Recent Threats Added to the DMLP Database

NOTE: The information and commentary contained in this database entry are based on court filings and other informational sources that may contain unproven allegations made by the parties. The truthfulness and accuracy of such information is likely to be in dispute. Information contained in this entry is current as of the last event mentioned in the "Description" section below; additional proceedings might have taken place in this matter since this event.

Route 60 Hyundai v. Alascio

Date: 12/04/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Micro-blog, Social Network
Counsel for Route 60 Hyundai, a car dealership in Florida, sent a demand letter to Thomas Alascio after he posted critical comments about the dealership on Twitter and Facebook.  The letter accused Alascio of defaming the company and demanded that...
- 01/04/2010 - 4:04pm - 0 comments

TSA v Chris Elliott and Steve Frischling

Date: 12/29/2009
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Florida, Connecticut
Publication: Blog
On December 29, 2009, agents of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) interrogated and served subpoenas on two travel bloggers who had posted a TSA security directive put in place after the failed Christmas day "underwear bomber" attempt. The two bloggers, Steven Frischling...
- 01/04/2010 - 12:55pm - 0 comments

Carmichael v. White

Date: 07/22/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New Jersey
Publication: Website
On July 30, 2008, Alexander Carmichael sued William White for defamation in New Jersey state court.  Carmichael runs the League of American Patriots, a white supremacist group.  White operates Overthrow.com, the website of the American National...
- 12/18/2009 - 5:20pm - 0 comments

Carabelli v. The Michigan Messenger

Date: 10/01/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Michigan
Publication: Website
James Carabelli, chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Michigan, sued The Michigan Messenger, a news site owned by the Center for Independent Media, for defamation in Michigan state court in October 2008. The lawsuit revolves...
- 12/18/2009 - 5:19pm - 0 comments

Sedersten v. The Springfield News-Leader

Date: 09/02/2009
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Subpoena Quashed
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Missouri
Publication: Website
John Sedersten subpoenaed The Springfield News-Leader to obtain information about "bornandraisedhere," a pseudonymous commenter who posted a comment to an article on the News-Leader's website.  The subpoena issued in conjunction with Sedersten's civil lawsuit against the City of Springfield, Missouri,...
- 12/16/2009 - 2:34pm - 0 comments

Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce v. "Elmer Fudd"

Date: 09/04/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: Subpoena Enforced
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: South Carolina
Publication: Website
On September 4, 2009, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce sued  "Elmer Fudd," an anonymous commenter on TheSunNews.com.  From Popehat (quoting the original Sun News article that is no longer available): The posts, which appeared on the comment...
- 12/11/2009 - 11:53am - 0 comments

Abshire v. Pearl

Date: 01/01/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Forum
Dale Abshire filed a lawsuit in a Texas state court against David Pearl after Pearl posted a series of allegedly defamatory responses on the Yahoo! Finance AXA Internet message board in response to Abshire's posts. According to the appellate decision...
- 12/10/2009 - 10:15am - 0 comments

International Olympic Committee v. Giles

Date: 10/06/2009
Status: Concluded
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Australia
Publication: Website
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sent an email to a Flickr user Richard Giles  asking him to cease and desist from distributing and/or licensing photographs of the 2008 Beijing Olympic events that he had photographed while at the games and...
- 12/10/2009 - 9:32am - 0 comments

Lemkins v. Lexington Herald-Leader

Date: 11/09/2009
Status:
Disposition: n/a
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Kentucky
Publication: Website
On November 9, 2009, Kentucky attorney Astrida Lemkins issued a subpoena to the Lexington Herald-Leader, which operates the website Kentucky.com, seeking the identity of an anonymous commenter.  The subpoena was issued in connection with a defamation lawsuit filed by Lemkins against...
- 12/09/2009 - 6:06pm - 0 comments

Lemkins v. Doe

Date: 11/09/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Kentucky
Publication: Website
On November 9, 2009, Kentucky attorney Astrida Lemkins filed a defamation lawsuit in state court against an anonymous individual that posted comments about her on the website Kentucky.com. At issue in the lawsuit are comments made by a commenter called "supercalifragilistic" to a...
- 12/09/2009 - 5:58pm - 0 comments

Zuleger v. Klocko

Date: 04/01/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Wisconsin
Publication: Forum
Dean Zuleger, the Village Administrator in Weston, Wisconsin, sent a letter to Paul Klocko, a local businessman, demanding that he cease making anonymous derogatory statements about him on the website for the Wausau Daily Herald.  Klocko had...
- 12/04/2009 - 11:30am - 0 comments

Darnell v. Dobrott

Date: 06/10/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total), Injunction Denied
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Forum
In June 2008, Tim Darnell of Advantage Conferences sued Heather Dobrott in Texas state court for comments she posted about his business under the pseudonym "soapboxmom" on forum site scam.com and other websites.  Darnell's petition and request for temporary restraining...
- 12/02/2009 - 7:35pm - 0 comments

United States v Indymedia.us

Date: 01/23/2009
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Indiana
Publication: Website
In January 2009, Kristina Clair received a grand jury subpoena issued upon application of the United States Attorney for the District of Indiana, Timothy M. Morrison. Ms. Clair is a Linux administrator living in Philadelphia who provides free server space for ...
- 12/02/2009 - 6:55pm - 0 comments

United States v. Weaver

Date: 06/11/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: Convicted
Type: Criminal Charge
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Publication: Website
On June 11, 2009, Jeffrey Weaver was criminally indicted for statements he posted to InfoWars.com that threatened a California transit police officer and threatened the officer's family.  InfoWars.com is a website run by talk radio host Alex Jones. According to the affidavit...
- 12/02/2009 - 6:03pm - 0 comments

Ness v. Rondberg

Date: 03/19/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: Injunction Issued, Material Removed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
Peri Ness, the founder of Synergy Yoga, filed a lawsuit in California state court against Terry Rondberg, a former student of Synergy Yoga, and Michelle DePalma, a former teacher there, after they created TruthAboutSynergyYoga.com.  According to an appellate decision...
- 11/25/2009 - 11:27am - 0 comments

United States v. Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, USA, Inc.

Date: 05/20/2004
Status: Pending
Disposition: Convicted
Type: Criminal Charge
Jurisdiction: New Jersey
Publication: Website
On March 2, 2006, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) and six of its members were convicted of terrorism and Internet stalking under the Animal Enterprise Protection Act. The group was charged with engaging in various forms of harassment and intimidation...
- 11/20/2009 - 11:06am - 0 comments

Huntingdon Life Sciences, Inc. v. Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, USA Inc.

Date: 06/03/2003
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (partial), Injunction Issued
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) and one of its employees filed a lawsuit in California state court against Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, USA (SHAC), the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), and animal rights activists associated with both groups.  The plaintiffs sought an injunction against...
- 11/18/2009 - 6:46pm - 0 comments

Florida v. RateMyCop.com

Date: 05/01/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Subpoena Enforced
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Forum
The Tallahassee Police Department subpoenaed records from RateMyCop.com after an anonymous user posted the name, address, and telephone number of a Tallahassee police officer on the site, according to Wired. When the authorities obtained identifying information for the poster,...
- 11/18/2009 - 5:21pm - 0 comments

Florida v. Brayshaw

Date: 05/01/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total), Subpoena Enforced
Type: Criminal Charge
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Forum
Florida state authorities charged Robert Brayshaw with a misdemeanor for violating Fla. Stat. § 843.17 after he anonymously posted the name, address, and telephone number of a Tallahassee Police Department officer on RateMyCop.com.  Section 843.17 prohibits publication of a law...
- 11/18/2009 - 5:01pm - 0 comments

Jenzabar, Inc. v. Long Bow Group, Inc.

Date: 05/14/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
Publication: Website
In 2007, Jenzabar, a company that makes software systems for colleges and universities, sued Long Bow Group, the maker of a documentary film about the 1989 student protests at Tiananmen Square called The Gate of Heavenly Peace. The...
- 11/11/2009 - 11:57am - 0 comments

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