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.

Essent v. Doe

Date: 06/19/2006
Status: Pending
Disposition: Subpoena Quashed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Blog
In June 2007, a subsidiary of Essent Healthcare, Inc. filed suit in Texas state court against an anonymous blogger and an undefined number of anonymous posters to his blog. Essent's petition contains claims for defamation, trade disparagement, breach...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Cosby v. Baio

Date: 03/02/2006
Status:
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog
Andrew Baio, a blogger, posted a Bill Cosby comedy album in full as a tribute to Cosby. He also mirrored a video series, "House of Cosbys," which had appeared on online TV site Channel101, but was taken offline after Cosby's...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Exodus Int'l v. Watt

Date: 03/01/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog
Mr. Watt altered a photograph of a billboard that he found on the website of "ex-gay" ministry, Exodus International, and posted it on his blog. The billboard originally read "Gay? Unhappy? www.exodus.to", and Watt altered it to read "Straight? Unhappy? www.gay.com". Through...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

NCAA v. Bennett

Date: 06/10/2007
Status:
Disposition: n/a
Type: Denial of Access
Jurisdiction: Kentucky
Publication: Blog
Brian Bennett, a blogger and reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper, had his media credentials revoked for blogging during a live NCAA baseball final game. The NCAA said that Bennett was in violation of its policy banning live internet updates during champtionship...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Kaplan v. Salahi

Date: 09/12/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Verdict (plaintiff)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog
Lee Kaplan, a freelance journalist and columnist for FrontPageMag.com, sued Yaman Salahi, a student blogger at the University of California at Berkeley, in small claims court for libel and interfering with business relations. Salahi's blog, Lee Kaplan Watch, monitored and...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Barrett v. Rosenthal

Date: 11/03/2000
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (partial), Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Email, Forum
The plaintiffs, Dr. Stephen J. Barrett and Dr. Timothy Polevoy, operated websites devoted to exposing health frauds. Ilena Rosenthal directed the Humantics Foundation for Women and operated an Internet discussion group. Barrett and Polevoy claimed that Rosenthal and her co-defendants committed libel...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Doe v. Bates

Date: 05/09/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Forum
The parents of a child who was victimized by an online pornography group filed a lawsuit against Yahoo! alleging that it knowingly hosted illegal child pornography on the "Candyman" Yahoo! Group. The plaintiffs sued both the moderator of that "e-group" (who was...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Zeran v. America Online

Date: 04/23/1996
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Virginia, Oklahoma
Publication: Forum
Shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing, an unknown person posted messages on an AOL bulletin board purporting to offer for sale t-shirts and other items which supported or made light of the bombing in Oklahoma City. The messages contained Kenneth Zeran’s first...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Subway v. Quiznos

Date: 10/27/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Connecticut
Publication: Website
In late 2006, restaurant franchisor Quiznos and video-sharing site iFilm co-sponsored a nationwide contest, “Quiznos v. Subway TV Ad Challenge,” inviting members of the public to submit videos comparing a Quiznos sandwich to a Subway sandwich using the theme "meat, no meat."...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Hargrave Military Academy v. Guyles

Date: 05/08/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Injunction Issued, Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Publication: Email, Print, Website
After their son was expelled from the Hargrave Military Academy for stealing, Jerry and Melissa Guyles wrote a letter to other parents of Hargrave students, discussing their son's expulsion and their interactions with the administration, and expressing their view that the director...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Omega World Travel v. Mummagraphics

Date: 02/08/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (partial), Verdict (plaintiff)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Publication: Website
Mummagraphics, Inc., run by anti-spam activist Mark Mumma, operated websites devoted to opposing spam messages. Mumma received a number of unsolicited emails from Cruise.com, a subsidiary of travel agency Omega World Travel, Inc. In early 2005, Mumma posted comments on one of...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

CAIR v. Whitehead

Date: 03/29/2004
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Publication: Website
Andrew Whitehead published statements on his website, Anti-CAIR, that denounced the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a "terrorist supporting front organization" that had strong financial ties to Hamas and other Islamic terrorist organizations. In April 2004, CAIR sued Whitehead...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Draker v. Schreiber

Date: 09/01/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total), Material Removed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Social Network
Benjamin Schreiber and Ryan Todd, two 16-year old Clark High School students, posted a false MySpace page about their assistant principal Anna Draker in March 2006. The page was online for approximately one month before Draker learned of it. She contacted MySpace,...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Shamblin v. Martinez

Date: 11/06/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (partial), Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Tennessee
Publication: Blog, Website
An anonymous blogger made critical statements about Gwen Shamblin, leader of the Remnant Fellowship church, and about the group's beliefs and practices. One of the statements implied that two Remnant Fellowship members who were indicted for beating their eight-year old son to...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Cisneros v. Sanchez

Date: 08/24/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Material Removed, Retraction Issued, Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Forum
Robert Sanchez lost an election for City Commissioner in Brownsville, Texas, but kept the forum on his campaign website active after the election. Elena Cisneros, the wife of Sanchez's former opponent, sued Sanchez for defamation in Texas state court claiming that pseudonymous...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 2 comments

Doe v. MySpace

Date: 06/19/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas, New York
Publication: Social Network
A female minor registered with MySpace and contacted a nineteen-year-old male through the site. They agreed to meet, and he sexually assaulted her. The minor and her mother sued MySpace and its parent, News Corp., for negligence, fraud, and negligent...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Coons v. Oliphant (Lawsuit)

Date: 01/31/2007
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Tennessee
Publication: Email, Social Network
On December 22, 2006, John Oliphant sent a mass email and posted on his MySpace page an article entitled "the Worst Party Guest Ever," in which he made insulting remarks about Ron Coons. According to court filings, Oliphant accused Coons of...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

Hermitage School District v. Layshock

Date: 12/21/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Disciplinary Action
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Publication: Social Network
In December 2005, high school student Justin Layshock posted a fake MySpace page parodying his high school principal, Eric Trosch. Layshock posted a picture of Trosch and answered the questions asked by the site's profile template by riffing on the word "big"...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

BidZirk LLC v. Smith

Date: 01/10/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total), Injunction Denied
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: South Carolina
Publication: Blog
BidZirk, LLC is a reseller of items on eBay. Philip Smith contacted the company and engaged it to sell certain items on his behalf. Unhappy with the prices that he received, Smith published a four-part blog posting entitled "Special Report: You...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

AutoAdmit

Date: 06/08/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total), Subpoena Enforced
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Connecticut
Publication: Forum
Two female Yale Law School students, captioned as Does I & II, sued Anthony Ciolli, the former chief education director of the popular law school admissions forum, AutoAdmit, and a host of pseudonymous users of the forum over vulgar, sexually...
- 09/10/2007 - 3:59pm - 0 comments

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