BESCR v. Goodman [1]

On November 14, 2007, BESCR, a court reporting service company otherwise known as Eastwood-Stein Deposition Management, and two of its principals, sued Trisha Goodman, an Oklahoma-based court reporter, and others for statements appearing on Goodman's blog, "Let's Stop Eastwood-Stein [2]."

According to BESCR's complaint, Goodman started the blog in late September 2007 after she allegedly was not paid $2,300 by BESCR for her work. On the blog, Goodman allegedly made statements indicating that BESCR was engaging in fraudulent business practices and was about to be sued by the Illinois Attorney General's Office. She also allegedly encouraged readers to refuse to accept jobs from BESCR and to forward the statements appearing on it to other court reporters, videographers, interpreters, and technical support people.

BESCR sued Goodman for libel, interference with contracts and business opportunities, and other torts. In addition to Goodman, the plaintiffs named three other individuals as co-defendants and co-conspirators: Michael Henry, a videographer and former BESCR employee; Barry Simon, another former BESCR employee; and Joan Burke, who has "no recent relationship" with BESCR, according to the complaint. These individuals were named as defendants because of their comments on the blog and distribution of its contents (through links and forwarding) to other court reporters and potential BESCR customers.