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Home > Hollis v. Joseph

Hollis v. Joseph [1]

Submitted by DMLP Staff on Mon, 09/10/2007 - 16:16

Summary

Threat Type: 

Lawsuit

Date: 

05/31/2006

Status: 

Concluded

Disposition: 

Dismissed (total)

Location: 

Pennsylvania

Verdict or Settlement Amount: 

N/A

Legal Claims: 

Defamation
Todd Hollis objected to the description posted about him on DontDateHimGirl.com, a website that allows women to post about men and warn other women about them. Mr. Hollis sued Tasha Joseph/Cunningham, the operator of the website, alleging defamation in Pennsylvania state court,... read full description
Parties

Party Issuing Legal Threat: 

Todd Hollis

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Tasha Joseph (a.k.a. Tasha Cunningham); Empress Motion Pictures; Carolyn Lattimore; Alescia Roskov; Does 1-6

Type of Party: 

Individual

Type of Party: 

Individual
Intermediary

Location of Party: 

  • Pennsylvania

Location of Party: 

  • Florida

Legal Counsel: 

John Orie

Legal Counsel: 

Robert Byer, Daniel Beisler
Description

Todd Hollis objected to the description posted about him on DontDateHimGirl.com, a website that allows women to post about men and warn other women about them. Mr. Hollis sued Tasha Joseph/Cunningham, the operator of the website, alleging defamation in Pennsylvania state court, after she refused to remove the posts.

According to the initial complaint [2], four separate profiles were created by anonymous users of the site, which allegedly falsely claimed that Hollis had multiple children and had herpes; was "gay" or "bi"; had given the user an STD; and that he "wears dirty clothes," "complains about paying child support", and that his "crib is a dump."  (Compl. [2] ¶ 20, 25-26, 30, 34.)  Hollis claims to have complained to Joseph/Cunningham, who refused to remove the profiles.  (Compl. ¶ 23.)  

Hollis sued Joseph/Cunningham, the Cavelle Company, Inc. (the registrant for dontdatehimgirl.com), and three individuals who he claims were responsible for the false profiles for defamation, seeking $50,000 in actual damages plus punitive damages.

Joseph and the Cavelle Company moved to dismiss [3] for lack of personal jurisdiction.  The Pennsylvania court granted [4] this motion with respect to Joseph/Cunningham, a resident of Florida, and the Cavelle Company.  Hollis filed a second lawsuit [5] in federal court in Florida on November 29, 2007.

Related Links: 

Legal Blog Watch: Don'tSueHerBoy [6]

Wall Street Journal Online Law Blog [7]

ABC News: Women Rat, Man Sues [8]

CourtTV: Man sues Web site for allowing women to post comments that he's a 'cheater,' has herpes [9]

Legal Blog Watch: Don'tDateHim Lawyer Back in Court [10]

post-gazette.com: Lawyer sues again over Web site he says defamed him [11]

CMLP Related Threat Entry: Hollis v. Cunningham [5]

Details

Web Site(s) Involved: 

DontDateHimGirl.com [12]

Content Type: 

  • Photo
  • Text

Publication Medium: 

Forum

Subject Area: 

  • Defamation
  • Third-Party Content
  • Section 230
  • Personal Jurisdiction
Court Information & Documents

Jurisdiction: 

  • Pennsylvania

Source of Law: 

  • Pennsylvania

Court Name: 

Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Allegheny County

Court Type: 

State

Case Number: 

GD-06-012677

Relevant Documents: 

PDF icon 2007-11-30-Hollis Complaint (Florida).pdf [13]
PDF icon 2006-12-22-Amicus Curiae Brief in Support of DontDateHimGirl.com.pdf [14]
PDF icon Hollis v. Joseph Order.pdf [15]
PDF icon 2006-06-29-Hollis Complaint (Penn.).pdf [16]
PDF icon 2006-12-15-Corrected Motion to Dismiss.pdf [17]

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Source URL (modified on 08/20/2014 - 11:04pm): https://www.dmlp.org/threats/hollis-v-joseph

Links
[1] https://www.dmlp.org/threats/hollis-v-joseph
[2] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2006-06-29-Hollis%20Complaint%20%28Penn.%29.pdf
[3] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2006-12-15-Corrected%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss.pdf
[4] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/Hollis%20v.%20Joseph%20Order.pdf
[5] https://www.dmlp.org/threats/hollis-v-cunningham
[6] http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2006/06/dontsueherboy.html
[7] http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2006/07/03/pittsburgh-lawyer-dont-defame-me-dontdatehimgirlcom/
[8] http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2184494
[9] http://www.courttv.com/people/2006/0707/dont_date_him_ctv.html
[10] http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2007/12/dontdatehim-law.html
[11] http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07338/838968-85.stm
[12] http://www.dontdatehimgirl.com
[13] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2007-11-30-Hollis%20Complaint%20%28Florida%29.pdf
[14] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2006-12-22-Amicus%20Curiae%20Brief%20in%20Support%20of%20DontDateHimGirl.com.pdf
[15] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/Hollis%20v.%20Joseph%20Order.pdf
[16] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2006-06-29-Hollis%20Complaint%20%28Penn.%29.pdf
[17] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2006-12-15-Corrected%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss.pdf