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.

Duffin v. Does

Date: 03/01/2009
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Material Removed, Settled (partial), Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Social Network
Cyd Duffin, principal of Colony High School in Palmer, Alaska sued MySpace, Inc. and John Doe defendants for defamation and invasion of privacy over the posting of a fake MySpace profile, which falsely depicted her "as a drug-using racist with a sexually...
- 04/09/2009 - 7:16pm - 0 comments

D'Amato v. Starr

Date: 05/18/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Injunction Denied, Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Blog, Forum, Website
On May 18, 2006, David D'Amato filed a lawsuit against David Starr, Magic Touch Productions, Kent Barclay, and a number of website hosting companies over allegedly false and defamatory statements posted on various blogs, forums, and websites.  The complaint included claims for...
- 04/09/2009 - 4:48pm - 0 comments

Hammer v. Amazon.com

Date: 08/27/2003
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Website
Self-published author Jeffrey Hammer sued Amazon.com in New York state court (later removed to federal court by Amazon) alleging libel, defamation, antitrust violations, breach of contract, and copyright violations, among others things.  The dispute revolved around negative reviews of Hammer's books...
- 04/09/2009 - 1:59pm - 0 comments

Grand Palms Golf & Country Club v. Rapillo

Date: 10/02/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Website
On October 2, 2008, the Grand Palms Golf & Country Club in Pembroke Pines, FL filed a suit in Broward County Court against Jessica Rapillo, a New York resident.  According to the New York Hospitality blog, the Grand Palms alleges...
- 04/09/2009 - 12:59pm - 0 comments

Hammer v. Trendl

Date: 04/23/2002
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Website
In early 2002, self-published author Jeffrey Hammer sued Anthony Trendl in federal court in New York alleging violations of federal copyright law and defamation for negative reviews posted on Amazon about Hammer's books.  Hammer also sought a temporary restraining order...
- 04/09/2009 - 12:44pm - 0 comments

Arizona v. Pataky

Date: 03/09/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Criminal Investigation
Jurisdiction: Arizona
Publication: Blog
In March 2009, Phoenix police raided the home of Jeff Pataky, a blogger who runs Bad Phoenix Cops, a blog that has been highly critical of the Phoenix Police Department.  According to The Arizona Republic, Pataky's home was raided...
- 04/09/2009 - 11:53am - 0 comments

Associated Press v. All Headline News

Date: 01/14/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Website
On January 14, 2008, the Associated Press (AP) sued All Headline News (AHN), W. Jeffrey Brown, the owner of AHN, and Danielle George, a senior editor for AHN.  The AP claims that AHN is illegally copying and rewriting stories by AP reporters...
- 04/07/2009 - 1:53pm - 0 comments

Monex Deposit Co. v. Gilliam

Date: 03/04/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: Injunction Issued, Material Removed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Forum, Website
On March 4, 2009, Monex Deposit Company and Monex Credit Company (collectively "Monex"), two companies in the precious metals business, filed a lawsuit suit against Jason Gilliam, Richard Gilliam, and Steven Bowman for publishing allegedly defamatory statements on the website MonexFRAUD.com and...
- 04/07/2009 - 11:18am - 0 comments

Gillespie v. Marlowe

Date: 09/16/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Default Judgment, Dismissed (partial)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Ohio
Publication: Forum
George Gillespie of Ohio filed suit on September 16, 2005 against two chat room users who allegedly humiliated him in AOL chat discussions.  The defendants, Bob Charpentier and Mike Marlowe, lived in Oregon and Alabama respectively at...
- 04/06/2009 - 4:59pm - 0 comments

Red Diamond v. Neilson

Date: 10/01/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Blog
Note: This is a user-submitted description.  The Red Diamond company is suing a Texas consumer for defamation, libel and business disparagement for the website www.reddiamondteaistoxic.com. A consumer discovered toxic chemicals in a jug of Red Diamond Tea and tried to get a...
- 04/06/2009 - 4:48pm - 0 comments

Korbel v. Does

Date: 08/29/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Forum
Korbel Champagne Cellars filed a John Doe lawsuit against 10 anonymous defendants. The defamation suit, filed in Sonoma County Superior Court, complains about a number of postings on a craigslist.org forum accusing Korbel of punishing employees who reported sexual harassment, plotting to...
- 04/06/2009 - 3:54pm - 0 comments

Colocation America v. Garga-Richardson (Letter)

Date: 03/27/2009
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Forum
On March 27, 2009, counsel for Colocation America and Mr. Albert Ahdoot sent a cease-and-desist letter to Archie Garga-Richardson, the founder and operator of ScamFraudAlert.com. ScamFraudAlert.com is a forum site that focuses on alleged Internet scams, security threats, and fraudulent...
- 04/01/2009 - 7:19pm - 0 comments

The Mortgage Specialists, Inc. v. Implode-Explode Heavy Industries, Inc.

Date: 11/12/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: Injunction Issued, Material Removed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New Hampshire
Publication: Website
The following is a user-submitted description: Mortgage lender Mortgage Specialists filed a petition for injunctive relief against Implode-Explode Heavy Industries, a website that reports and publishes stories concerning the US housing-finance sector.  In one story, Implode Explode covered Mortgage Specialists,...
- 04/01/2009 - 3:06pm - 0 comments

Ezzo v. Google

Date: 03/17/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Website
Jamil E. Ezzo, who holds a Supplemental Register trademark in the phrase "Locate Plastic Surgeon," sued Google, AOL.com, various plastic-surgery websites, and other defendants over their alleged use of the phrase.  Ezzo's Supplemental Register trademark is a federally-registered trademark that...
- 04/01/2009 - 12:52pm - 0 comments

Knight-McConnell v. Cummins

Date: 07/07/2003
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Forum, Website
On July 7, 2003, Kathy Knight-McConnell sued Mary Cummins for securities law violations, trademark infringement, defamation, and other claims in federal court in New York.  At the time of the litigation, Knight-McConnell ran a forum for investor discussions and published a newsletter...
- 03/31/2009 - 2:26pm - 0 comments

Palazzo v. Willamette Week

Date: 03/04/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: Retraction Issued
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Oregon
Publication: Website
On March 4, 2009, Randall Palazzo, a custom home builder in Oregon, sued the Willamette Week, a local newspapaper that also publishes a website, for defamation.  According to OregonLive, several editors and staffers, including Ian Gillingham, the paper's...
- 03/31/2009 - 1:11pm - 0 comments

Connolly v. Cirencione

Date: 01/01/2004
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Subpoena Enforced
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Forum
In 2004, Seneca County officials allegedly used improper means to obtain the identities of several anonymous posters on Fingerlakes1.com who posted critical comments about them.  The anonymous posters subsequently filed a lawsuit alleging abuse of process, violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy...
- 03/31/2009 - 12:30pm - 0 comments

Simorangkir v. Love

Date: 03/26/2009
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog, Micro-blog, Website
Fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir, who works under the label "BoudoirQueen," sued celebrity Courtney Love in California state court over statementsmade on Twitter, on Love's MySpace blog, and on Simorangkir's feedback page on etsy.com,an online marketplace for...
- 03/30/2009 - 6:24pm - 0 comments

Mitan v. Davis

Date: 02/20/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (partial)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Kentucky
Publication: Print, Website
On February 20th, 2008, the Mitans filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky against eight individuals located throughout the U.S. and Vitramax Group, Inc., alleging libel and slander.  The Mitans' complaint claims that Emory and Carol...
- 03/27/2009 - 4:30pm - 0 comments

Lonegan v. Brennan

Date: 05/01/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New Jersey
Publication: Forum
In May of 2007, Steve Lonegan, then Bogota New Jersey mayor, filed a defamation lawsuit against Bill Brennan and former Councilman George Silos for postings on a forum site. According to NorthJersey.com, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Daniel Mecca dismissed...
- 03/27/2009 - 1:37pm - 0 comments

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