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.

AnswerThink Consulting Group v. Doe

Date: 02/23/2000
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Forum
In February 2000, AnswerThink, a business and technology consulting firm, sued 12 John Does for defamation in Florida federal court. The John Does had posted criticism of the company in a Yahoo! forum dedicated to AnswerThink. John Doe...
- 06/26/2008 - 2:10pm - 0 comments

Quixtar, Inc. v. Does 1-30

Date: 10/08/2007
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Michigan
Publication: Blog, Website
On October 8th, 2007, Quixtar Inc., a sister company of Amway Corp., sued thirty “John Does” for anonymous posts they made on blogs focused on Quixtar including freetheibo.com, theiborebellion.blogspot.com, and quixtarlostmycents.blogspot.com, and for anonymous...
- 06/25/2008 - 5:04pm - 0 comments

Bally Total Fitness v. Faber

Date: 02/23/1998
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total), Injunction Denied, Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Forum
In February 1998, Bally Total Fitness sued Andrew Faber, a former Bally customer who created a website entitled BallySucks (now defunct), which was dedicated to collecting complaints about Bally's health club business and included modified versions of Bally's trademarks with...
- 06/24/2008 - 3:33pm - 0 comments

Allegheney Energy v. Swiger

Date: 10/28/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Disciplinary Action
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Publication: Forum
Allegheney Energy ("AE") fired Clifton Swiger for allegedly posting anonymous criticism of the company and racial epithets on a Yahoo! forum.  AE said the posts were a violation of AE's diversity policy. In October 2003, AE sued Swiger as a John Doe...
- 06/20/2008 - 2:47pm - 0 comments

Allegheney Energy v. Doe

Date: 10/16/2003
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Subpoena Enforced, Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Publication: Forum
Allegheney Energy ("AE") sued a John Doe who posted anonymous criticism of the company that included racial epithets on a Yahoo! Finance forum dedicated to AE.  Because the anonymous author included statements in his posts indicating that he was a long-time AE...
- 06/20/2008 - 2:36pm - 0 comments

Marvin v. Shell

Date: 04/25/2002
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Illinois
Publication: Email, Forum
Jay Marvin, a Chicago talk-radio host, sued Janice Shell and two John Does over comments the three defendants made about him on the Raging Bull finance forum and from email sent by Shell to Marvin's employer, complaining about his alleged harassment of...
- 06/20/2008 - 2:24pm - 0 comments

Turtle Mountain Chippewa Indians v. Port

Date: 05/11/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: n/a
Type: Disciplinary Action
Jurisdiction: Reservation
Publication: Blog, Website
In May 2007, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians banished Robert Port from the tribe's lands for publishing an article, "The Appalling State of North Dakota Indian Reservations," on the Dakota Beacon website and on his own...
- 06/20/2008 - 1:00pm - 0 comments

Ward v. Cisco Systems, Inc.

Date: 11/07/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas, Arkansas
Publication: Blog
Rick Frenkel authors the Patent Troll Tracker blog, where he comments on lawsuits that in his view abuse the patent system. John Ward, Jr., a patent lawyer practicing in Texas, sued Frenkel and his employer, Cisco Systems,...
- 06/19/2008 - 5:07pm - 0 comments

Singapore v. Nair

Date: 05/31/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Convicted
Type: Criminal Charge
Jurisdiction: Singapore
Publication: Blog, Email
Gopalan Nair, a U.S. citizen who blogs from Fremont, California, was arrested in Singapore for publishing insulting comments on his blog, Singapore Dissident, and in an email about two Singaporean judges. In May 2008, Nair, a former Singapore lawyer, attended a...
- 06/18/2008 - 4:46pm - 0 comments

Ed Palmer v. Does 1-20

Date: 05/14/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: Material Removed, Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog
Since March 2007, The Central Coast Housing Bubble Blog published publicly available information about the legal and financial problems home builders and their financiers were having during the the Housing Bust. This included bankruptcies, foreclosures and civil disputes. A post published...
- 06/18/2008 - 12:23am - 1 comments

Illinois ARDC v. Avvo, Inc.

Date: 06/11/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Denial of Access
Jurisdiction: Illinois
Publication: Website
Avvo, which operates a consumer legal directory (www.avvo.com), sought registration and disciplinary information for all lawyers licensed in Illinois. The Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), an agency of the Illinois Supreme Court, maintains this information. Avvo's request was...
- 06/16/2008 - 7:53pm - 0 comments

Associated Press v. Drudge Retort

Date: 06/10/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Material Removed
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Blog
On June 10, 2008, the Associated Press ("AP") sent a takedown request under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to Rogers Cadenhead, the founder of Drudge Retort, a liberal alternative to (and parody of) the well-known ...
- 06/16/2008 - 6:04pm - 0 comments

Metallica v. The Quietus

Date: 06/01/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Publication: Blog, Website
Representatives of rock band Metallica demanded that websites and blogs take down reviews of unreleased songs from the band's forthcoming album. The band's management had played six songs from the album for a group of U.K. music journalists and bloggers, including writers...
- 06/13/2008 - 10:17am - 0 comments

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences v. Oscarwatch.com

Date: 05/01/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Material Removed, Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
In 2007, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the host of the Oscars) sued Sasha Stone, operator of Oscarwatch.com. Launched in 1998, Oscarwatch.com was a website featuring blog commentary, predictions, analysis, a forum, and contests relating to the Oscars. The...
- 06/11/2008 - 4:42pm - 0 comments

Intel v. Hamidi

Date: 10/07/1998
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total), Injunction Denied, Injunction Issued
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Email
In October 1998, Intel Corporation sued Ken Hamidi, a former employee, in California state court on claims of trepass to chattels and nuisance. The dispute arose when Hamidi created the Former and Current Employees of Intel ("FACE-Intel") website and began sending mass...
- 06/11/2008 - 2:39pm - 0 comments

Difrawi v. Garga-Richardson (Lawsuit)

Date: 06/06/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Forum
Internet Solutions Corporation, a company that runs a number of employment recruiting and Internet advertising businesses, and Ayman Difrawi (a.k.a. Alec Difrawi), the President and Director of Internet Solutions, sued Archie Garga-Richardson, the founder and operator of ScamFraudAlert.com, for defamation...
- 06/11/2008 - 10:11am - 0 comments

LA Times v. Free Republic

Date: 09/28/1998
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Injunction Issued, Settled (total), Verdict (plaintiff)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Forum
On September 28, 1998, the Los Angeles Times sued the Free Republic website for copyright infringement in federal court in California. Users of Free Republic, a conservative internet forum founded and operated by James Robinson, frequently posted copies of articles of...
- 06/10/2008 - 1:37pm - 0 comments

Internet Solutions v. ScamFraudAlert.com (Email)

Date: 05/29/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: California, Canada
Publication: Forum
On May 29, 2008, counsel for Internet Solutions Corporation and Alec Difrawi sent a cease-and-desist letter and email to Archie Garga-Richardson, the founder of ScamFraudAlert.com, a forum site that focuses on alleged Internet scams, security threats, and fraudulent practices. ...
- 06/07/2008 - 1:16pm - 0 comments

Solengo Capital Advisors v. Dealbreaker.com (letter)

Date: 03/28/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Blog
Dealbreaker.com, a website that describes itself as "an online business tabloid and Wall Street gossip site," received a letter from counsel for Solengo Capital, a hedge fund founded by former Amaranth Advisors traders, asserting that Dealbreaker's posting...
- 06/06/2008 - 5:14pm - 0 comments

Solengo Capital Advisors v. Dealbreaker.com

Date: 03/30/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Injunction Denied, Injunction Issued, Material Removed, Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Blog
Dealbreaker.com, a website that describes itself as "an online business tabloid and Wall Street gossip site," was sued for copyright infringement by Solengo Capital, a hedge fund founded by former Amaranth Advisors traders, over Dealbreaker's posting of Solengo's...
- 06/06/2008 - 4:31pm - 0 comments

Pages