Quixtar, Inc. v. Does 1-30 [1]

On October 8th, 2007, Quixtar Inc. [2], a sister company of Amway Corp., sued thirty “John Does” for anonymous posts they made on blogs focused on Quixtar including freetheibo.com [3], theiborebellion.blogspot.com [4], and quixtarlostmycents.blogspot.com [5], and for anonymous videos posted on YouTube that the company considers disparaging and malicious. Quixtar seeks an injunction and damages of more than $25,000.

Quixtar claims two counts of tortious interference and one count of unfair competition. The complaint alleges the defendants have caused proprietary information to be disclosed and encouraged Quixtar’s distributors, known as “Independent Business Operators” (IBOs) not to buy certain products, to stop building their businesses, and to resign from the Quixtar business. Quixtar also claims unfair competition alleging the defendants misled current and prospective IBOs into believing Quixtar’s business practices are unethical, its products are not competitively priced, and it is operating contrary to law.

According to Quixtar’s official news blog called “Alticor Media Blog,” the lawsuit was filed in order to discover the identities of the bloggers and discern whether they are working in concert with Orrin Woodward, the subject of a separate Quixtar legal action Quixtar, Inc. v. Woodward, No. 07-08413-CK, slip op. (Mich. Cir. Ct. Aug. 10, 2007). An October 12th, 2007, blog post [6] reflects this motivation:

We filed suit [7] this week in Ottawa County, Michigan seeking to learn more about a number of “John Does” who have cropped up online since our dispute with Orrin Woodward and TEAM began [8].

Because we believe we can prove that some of their sites and posts were engineered or directed by Woodward, TEAM, their lawyers or their PR agency [9]. And that those sites were purposely used to post material that violates a court order [10].

…So we are seeking to support the legal system – and not attack First Amendment [11] speech. Tough line to walk, but we’ll walk it. Because we believe in both principles.

Some of the John Does filed a motion to dismiss [12] the suit on October 15, 2007, arguing collateral estoppel in connection with the pending Quixtar v. Woodward case where Quixtar also seeks to discover the identities of the John Does and that Quixtar’s complaint violates the defendants' freedom of speech rights under the U.S. Constitution and article I of the Michigan Constitution.