Planned Parenthood of Columbia/Willamette, Inc. v. American Coalition of Life Activists [1]

Planned Parenthood and the other plaintiffs sued the American Coalition of Life Activists (ACLA) and others for alleged violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

Specifically, the plaintiffs objected to the creation of "wanted" posters that listed the names and contact information of various abortion providers and the Nuremberg Files [2] website, which contained anti-abortion advocacy and the names and addresses of over 200 abortion providers, who the site characterized as "war criminals."  The website said that this information would be used in future war crimes trials in "perfectly legal courts once the tide of this nation’s opinion turns against the wanton slaughter of God’s children." Those who brought the lawsuit argued that these materials constituted threats of bodily harm or intimidation prohibited by FACE and RICO.

Originally, a jury in federal court in Oregon awarded the plaintiffs approximately $108 million in punitive damages after finding the website and posters to be "true threats." The federal district judge also prohibited further display of the "wanted" posters.  ACLA brought many appeals, and the case stayed in the court system for years. Ultimately, the the district court ultimately upheld liability and awarded approximately $4.73 million in damages.

The Nuremberg Files [2] no longer attributes its information to ACLA because ACLA members objected to some of the materials on the website.