joe Brazil sued political consultant Jeff Roe for comments posted on Roe’s blog, “The Source” (www.thesource.typepad.com) alleging that Brazil was drunk when he accidentally killed a friend during a high school prank. The police report on the 1982 incident says that Brazil, who was not charged, was not drunk.

Links and Court Documents:

http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2009/01/03/stcharles/news//0104stc-pokin0.txt

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION: Lori Drew (Mo. 2007)

Status: Missouri state investigation dropped; California federal grand jury has brought indictment.

See above for details.

NEVADA

Privé Vegas, LLC v. Politz, Civil No. 08-01104 (D. Nev. filed Aug. 20, 2008).
Status: Pending

The operators of the Privé nightclub, located within the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas, sued the blogger behind the The Vegas Eye blog (thevegaseye.com) over postings about employee complaints against the nightclub.

Links and Court Documents:

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/priv%C3%A9-vegas-llc-v-politz

Software Development and Investment of Nevada, d/b/a Traffic-Power.com v. Wall, Civil No. 05-1109 (D. Nev. dismissed Feb. 13, 2006).

Status: Dismissed

An Internet marketing company sued the owner of a blog on search engine optimization (www.seobook.com) for libel and publication of trade secrets. The suit, which also names several posters to the blog as defendants, was removed from state to federal court, then dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Links and Court Documents:

Grant of motion to dismiss: http://www.seobook.com/decision-on-motions.pdf

Complaint and commentary from plaintiff: http://www.seobook.com/archives/001130.shtml

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112541909221726743-Kl4kLxv0wSbjqrkXg_DieY3c8lg_20050930,00.html

http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=13715&hed=Bloggers+Face+the+Law

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05277/582101.stm

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/rsstory/46326.html

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Sykes et al v. Bayer Corporation, No. 2008-MC-00013 (D.N.H. subpoena issued March 28, 2008) (although underlying case is being tried in Virginia, the subpoena was issued in New Hampshire due to Seidel’s residency there).

Status: Subpoena quashed

In a lawsuit alleging that mercury in various vaccines led to the plaintiffs’ son’s autism, the plaintiffs subpoenaed Kathleen Seidel after her blog, the neurodiversity weblog (www.neurodiversity.com/weblog/) covered the case. The sweeping subpoena sought “all documents pertaining to the setup, financing, running, research, maintaining” the blog, and he names of all persons "helping, paying or facilitating in any fashion" the blog. Seidel filed a motion to quash, which was granted April 21, 2008. The court also ordered plaintiffs’ attorney to show why he should not be sanctioned for the subpoena.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/sykes-v-seidel

Order quashing subpoena: http://www.citmedialaw.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2008-04-22-Order%20Quashing%20Subpoena.pdf

NEW JERSEY

Carmichael v. White, No. L5825-08 (N.J. Super., Bergen County filed July 30, 2008)

Status: Pending

Alexander Carmichael -- whose organization, the League of American Patriots, is devoted to “halting the rapid demographic decline of the European peoples in our homeland” – sued the author of the blog section of the Overthrow.com web site (http://www.overthrow.com/blog/), the site of the American National Socialist Workers Party, which uses Nazi symbols and bills itself as “America's only organization advocating for the interests of the white working class.” The blog comments alleged that Carmichael and his group were involved in child pornography.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.courthousenews.com/2008/08/11/Attorney_Says_Internet_Site_Defamed_Him.htm

Complaint: http://www.courthousenews.com/2008/08/11/Patriots.pdf

D’Elia v. Renna, No. L -003880-06 (N.J. Super. Ct., Union County filed Nov. 3, 2006).

Status: Dismissed.

Sebastian D’Elia filed a lawsuit for defamation against Tina Renna and Patricia Quattrocchi, regular posters on unioncountywatchdog.org, for allegedly injurious comments made on the website. On a similar motions by both parties, the court granted summary judgment to the defendants based on a failure to provide sufficient evidence of damages.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/delia-v-renna

Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company v. D'Avella; Civil No. L-515-07 (N.J. Super. filed Aug. 24, 2007).

Status: Confidential settlement.

Brothers Mark and Matthew D'Avella filmed a parody rap music video after hours in the A&P supermarket where they worked, and posted it to their blog site (www.fakelaugh.com) and YouTube. The supermarket company sued for defamation, business and product disparagement, and trademark infringement. The parties reached an undisclosed settlement, and the video was removed from the web.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/ap-v-davella

Landmark Education LLC v. The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey, Civil No. 04-3022 (D. N.J. case dropped Dec. 28, 2005).

Status: Dropped

Landmark Education, which describes itself as “a leader and innovator in the field of training and development,” sued “cult de-programmer” Rick Ross over statements on his website challenging the organization’s legitimacy, and his refusal to post Landmark’s response. But Landmark dropped its case after a New Jersey appeals court ruled in Donato v. Moldrow, 374 N.J. Super. 475 (App. Div. 2005) that a website operator is immune for suit for anonymous postings on the site, under section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/landmark-education-llc-v-ross

http://www.cultnews.com/archives/000777.html

NXIVM Corporation and First Principles, Inc. v. The Ross Institute, Civil No. 06-01051 (D. N.J. transferred March 7, 2006) (transfer from N.D.N.Y.),

Status: Pending

The organization NXIVM sued a "cult de-programmer" and two writers who authored and posted on the Internet a report on plaintiff’s program using quotes from their copyrighted seminar manual. A federal court in New York denied a preliminary injunction barring the defendants from using the materials, which was affirmed (see below). In February 2006, the case was transferred to federal court in New Jersey, where the case is pending. On June 27, the judge granted defendants’ motions to dismiss some of the claims, leaving the trade secret and contractual claims against all defendants, and the copyright claims against the Ross Institute.
In late February 2007, a magistrate judge in another case held that Ross could obtain a report that a lawyer hired by NXIVM prepared as part of an effort to discredit Ross, holding that it was not protected by attorney-client privilege because it had been given to third parties (see NXIVM Corp. v. O'Hara, Civil No. 05-1546 (N.D.N.Y. order Feb. 23, 2007)).

Links and Court Documents:

mentioned in http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1136838328818

article on discovery ruling: http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1173101906318

Pressler v. Mills, No. ___ (N.J. Super. Ct., Chancery Div., Bergen County filed Jan. 30, 2009).

Status: Pending.

Attorney Sheldon H. Pressler filed a complaint for defamation against Scott Mills for comments made by Mills on his blog (www.caipnj.org) and Internet radio show. TPressler asked the court for a permanent injunction and to order a public retraction; the court denied temporary restraining order on Mills’ publishing activities.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/pressler-v-mills-lawsuit

Township of Manalapan v. Moskovitz, No. MON-L-2893-07 (N.J. Super., Monmouth County filed June 13, 2007)

Status: Subpeona to unmask blogger pending

As part of a malpractice lawsuit against its former town attorney, the Township of Manalapan subpoenaed Google (owner of Blogspot) to determine the identity of the blogger "datruthsquad" (http://datruthsquad.blogspot.com), who wrote about the malpractice case. On Dec. 22, the court granted a motion by “datruthsquad," represented anonymously by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, to quash the town’s subpoena.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.eff.org/cases/manalapan-v-moskovitz

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-12/119622917254690.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

http://blog.nj.com/jerseyblogs/2007/11/telling_datruth.html

Motion to quash: http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/manalapan/motiontoquashmpa-signed.pdf

NEW MEXICO

Eclipse Aviation Corp. v. Doe, No. D-202-CV-200802624 (N.M. Dist. Ct., Albuquerque. dismissed July 30, 2008).

Status: Withdrawn by plaintiff

Eclipse Aviation, which manufactures very light jet aircraft, sued several John Does in New Mexico state court, alleging that they were current and former employees who had violated their confidentiality agreements by contributing and posting comments to the Eclipse Aviation Critic blog, http://eclipseaviationcritic.blogspot.com, which was active until 2007, and its successor, the Eclipse Aviation Critic Next Generation blog, www.eclipsecriticng.blogspot.com. Eclipse then filed a related action in California state court, seeking a subpoena to compel Google to reveal information to identify 28 “John Does” who contributed to the sites. Eclipse obtained the subpoena from the California court, but Richard J. Lucibella, one the contributors to the site, challenged the subpoena. In August 2008, as part of a shake-up of company management, the company withdrew its lawsuit.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.charterx.com/resources/article.aspx?id=3286

http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/302137nm04-22-08.htm

Docket: http://www.nmcourts.gov/caselookup/app?component=cnLink&page=SearchResults&service=direct&session=T&sp=SD-202-CV-200802624

Motion to quash (Cal.) subpoena: http://www.charterx.com/mediafiles/store/58773/128547467269195924.pdf

Coverage of settlement: http://www.charterx.com/resources/article.aspx?id=3444

Woodhull v. Meinel, No. D-202-CV-200700346 (N.M. Dist. Ct. filed Jan. 11, 2007)

Status: Trial court grant of summary judgment reversed, No. 27,959 (N.M. App. Oct. 24, 2008).

Plaintiff sued over a statement about her posted on defendant’s web site, www.happyhacker.org, on Oct. 14, 2003, alleging that the plaintiff had solicited defendant to hack into the website of the University of Florida student newspaper’s web site and remove a particular article, but that defendant had told plaintiff that doing so would be illegal. Defendant repeated and summarized the same alleged incident in a new post on Jan. 6, 2006, which also included an e-mail from the editor of the newspaper. Plaintiff sued for defamation on Jan. 11, 2007. The trial court granted summary judgment, holding that claims against the first posting was barred by New Mexico’s three-year statute of limitations on defamation claims; that claims from the second posting were also barred by the statute of limitations and the “single publication rule;” and that the suit was barred by section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. On appeal, the appeals court reversed the summary judgment as to the second posting, saying that the second posting was sufficiently different so that the “single publication rule” did not apply, and that whether the Communications Decency Act applies is a question of fact for a jury.

Links and Court Documents:

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/woodhull-v-meinel

NEW YORK

Best Van Lines v. Walker, Civil No. 03-6585, 2004 WL 964009 (S.D.N.Y. dismissed May 4, 2004), aff’d, Civil No. 04-3924, 490 F.3d 239 (2d Cir. June 26, 2007).

Status: Dismissal affirmed.

Best Van Lines, a New York-based moving company, sued Iowa resident Timothy Walker over comments that he posted on his movingscam.com website, asserting that Best was operating without required legal authorization or insurance. The federal court in New York dismissed the case on the grounds that Walker had insufficient contacts with New York for the suit to be brought there, and the 2d Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1183021584799

http://www.hhlaw.com/newsstand/detail.aspx?news=803

Appellate decision: http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov:8080/isysnative/RDpcT3BpbnNcT1BOXDA0LTM5MjQtY3Zfb3BuLnBkZg==/04-3924-cv_opn.pdf

Choy v. Boyne, No. 115577/2005 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York County dismissed April 8, 2006).

Status: Dismissed

A doctor filed a libel lawsuit against the author of a website that was critical of the doctor, after the author’s wife had won a malpractice settlement. The court dismissed the case, but the doctor has refiled the suit in Connecticut (see above).

Citywide Sewer & Drain Service Corp. v. Carusone, No. 18160/2005 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., Nassau County dismissed Sept. 18, 2006).

Status: Summary judgment granted to defendant.

On Oct. 13, 2005, WPIX-TV in New York broadcast a consumer report focused on complaints against Citywide Sewer & Drain Service Corp. The next day, defendant Angelo Carusone – whose father had worked for the company, and himself had had a summer job there – posted an item titled “Citywide really is shitywide” on his blog (www.angelocarusone.com, now dormant), which repeated the allegations of the WPIX report. The company sued Carusone and his father for libel. A defense motion for summary judgment was granted on Sept. 18, 2006.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.angelocarusone.com/?p=102

Complaint: http://www.angelocarusone.com/files/1Complaint.pdf

Defendant’s motion for summary judgment: http://www.angelocarusone.com/files/4MotionSummaryJudgment.pdf

Cohen v. Google, No. 100012/2009 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. County filed Jan. 2, 2009).

Status: Discovery motion (to reveal identitiy of blogger) pending.

Model Liskula Gentile Cohen sued over statements in the anonymous “Skanks in New York” blog (http://skanksnyc.blogspot.com/) that she was a “skank.” In response to a court motion seeking to force Blogger to reveal the identitity of the anonymous blogger, the blogger responded (anonymously) with court papers arguing the posts are “rhetorical hyperbole,” and thus not libelous. In March the blog was taken down, although Cohen’s attorney said that the suit would continue.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=101238

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/index.cfm?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=99112

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=97848

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1366627/skanks_in_new_york_and_liskula_cohen.html

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01062009/news/regionalnews/model_snared_in_ugly_web_147440.htm

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/01/05/2009-01-05_model_liskula_cohen_sues_google_over_blo.html

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=102465

Gatto v. Capeci, No. 080037/2008 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., Richmond County pre-trial motion filed Jan. 29, 2008).

Status: Denial of pre-trial motion (to file complaint under seal) being appealed

Transportation executive Domenic F. Gatto filed a sealed libel complaint against the GangLandNews.com web site, written by organized crime reporter Jerry Capeci. Gatto also sought to have the entire proceeding sealed. The motion was denied, and Gatto has appealed.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/business/media/03mob.html

http://ganglandnews.com/column573.htm (3rd item)

Finkel v. Facebook, Inc., No. 102578-09 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York County filed Feb. 24, 2009).

Status: Pending.

College student Denise Finkel sued four high school classmates who she claimed posted harassing and defamatory statements about her on Facebook. Finkel also sued Facebook and the classmates’ parents.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/crime/ny-liface036055943mar03,0,3092852.story

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=101431

Greenbaum v. Google, Inc., No. 102063/07 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York County dismissed Oct. 23, 2007).

Status: Dismissed.

Elected Lawrence, N.Y. school board Member Pamela Greenbaum Filed Suit against Google, seeking the identity of the author of the “OrthoMom” blog (orthomom.blogspot.com/), in order to sue for statements on the blog that criticized Greenbaum’s position on use of public school facilities by private religious school students. “Orthomom” intervened in the case in order to prevent disclosure of her identity. On Oct. 23, 2007, the court dismissed the suit on the grounds that Orthomon’s statements on her blog were opinion, and not capable of defamatory meaning.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/greenbaum-v-google-blogger

http://www.citizen.org/litigation/forms/cases/CaseDetails.cfm?cID=390

http://www.nysun.com/article/50507

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17885228&BRD=1601&PAG=461&dept_id=479855&rfi=6

http://www.5tjt.com/news/read.asp?Id=781

http://www.5tjt.com/news/read.asp?Id=783

Order dismissing case at http://www.citizen.org/documents/greenbaumdecision.pdf

In The Matter of Four Subpoenas dated October 30, 2007, May 6, 2008, May 6, 2008 and May 8, 2008 (New York v. Tsabar), No. 45278/2007 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., Bronx County 2008).

Status: Subpoenas withdrawn

In January 2008, a Bronx County Assistant District Attorney sent a subpoena to the owners of Room Eight (www.r8ny.com), a group blog focusing on New York City politics, seeking information to identify the authors of 29 blog posts, written by a pseudonymous contributor to the blog, and several anonymous contributors. The subpoena included the warning that disclosure by the site owners of the fact that they had received the subpoena – including telling the effected bloggers -- would impede an unspecified investigation (later revealed to be an investigation of death threats against a local political official), and could be prosecuted. The site owners filed a motion to quash the subpoena, and argued that they should be able to contact the pseudonymous and anonymous bloggers. They also threatened a federal lawsuit. In July, the District Attorney’s office withdrew the subpoena.

Links and Court Documents:

Case documents: http://www.citizen.org/litigation/forms/cases/CaseDetails.cfm?cID=489

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/technology/15law.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2008/07/room-8-ungagged-dishes-on-bronx-da.html

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/07/15/did-das-subpoena-bind-bloggers-to-silence/

http://volokh.com/posts/1216092524.shtml

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/07/16/2008-07-16_death_threats_net_rant_hound_bronx_board.html

www.citmedialaw.org/threats/new-york-v-tsabar

http://buffalopundit.wnymedia.net/blogs/archives/6718

http://www.r8ny.com/blog/admin/room_eight_fights_bronx_subpoena_wins.html

Jews for Jesus v. Google, No. 05-CV-10684 (S.D.N.Y. dismissed July 26, 2006)

Status: Settled; Dismissed with Prejudice

Jews for Jesus filed suit against Google for trademark infringement over their refusal to remove the URL jewsforjesus.blogspot.com, which expressed views that were critical to the organization. The parties ended up settling the case and the court dismissed the suit with prejudice. The blogspot URL is now operated by the Jews for Jesus organization.

Links and Court Documents

http://www.circleid.com/posts/google_sued_for_trademark_infringement_on_third_level_subdomain/

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/jews-jesus-v-google

Complaint: http://www.scribd.com/doc/2693758/Jews-for-Jesus-v-Google-Inc-Document-No-1

Order dismissing case: http://www.scribd.com/doc/2704031/Jews-for-Jesus-v-Google-Inc-Document-No-15

Kuersteiner v. Schrader, No. 100089/08 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y, County dismissed Oct. 14, 2008).

Status: Case dismissed

Eric Von Kuersteiner, who owns several businesses in “the Pines” community on Fire Island, N.Y., sued blogger Eric Schrader and several commenters on the Pavillion blog (pavilion.blog.com; now abandoned), named after one of Von Kuersteiner’s clubs. As a first step, Von Kuersteiner sought to force Schrader to identify the authors of several anonymous comments that he alleged to be defamatory. Considering Schrader’s motion to dismiss the claims against him under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the court held that the comments were not defamatory, and dismissed the entire case.

Links and Court Documents:

Ruling dismissing case: http://decisions.courts.state.ny.us/fcas/fcas_docs/2008oct/3001000892008001sciv.pdf

Knight v. LaVandeira, Civil No. 07-3751 (S.D.N.Y. complaint withdrawn Sept. 11, 2007).

Status: Case withdrawan by plaintiff

Photographer Ken Knight sued blogger Mario Lavandeira, who operates the perezhilton.com celebrity news blog, for publishing photos for which Knight claimed he owned the copyright. In September 2007, Knight withdrew his complaint.

Links and Court Documents:

Docket: http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/new-york/nysdce/1:2007cv03751/305923/

Complaint: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0517071perez1.html

Lavandeira v. Infuse, LLC, Civil No. 08-11213 (S.D.N.Y. filed _____ 2008).

Status: Motion to dismiss pending

While the New York lawsuit filed by the blogger behind the perezrevenge.com site against perezhilton.com celebrity news blogger Mario Lavandeira was pending, Lavandeira filed his own suit against the plaintiffs in the other case. The plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss the suit as duplicative is pending.

Manhattan 10221 LLC v. Maloney, No. 113074/2007 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. County filed Sept. 28, 2007).

Status: Pending

A Manhattan Dry Cleaner Sued A Disgruntled Customer Who Aired His Complaints on flyers posted on the Upper East Side and on a web site, toddlaynecleanerssucks.com. The dry cleaner’s motion for an injunction against the flyers and website was denied. On Oct. 12,. the court dismissed the libel claim, leaving a claim for tortious interference with plaintiff’s business and potential business. On Nov. 8, 2007, the case was moved to New York Supreme Court; on April 9, 2008, that court granted a motion to change the case caption.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10072007/news/regionalnews/soiled_reputation.htm

http://brain-terminal.com/posts/2007/10/07/my-latest-free-speech-battle

Opinion granting motion to change caption: http://decisions.courts.state.ny.us/fcas/FCAS_docs/2008APR/3001130742007003SCIV.pdf

NYP Holdings, Inc. v. LaVandeira, Civil No. 05-4305 (S.D.N.Y.

Status: Settled

The publisher of the New York Post, which features the “Page Six” gossip page (and has a trademark on the term), sued blogger Mario Lavandeira over the name of his blog, www.PageSixSixSix.com (now links to New York Post). Lavandeira agreed to rename his site, and now operates it as perezhilton.com.

Links and Court Documents:

Mentioned in http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/small-business-entrepreneurs/2007/12/11/the-gossip-artist.html

NXIVM Corporation and First Principles, Inc. v. The Ross Institute, Civil No. 03-976, 2003 WL 22298756 (N.D.N.Y. preliminary injunction denied Sept. 9, 2003), aff’d, 364 F.3d 471 (2d Cir. April 20, 2004), cert. denied, 543 U.S. 1000 (U.S. Nov 29, 2004).

Status: Transferred to D. N.J. (Feb. 2006) (see above).

The organization NXIVM, which provides an expensive training program called “Executive Success" and requires participants to sign a non-disclosure agreement, sued a "cult de-programmer" and two writers who authored and posted on the Internet a report on plaintiff’s program using quotes from their copyrighted seminar manual. The defendants posted the material, which they obtained from a former seminar participant, on their web site. The federal district court denied a preliminary injunction barring the defendants from using the materials. The appeals court agreed, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the decision.

In February 2006, the case was transferred to federal court in New Jersey (see above).

Links and Court Documents:

2d Circuit decision: http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov:81/isysnative/RDpcT3BpbnNcT1BOXDAzLTc5NTJfb3BuLnBkZg==/03-7952_opn.pdf

mentioned in http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1136838328818

Penn Warranty Corp. v. DiGiovanni, Index No. 600659/04 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. County dismissed Oct. 24, 2005).

Status: Dismissed

The court dismissed a libel suit against a New Jersey man for his 45-page Web site (www.pennwarrantylitigation.com, now inactive) detailing his gripes against car insurer, holding that the comments on the site were protected free speech and did not constitute defamation.

Links and Court Documents:

http://biz.yahoo.com/law/051101/09ff0649ee5c88176d85f611a15b84b2.html?.v=1

http://news.findlaw.com/andrews/bt/ebl/20051107/20051107pennwarranty.html

Decision: http://decisions.courts.state.ny.us/fcas/fcas_docs/2005oct/30060065920045sciv.pdf

Pivar v. Seed Media Group, LLC, Civil No. 07-7334 (S.D.N.Y. filed Aug. 16, 2007).

Status: Voluntarily dismissed by plaintiff

Stuart Pivar, author of a book titled Lifecode expounding his theories of cell specialization, sued the author of the Pharyngula science blog (scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/) over his criticisms of the book. The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case on Aug. 27, 2007.

Links and Court Documents:

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/08/pseudoscience-n.html

http://blog.sciam.com/index.php?title=pz_myers_scienceblogs_com_s_lead_blogger&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

http://citypages.com/databank/28/1396/article15832.asp

Complaint: http://www.overlawyered.com/files/pivar/complaint.pdf

Plaintiff’s notice of dismissal: http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/1:2007cv07334/311649/2/

Docket available via https://ecf.nysd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iqquerymenu.pl?311649 (PACER log in required)

Rosenthal v. Fein, No. ______ (N.Y. Sup. Ct. filed 2006)

Status: Unknown

Book author Ellen Fein, who was unsatisfied with the work that dentist Larry Rosenthal did in an effort to improve the appearance of her teeth, set up two web sites, “Larry W. Rosenthal is a Big Fat Liar” (www.lyingdentist.com; no longer active) and “Why Dr. Larry Rosenthal, DDS of New York is a Very Bad Dentist” (www.baddentist.com; substantially altered), detailing her complaints. Rosenthal then sued over the site. The current status of the suit is unknown.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.tbt.com/features/article25543.ece (5th item)

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/01/30/the-rules-author-sues-dentist-to-the-stars/

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-01-30-rules-writer-sued_x.htm

http://www.dentalcom.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-207.html

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01302007/news/regionalnews/giant_teeth_pat_regionalnews_dareh_gregorian.htm

Silver v. Lavandeira, Civil No. 08-6522 (S.D.N.Y. filed July 22, 2008).

Status: Injunction denied; suit dismissed by plaintiff.

Blogger Mario Lavandeira, who operates the perezhilton.com celebrity news blog, sued the owners and contributors to the similarly-looking and named perezrevenge.com blog site, for trademark infringement and unfair competition in California. The blogger behind the perezrevenge.com site, Elizabeth Silver, then filed her own suit in New York, alleging that Perez had posted stories on his site based on items that appeared first on her site. The trial court referred the case to a magistrate judge, who recommended that the plaintiff’s request for an injunction against Lavandeira barring him from copying items for the perezrevenge.com site, should be denied. The court agreed, and the plaintiff subsequently dropped the case.

Links and Court Documents:

Magistrate's report and recommendation (adopted by court) at http:/www.medialaw.org/MLDattachments/SilvervLavandeiramagisorder.pdf

Solengo Capital Advisors v. Dealbreaker.com, No. 1:07-cv-2657 (S.D.N.Y. Filed April 2, 2007).

Status: Settled.

Solengo Capital Advisors filed a complaint against the Dealbreaker.com blog for copyright infringement after the site posted Solengo’s promotional brochure. Dealbreaker.com refused to remove the brochure, claiming that it was newsworthy. After a preliminary injunction was denied, the parties reached a settlement in August 2007. The terms of the settlement are unknown, but the brochure has been permanently removed from the site.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/solengo-capital-advisors-v-dealbreakercom

Complaint: http://nakedshorts.typepad.com/nakedshorts/files/SolengovDealbreaker.pdf

Sollami v. Sheppard, No. 007550/2003 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., Orange County filed Oct. 6, 2004).

Status: Mistrial declared May 21, 1007; Retrial pending

In August 2006, the Appellate Division reversed a trial court ruling dismissing former Cornwall Supervisor Jim Sollami's defamation case against Tom Sheppard, who publishes the blog Cornball-local.com. The appeals court held (21 A.D.3d 408, 799 N.Y.S.2d 427, 2005 N.Y. Slip Op. 06311 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., App. Div. Aug. 8, 2005)) that eight of the statements at issue in the case were capable of defamatory meaning and should proceed to trial. Trial began May 15, 2007, but a mistrial was declared after plaintiff’s attorney fell ill. A retrial is scheduled for April 11, 2008.

Links and Court Documents:

Appellate Division decision and order: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2005/2005_06311.htm

http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2005/08/12/blogthis.htm

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070522/NEWS/705220323

Sottile v. Richters, No. ______ (N.Y. Sup. Ct. filed May 12, 2008).

Status: Pending.

Kingston, N.Y. mayor James Sottile sued blogger Clark Richters for an entry on his Ulster County Politics blog (ulstercounty.blogspot.com) alleging that “Mayor Sottile to be indicted for Bid Rigging” in relation to the demolition of a municipal parking garage. In late June, Richters filed a motion to dismiss the claim.

Links and Court Documents:

http://ulstercounty.blogspot.com/2008/05/hudson-valley-wag-blog.html

http://www.ulsterpublishing.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=450138

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19694768&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=74958&rfi=6

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19817085&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=74958&rfi=6

Tylo v. Bluestone, No. 24690/2008 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., Kings County filed Aug. 28, 2008).

Status: Pending.

Attorney Marina Tylo sued blogger Andrew Lavoott Bluestone for his reporting on the New York Attorney Malpractice Blog (blog.bluestonelawfirm.com) about a court decision in a case in which Tylo was unsucessfully sued for malpractice.

Links and Court Documents:

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/tylo-v-bluestone

UMG Recordings v. Lindor, Civil 05-1095 (E.D.N.Y. relevant motion filed Sept. 12, 2008).

Status: Motion pending

In a case brought by a music company against a defendant who allegedly downloaded large amounts copyrighted music, the plaintiff asked the court to declare the defendant and her attorney Ray Beckerman, who blogs about this and similar cases at recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com, “vexatious litigators” and impose sanctions for filing frivolous motions and posting them on the blog “to bolster his public relations campaign and embarrass Plaintiffs.”

Links and Court Documents:

http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2008/09/plaintiffs-move-to-voluntarily-dismiss.html

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/riaa-decries-at.html

Motion: http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/files/vexatious.pdf

Union Square Partnership v. Durkee, Civil No. 08-3101 (E.D.N.Y. filed July 30, 2008).

Status: Settled (non-monetary).

The business improvement district for the area surrounding Union Square in New York City sued the creator of parody blog (at both www.unionsquarepartnership.org and www.unionsquarepartnership.com) criticizing the group’s plans for redevelopment of the park, claiming that the blog infringed on its trademarks and copyrights on its site, www.unionsquarenyc.org. Union Square Parnership also filed a claim with the World Intellectual Property Organization, seeking control of the blog’s URL. As part of non-monetary settlement, the blog’s URL was changed to www.weareunionsquare.org.

Links and Court Documents:

Case information: http://www.eff.org/cases/usp-v-durkee

[Unknown] v. [Unknown], No. ______ (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 200?)

Status: Injunction denied.

In April 2008, the New York Times reported that “Laurie” was sued by her ex-husband for libel over heR “dIvorcingDaze” podcasts (www.divorcingdaze.com), and that he sought an injunction against them, arguing that they were “obnoxious, derogatory or offensive” and that violated their divorce settlement. The court denied the injunction, holding that while “Laurie’s” statements on the podcasts were “ill-advised and do not promote good parenting,” they were protected by the First Amendment.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/style/18divorce.html

http://www.abajournal.com/news/courts_reluctant_to_stop_divorcing_bloggers_from_airing_complaints/

http://www.blogher.com/my-ex-husband-sued-me-because-i-do-podcast-about-divorce

S. 8746 (N.Y.S. Legis. 2008)

Status: Introduced

A bill introduced by State Sen. Tom Duane would extend New York’s reporters’ shield law to cover bloggers.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--bloggershield0813aug13,0,586556.story

Links and Court Documents:

Bill text: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=S08746&sh=t

NORTH CAROLINA

Price v. Moore, No. 07CVS746 (N.C. Super. Ct., Rockingham County filed April 20, 2007).

Status: Pending

During the 2006 election, there was a police report that Rockingham County, N.C. school board candidate Ron Price had been seen removing campaign signs for Congressman Brad Miller, a Democrat. Price, who won his own election, was not charged. But former school board candidate Richard Moore, who publishes his own newspaper (The Neely Chronicle), maintains the “Rockingham Tattler” website (http://politicalsoup.tv), and hosts a television show on local politics, allegedly claimed in each of these venues that Price was a “thief” and a “crook.” Price filed suit against Moore and his wife, seeking a restraining order and $140,000 in damages.
Links and Court Documents:

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070430/NEWSREC0101/70430019

http://www.edendailynews.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=EDN/MGArticle/EDN_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173350994743

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070501/NEWSREC0101/70501006

http://reidsvillereview.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RVR/MGArticle/RVR_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173350994765&path=%21frontpage

http://theknightshift.blogspot.com/2007/10/im-being-depositioned-by-ron-price.html

Ramsey v. Harman, No. 07 CVD 333 (trial); COA07-1536 (appeal) (N.C. Dist. Ct., Madison Co.; NC Ct App. Filed August 27, 2007).

Status: Trial court injunction vacated, No. COA07-1536 (N.C. App. June 17, 2008).

Blogger Cindie Harman posted an entry on her website, bonifide.us, claiming that plaintiff Erin Knox was a school bully. Knox and her mother, Linda Ramsey, filed a complaint for stalking in the state court, and were granted a temporary civil restraining order. The trial court then held that Harman had harassed Knox, and made the restraining order permanent. On appeal the Court of Appeals vacated the injunction and the trial court’s finding that Harman had stalked the plaintiff. Harman’s constitutional and statutory arguments were not addressed.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/ramsey-v-harman

Opinion vacating trial court decision: http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2008/071536-1.htm

S.B. 46 (N.C. Legis. 2009)

Status: Introduced

A bill introduced in the North Carolina legislature by Sen. Steve Goss, the “Internet Libel Act” (S.B. 46) would make posting defamatory material on the Internet – either originating in North Carolina or recieved in North Carolina -- a criminal offense, as well a providing a procedure for demanding removal of such material before the filing of a criminal or civil complaint. Goss said that the inclusion of the criminal provisions was “an oversight.”

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/bloggers_gone_bad_criminal_penalty_for_libel_considered

http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/bill_targets_libel_on_blogs

http://scrutinyhooligans.us/?p=7093

Bill information and text at http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2009&BillID=sb+46&submitButton=Go

NORTH DAKOTA

Atkinson v. McLaughlin, Civil No. 03-91 (D. N.D. settled 2007).

Status: Settled (payment, if any, unknown)

Defendants are former volunteers at God’s Child Project charitable organization’s work in Guatemala who were removed from their positions. They then sent various e-mails and letters alleging that God’s Child Project founder Patrick Atkinson was untrustworthy, and making other allegations; they repeated some of these allegations on a web site they created in 1998, www.guatemalanchildren.org. Atkinson sued in 2003. In 2006, the court dismissed some of the claims in the suit, saying that North Dakota’s two-year statute of limitations on defamation barred most of the claims over what was posted to the site prior to 2001. But the court ruled that issues about postings since 2001 could proceed to trial. On May 15, 2007, the lawsuit was dismissed pursuant to a settlement between the parties.
Links and Court Documents:

Ruling: http://www.ndd.uscourts.gov/dndopinions/html/1-03-cv-91-126.htm

Docket available via https://ecf.ndd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/iqquerymenu.pl?920 (PACER log in required)

Doe v. Falk, Civil No. 09-05-C-543 (N.D. Dist. Ct. filed Feb. 2005).

Status: Dismissed on jurisdictional grounds (March 9, 2006)

Jerry Reynolds sued Ed Falk, who maintained the “Spam Tracking Page” (www.rahul.net/falk/), which linked to information about alleged “spammers” and ways to fight back. The complaint cited comments on the blog naming Reynolds and his company as spammers. After proceeding through discovery, the trial court dismissed the case on the grounds that it did not have personal jurisdiction over Falk, who lives in California.

Links and Court Documents:

Complaint: http://www.rahul.net/falk/Nz/Documents/0208_001.pdf

Many court documents available at http://www.rahul.net/falk/Nz/lawsuit.html and http://www.rahul.net/falk/Nz/Documents/

Order granting defense motion to dismiss: http://www.rahul.net/falk/Nz/Documents/order_3-9-06.pdf

Sierra Corporate Design, Inc. v. Ritz, No. 09-05-C-01660 (N.D. Dist. Ct. June 14, 2005).

Status: Dismissed in part (against one defendant); pending in part (against other defendant).

The plaintiff company, owned by Jerry Reynolds, alleged that defendant David Ritz posted the company’s server information on a website that provides such information to spammers who use it to hide the source of their e-mails. The company also sued Ed Falk alleging that he posted a comment on Usenet linking to the information posted by Ritz. On Oct, 26, 2006, the court dismissed the claims against Falk for lack of personal jurisdiction; on Nov. 22, the court denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment against Ritz. The claims against Ritz continue.

Links and Court Documents:

Amended complaint: http://www.rahul.net/falk/Nz/Documents/0209_001.pdf

Many court documents available at http://www.rahul.net/falk/Nz/Documents/

Wagner v. Miskin, No. ____ (N.D. Dist. Ct. jury verdict 2002), aff’d, 660 N.W.2d 593, 2003 ND 69 (N.D. May 6, 2003), reh’g denied (N.D. June 3, 2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1154 (2004).

Status: $3 million award for plaintiff affirmed

(NOTE: This award predates the award in Banks v. Milum, above, and involves a web site which would now be considered a blog.)
Former University of North Dakota student Glenda Miskin created a website, undnews.com, that criticized the university and its professors. Miskin was suspended from the university in 1990 after an internal disciplinary committee found that she had stalked UND physics professor John L. Wagner. But the site alleged that Wagner had harassed Miskin with sexually provocative phone calls. Wagner sued, and won $2 million for libel, $500,000 for slander, and $500,000 for interference with his business relationships. The North Dakota Supreme Court upheld the award, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/wagner-v-miskin

North Dakota Supreme Court opinion: http://www.court.state.nd.us/court/opinions/20020200.htm

OHIO

Laughman v. Selmeier, No. No. A02-08401 (Ohio C.P. jury verdict Feb. 23, 2003).

Status: $1,125,000 award to plaintiff

Joel Selmeier created a web site (www.triipleouch.com) which alleged that he had been sexually assaulted by a surgical nurse and physically assaulted by a doctor during a 1996 hernia operation at Mercy Hospital Anderson in Cincinnati, Ohio. Police did not find the claims credible, and Selmeier’s apparent suit against the doctor was dismissed (Selmeier v. Kirkpatrick, No. 01-8202 (Ohio C.P. summary judgment granted Aug. 6, 2003), aff’d, No. C-030624 (Ohio App., 1st Dist. March 17, 2004)). The doctor, nurse and hospital sued for defamation In February 2002 the plaintiffs obtained a court order sealing the case and ordering Selmeier to take down his site, but this was reversed the following month. The nurse’s case went to trial in Feb. 2004, and resulted in an award of $375,000 in compensatory damages and $750,000 in punitives.

Links and Court Documents:

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/031902/tec_124-6866.shtml

CRIMINAL CASE: Ohio v. Baumgartner, No. CR-05-470184-A (Ohio C.P. Ct., Cuyahoga County indictment Aug. 30, 2005); Ohio v. DuBois, No. CR-05-470184-B (Ohio C.P. Ct., Cuyahoga County indictment Aug. 30, 2005)

Status: Baumgartner is appealing her conviction; Charges against DuBois dismissed pursuant to plea bargain (see below)

Elsebeth Baumgartner of Oak Harbor, Ohio and Bryan DuBois of Sandusky, Ohio allegedly used their site www.erievoices.com to libel and harass retired Cuyahoga County Judge Richard Markus, who had presided over a libel lawsuit against Baumgartner. That trial ended with a $175,000 verdict against Baumgartner.

On trial of criminal charges of intimidation and harassment for the web site postings and other activities, Baumgartner moved to have trial judge Shirley Strickland Saffold removed from the case. Although Saffold refused to recuse herself, Baumgartner continued to argue for recusal. Saffold eventually ordered her jailed for contempt. Baumgartner then presented a note from her doctor that she was not competent to stand trial, and Saffold ordered her admitted to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation.

In March 2006 DuBois pleaded guilty to separate charges against him in Ottowa County (see below). As part of the plea bargain, the Cuyahoga County charges were dismissed and DuBois agreed to testify against Baumgartner in her trial.

On June 1, 2006, Baumgartner was again found in contempt and jailed; she was released on Oct. 5. On Oct. 31, 2006, Baumgartner was found guilty of 27 counts of contempt of court, and on Nov. 15 she was found guilty of 15 felony counts of intimidation and retaliation. On Nov. 28, 2006, Baumgartner was fined $2,700 and sentenced to 120 days in jail for the contempt counts, which she is appealing; on Dec. 18, 2006, she was sentenced to eight years in prison for the intimidation and retaliation counts, with the sentence stayed pending appeal.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/state-v-baumgartner

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060328/NEWS01/603280303

http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx?aid=14346&sid=38099&bw= (video)

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050927/NEWS01/509270301/1002

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051214/NEWS01/512140306/1002

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/060206BaumgartnerJailed.html

http://mp3.rbnlive.com/Greg/0603/20060329_Wed_Greg1.mp3 (audio)

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/100506ReleasedFromJail.html

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061031/NEWS02/610310359

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/116367081364530.xml&coll=2

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061129/NEWS02/611290323/-1/NEWS

CRIMINAL CASE: Ohio v. DuBois, No. CR-05-_______ (Ohio C.P. Ct., Ottawa County plea bargain March 27, 2006)

Status: Dismissed pursuant to plea bargain

Besides his indictment in Cuyahoga County (see above), erievoices.com webmaster Bryan Dubois was also indicted in Ottawa County on charges of intimidation and retaliation against one of the witnesses against Baumgartner in the original libel lawsuit. On March 27, Dubois agreed to plead guilty and testify against Elsebeth Baumgartner in her criminal trial. As part of the deal, Dubois formally apologized, and was sentenced to probation in the Ottawa County case, with the charges against him in Cuyahoga County dismissed.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060328/NEWS01/603280303

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050722/NEWS01/50722002/1002

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051212/NEWS01/512120302/1002

CRIMINAL CASE: Ohio v. Ellison, No. C/07/CRB/33168 (Ohio Muni. Ct., Hamilton County guilty verdict Nov. 16, 2007)
Status: Guilty verdict reversed, No. C-070875, 2008 WL 4531860, 2008 -Ohio- 5282 (Ohio App., 1 Dist. Oct. 10, 2008).

Ripley C. Ellison and Savannah Gerhard were friends in junior high school until Ellison’s younger brother accused Gerhard of molesting him; an investigation found insufficient evidence to substantiate the claim. In 2007, while Ellison and Gerhard were both in high school, Ellison posted a picture of Gerhard to her publically-accessible MySpace page, with the caption, “Molested a little boy.” Ellison removed the picture after Gerhard complained to school authorities, but the case was referred to prosecutors and Ellison was tried for violating Ohio’s criminal telephone harassment statute (Ohio Rev. Code 2917.21(B)) on the grounds that Gerhard said that she felt harassed by the posting. Ellison was convicted in a bench trial, and sentenced to a suspended 180-day jail sentence and one year probation. On appeal, the court held that while the statute is written broadly so that actual, direct communication with a target is not required for conviction, there was no evidence that Ellison had the criminal intent to harass Gerhard. Thus the court reversed and conviction and dismissed the case.

Links and Court Documents:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081011/NEWS0107/810110315
Trial court docket: http://www.courtclerk.org/case_summary.asp?sec=history&casenumber=C/07/CRB/33168

Appeals decision: http://www.hamilton-co.org/appealscourt/docs/decisions/C-070875_10102008.pdf

Powermark Homes v. Doe, Civil No. 07-825465 (Ohio C.P., Cuyahoga County dismissed Dec. 15, 2008).

Status: Dismissed.

Home-builder Powermark Homes sued the anonymous creator of the critical www.PowermarkHomes.Net site (now defunct). Powermark also complained to the website’s hosting company that the site used copyrighted materials without permission, which led the hosting company to shut down the PowermarkHomes.Net site. The site then re-emerged as www.powermarkhomessucks.com; Powermark renewed its copyright claims against the new site. There was little action in the case until Dec. 15, 2008, when the court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss the suit, without issuing an opinion.

Links and Court Documents:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071011-corporate-critics-feel-the-stinging-lash-of-dmca-misuse.html

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/web_site_critical_of_lorain_co.html

Court documents (through Jan. 2008): http://www.powermarkhomessucks.com/lawsuit.html

Suarez Corp. v. Meeks, Civil No. 267513 (Orio C.P., Cuyahoga County settled Aug. 1994).
Status: Settled for $64
Journalist Brock Meeks criticized a company promoting e-MAIl marketing in his e-mail newsletter (now defunct, but archived online at http://cyberwerks.com/cyberwire/). Benjamin Suarez, owner of the company Suarez Corp. Industries, sued for libel. But before the case went to trial, Suarez offered to settle for $64; Meeks accepted.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/suarez-corp-v-meeks

http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/?f=meeks_case.info

http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/defamation-in-cyberspace.html

Tendler v. Doe, No. ________ (Ohio C.P. filed Feb. 2006); see also Tendler v. Doe, No. 1-06-cv-064507 (Cal. Super. filed 2006) (supra)

Status: Discovery order issued; attempt to enforce order in California denied.

Orthodox Jewish rabbi Mordechai Tendler of New Hempstead, N.Y., was expelled from the Rabbinical Council of America in March 2005 and dismissed by his congregation in 2006 after several women accused him of sexual abuse and harassment. Various blogs, including www.rabbinicintegrity.blogspot.com, www.jewishsurvivors.blogspot.com, www.jewishwhistleblower.blogspot.com and www.newhempsteadnews.blogspot.com. anonymously reported on these developments. Tendler filed a libel lawsuit in Ohio against the anonymous bloggers, and as a preliminary matter obtained a court order ordering Google, owner of blogspot.com, to reveal the identities of the bloggers. The company refused to obey the Ohio order, so Tendler filed suit in California state court. In that court, the bloggers responded by filing a motion to strike under the state’s anti-SLAPP statute. Although Tendler then dismissed the suit, the California judge held that the suit would have been dismissed under the anti-SLAPP law and that Tendler must still pay the defendants’ legal expenses. Tendler appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed on the grounds that a request for to a court subpoenas does not fall within the anti-SLAPP law.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2292

http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2235

http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2233

California appeals decision: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/H031130.PDF

Wargo v. Lavandeira, Civil No. 08-664752 (Ohio C.P. filed July 14, 2008), removed to federal court, No. 08-2035 (N.D. Ohio removed Aug. 22, 2008).