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Home > Doe v. Fortuny

Doe v. Fortuny [1]

Submitted by DMLP Staff on Fri, 08/08/2008 - 15:03

Summary

Threat Type: 

Lawsuit

Date: 

02/20/2008

Status: 

Concluded

Disposition: 

Verdict (plaintiff)

Location: 

Illinois

Verdict or Settlement Amount: 

$74,252.60

Legal Claims: 

Copyright Infringement
Intrusion
Publication of Private Facts
On February 20, 2008, an anonymous plaintiff sued Jason Fortuny in Illinois federal court for copyright infringement, invasion of privacy through the publication of private facts, and intrusion, after Mr. Fortuny allegedly posted his photograph and personal information on the Internet. Mr.... read full description
Parties

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Jason Fortuny

Type of Party: 

Individual

Type of Party: 

Individual

Location of Party: 

  • Washington

Location of Party: 

  • Washington

Legal Counsel: 

Charles Lee Mudd, Jr., Heidi Irene Schmid, Sophie Marie Dye

Legal Counsel: 

Pro se
Description

On February 20, 2008, an anonymous plaintiff sued Jason Fortuny in Illinois federal court for copyright infringement, invasion of privacy through the publication of private facts, and intrusion, after Mr. Fortuny allegedly posted his photograph and personal information on the Internet.

Mr. Fortuny, a now-famous Internet "troll" who was featured in an August 2008 New York Times article [2], performed a notorious "Craigslist Experiment" in 2006, in which he posted a fake ad on Craigslist pretending to be a woman seeking a “str8 brutal dom muscular male” for sex. According to the New York Times, over one-hundred men responded, providing photographs and contact information. Mr. Fortuny allegedly posted this material to his blog, RFJason [3], and Encyclopedia Dramatica [4] (described by the New York Times as "an online compendium of troll humor and troll lore"). Mr. Fortuny disputes posting the photographs and contact information to Encyclopaedia Dramatica.

One of the men who responded to Mr. Fortuny's prank filed the Illinois lawsuit, claiming that Fortuny violated his copyrights and invaded his privacy by posting his photograph and personal information. The complaint [5] seeks $75,000 in damages and requests an injunction requiring Mr. Fortuny to remove the photograph and contact information from his website.

Mr. Fortuny is representing himself in the lawsuit. On July 11th, 2008, he filed a letter [6]that the court treated as a motion to dismiss. The motion, in which Mr. Fortuny challenged the court's jurisdiction over him and the substance of the plaintiff's claims, is pending.

Before filing suit, the anonymous plaintiff sent Mr. Fortuny and his web host a DMCA takedown notice [7]. Mr. Fortuny sent a counter-notification [8], and his host restored the material. Please see our related database entry, Doe v. Fortuny (Correspondence) [9].

Update:

4/9/09 - The court entered a default judgment [10] against Fortuny, requiring him to pay $74,252.56 in damages, attorneys fees, and costs. 

Related Links: 

  • 10 Zen Monkeys: Craigslist Sex Troll Gets Sued [11]
  • 10 Zen Monkeys: Jason Fortuny Responds to Lawsuit [12]
  • 10 Zen Monkeys: How I Sued a Craigslist Sex Troll [13]
  • Yahoo Tech Blog: Craigslist Sex Pranskter Gets Slapped with $75K Lawsuit [14]
  • RFJason: Stepping up the Action: When DMCA Isn't Enough [15]
  • RFJason: Don't Tread on Me (or How I stopped worry and learned to ignore DMCA threats)
    [7]
  • WIRED/Threat Level: Craiglist [16]
  • WIRED: The More Mainstream Media Covers Craigslist Attack [17]
  • New York Times: Malwebolence [18]
  • CMLP: Doe v. Fortuny (Correspondence) [9]
  • CMLP: Internet "Troll" Sued for Craigslist Sex Prank [19]
Details

Web Site(s) Involved: 

www.rfjason.com [20]

www.encyclopediadramatica.com [21]

 

Content Type: 

  • Photo
  • Text

Publication Medium: 

Blog
Website

Subject Area: 

  • Copyright
  • Intrusion
  • Publication of Private Facts
Court Information & Documents

Jurisdiction: 

  • Illinois

Source of Law: 

  • United States

Court Name: 

United States District Court Northern District of Illinois

Court Type: 

Federal

Case Number: 

1:08-CV-01050

Relevant Documents: 

PDF icon 2-20-2008-Fortuny Complaint.pdf [22]
PDF icon 7-14-2008-Fortuny's Motion to Dismiss.pdf [23]
PDF icon FortunyAmendedComp.pdf [24]
PDF icon Fortuny.Mt.Dis.Amd.Comp.pdf [25]
PDF icon 2008-11-12-Order Granting Motion for Entry of Default Against Fortuny.pdf [26]
PDF icon 2009-04-09-Minute Entry Regarding Damages Hearing.pdf [27]
PDF icon 2009-04-09-Default Judgment Against Fortuny.pdf [28]
CMLP Information (Private)

Priority: 

1-High

Threat Source: 

Blog Post

DMLP Logo


Source URL (modified on 08/20/2014 - 11:07pm): https://www.dmlp.org/threats/doe-v-fortuny

Links
[1] https://www.dmlp.org/threats/doe-v-fortuny
[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03trolls-t.html
[3] http://www.rfjason.com/
[4] http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/
[5] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2-20-2008-Fortuny%20Complaint.pdf
[6] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/7-14-2008-Fortuny%27s%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss.pdf
[7] http://www.rfjason.com/article/dont_tread_on_me_or_how_i_learned_to_stop_worrying_and_ignore_dmca_threats
[8] https://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/responding-dmca-takedown-notice-targeting-your-content
[9] https://www.dmlp.org/threats/doe-v-fortuny-correspondence
[10] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-04-09-Default%20Judgment%20Against%20Fortuny.pdf
[11] http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2008/08/04/craigslist-troll-gets-sued/
[12] http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/jason-fortuny-responds-to-lawsuit/
[13] http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2009/05/07/how-i-sued-a-craigslist-sex-troll/
[14] http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/101493
[15] http://www.rfjason.com/article/stepping_up_the_action_when_dmca_isnt_enough
[16] http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2006/09/craigslist.html
[17] http://blog.wired.com/27BStroke6/index.blog?entry_id=1555352
[18] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03trolls-t.html?scp=1&sq=troll&st=cse
[19] https://www.dmlp.org/blog/2008/internet-troll-sued-craigslist-sex-prank
[20] http://www.rfjason.com
[21] http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com
[22] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2-20-2008-Fortuny%20Complaint.pdf
[23] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/7-14-2008-Fortuny%27s%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss.pdf
[24] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/FortunyAmendedComp.pdf
[25] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/Fortuny.Mt.Dis.Amd.Comp.pdf
[26] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2008-11-12-Order%20Granting%20Motion%20for%20Entry%20of%20Default%20Against%20Fortuny.pdf
[27] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-04-09-Minute%20Entry%20Regarding%20Damages%20Hearing.pdf
[28] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-04-09-Default%20Judgment%20Against%20Fortuny.pdf