Lawsuits Involving Forum Posts and User Comments

This page lists all lawsuits in the DMLP database that involve blogs. The most recent lawsuits are listed first

  • Florida v. Brayshaw
    Date: 05/01/2008
    Status: Concluded
    Disposition: Dismissed (total), Subpoena Enforced
    Type: Criminal Charge
    Jurisdiction: Florida
    Publication: Forum
    Florida state authorities charged Robert Brayshaw with a misdemeanor for violating Fla. Stat. § 843.17 after he anonymously posted the name, address, and telephone number of a Tallahassee Police Department officer on RateMyCop.com.  Section 843.17 prohibits publication of a law... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 11/18/2009 - 5:01pm - 0 comments
  • Straub v. Hair Transplant Network
    Date: 07/24/2008
    Status: Concluded
    Disposition: Withdrawn
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: California
    Publication: Forum, Website
    Dr. Paul Straub filed a defamation lawsuit against Media Visions Inc., the company behind HairTransplantNetwork.com, on the grounds that he was removed from the website's recommended doctors list and that critical comments were posted on the website's forum. HairTransplantNetwork.com operates two affiliate websites,... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 11/04/2009 - 6:03pm - 0 comments
  • New York v. Burgoyne
    Date: 01/01/2009
    Status: Concluded
    Disposition: Convicted, Subpoena Enforced
    Type: Criminal Charge
    Jurisdiction: New York
    Publication: Forum
    Cindy Burgoyne pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after posting confidential information about grand jury proceedings on discussion forum on the Times Herald-Record's website, using the pseudonym "Nancy Drew." Burgoyne had served on the grand jury investigating the death of a suspect... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 11/02/2009 - 1:52pm - 0 comments
  • Advanced Armament Corp. v. Garner
    Date: 05/06/2008
    Status: Concluded
    Disposition: Settled (total)
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: Oregon
    Publication: Forum
    Advanced Armament Corp., a Georgia manufacturer of silencers for firearms, sued Ian Hale Garner in Oregon over statements he posted on Internet chat rooms for gun enthusiasts.  Advanced Armament brought suit in federal court in May 2008 seeking damages and injunctive relief... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 10/21/2009 - 6:38pm - 0 comments
  • Bennoti, Inc. v. Complaintsboard.com
    Date: 03/25/2008
    Status: Concluded
    Disposition: Withdrawn
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: New York
    Publication: Forum
    In March 2008, Bennoti, Inc., an espresso machine marketer and merchandiser, sued consumer review site Complaints Board and its owner, Elizabeth Arden, for defamation of business reputation (trade libel) and unfair competition. In March 2009, the United States District Court for the Southern... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 10/14/2009 - 5:38pm - 0 comments
  • Admission Consultants, Inc. v. Google
    Date: 11/13/2007
    Status: Concluded
    Disposition: Subpoena Quashed
    Type: Subpoena
    Jurisdiction: New York
    Publication: Forum
    Admission Consultants, Inc. filed a motion for pre-action discovery in New York court, asking Google for identifying information relating to two email addresses tied to anonymous posts to a forum about business schools on BusinessWeek.com. The objected-to comments criticized... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 09/16/2009 - 9:19pm - 0 comments
  • Ottinger v. Tiekert
    Date: 09/04/2008
    Status: Pending
    Disposition: Dismissed (total)
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: New York
    Publication: Forum
    Former House Representative Richard Ottinger and his wife, June Ottinger, filed a John Doe lawsuit in New York state court over anonymous comments posted on a forum on LoHud.com.  In a special proceeding for pre-action discovery, the court... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 09/09/2009 - 3:48pm - 0 comments
  • Frontera v. Embden
    Date: 12/15/2003
    Status: Concluded
    Disposition: Settled (total)
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: New York
    Publication: Forum
    Details on this lawsuit are sparse, but it seems that a group of politically active people in Newburgh, N.Y. sued the creator and webmaster of the former forum section of the city's former official website, http://www.newburgh-ny.com (now redesigned and... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 08/28/2009 - 5:05pm - 0 comments
  • Glass v. Doe d/b/a pogowasright.org
    Date: 07/30/2009
    Status:
    Disposition:
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: California
    Publication: Blog, Forum
    Jane Doe, an anonymous blogger and author of the website Pogo Was Right: Privacy News from Around the World, filed suit in the Central District of California against Lillian Glass, Ph.D. The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment that (1) Doe is protected... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 08/14/2009 - 3:28pm - 0 comments
  • Guardian Civic League v. Philadelphia Police Department
    Date: 07/15/2009
    Status: Pending
    Disposition:
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
    Publication: Forum
    The Guardian Civic League has filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of 2,300 black Philadelphia police officers against the Philadelphia Police Department for allegedly allowing its officers to post racist and offensive content on Domelights.com, a website focused on law... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 08/05/2009 - 4:42pm - 0 comments
  • Gorman v. Meale
    Date: 07/07/2009
    Status: Pending
    Disposition:
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: Illinois
    Publication: Forum
    Attorneys at Favaro & Gorman Ltd. filed a lawsuit against Jennifer Meale and Xcentric Ventures, LLC over allegedly defamatory posts made anonymously by Meale on Ripoff Report, a consumer review website.  It is not clear how the law determined that... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 07/21/2009 - 6:24pm - 0 comments
  • Rejuvenation Strax and Aesthetics Institute v. Durham
    Date: 05/08/2008
    Status: Pending
    Disposition: Material Removed
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: Florida
    Publication: Forum
    Strax Rejuvenation and Aesthetics Institute, a plastic surgery clinic in Lauderhill, Florida, filed a lawsuit in May 2008 against a patient who allegedly posted a defamatory review of her treatment on CitySearch.com. The patient, Marshia Durham, said in news reports that she... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 07/21/2009 - 5:50pm - 0 comments
  • Town of Secaucus v. NJ.com
    Date: 09/01/2008
    Status: Pending
    Disposition: Material Removed
    Type: Subpoena
    Jurisdiction: New Jersey
    Publication: Forum
    According to the Hudson Reporter, in September 2008 the Town of Secaucus sought a subpoena from a Hudson County Superior Court judge to force NJ.com, a website run by a group of New Jersey newspapers, to disclose the identities of... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 07/07/2009 - 6:27pm - 0 comments
  • Cafiero v. Custer
    Date: 08/14/2008
    Status: Pending
    Disposition:
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
    Publication: Blog, Forum, Social Network, Website
    John Cafiero, a rock musician and manager of punk bands The Ramones and The Misfits, filed suit against Doug Custer (a/k/a Doug Evil) alleging in his complaint that Custer infringed his copyright by posting an animated video featuring The Misfits... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 06/25/2009 - 12:32am - 0 comments
  • Zisa v. Labrosse
    Date: 02/24/2009
    Status: Pending
    Disposition:
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: New Jersey
    Publication: Forum
    New Jersey police Chief Charles "Ken" Zisahas filed suit against an elementary school teacher in New Jersey state court, asserting that she made defamatory comments about him on a NJ.com, a local news website and forum.  According to news ... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 06/19/2009 - 3:46pm - 0 comments
  • Target Corp. v. Doe
    Date: 09/05/2006
    Status: Concluded
    Disposition: Dismissed (total)
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: Georgia
    Publication: Forum, Website
    Target Corporation, a chain retailer, filed a lawsuit against an initially unknown Internet user with the handle “Target Sucks” for copyright infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets for allegedly posting information on various retail-employee forums and blogs. Target identified the user as... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 06/19/2009 - 11:45am - 0 comments
  • Suarez v. Mecca
    Date: 08/09/2005
    Status: Pending
    Disposition: Dismissed (partial)
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: New Jersey
    Publication: Forum
    In August 2005, Ridgefield New Jersey mayor Anthony R. Suarez sued Ridgefield resident Michael Mecca, who had allegedly posted defamatory content to the Ridgefield forum on NJ.com under the alias "Voter12345."  According to court filings, the... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 06/19/2009 - 9:44am - 0 comments
  • Alvi Armani Medical, Inc. v. Hennessey
    Date: 05/19/2008
    Status: Concluded
    Disposition: Dismissed (partial), Settled (total)
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: Florida
    Publication: Forum, Website
    Dr. Antonio Alvi Armani, a California hair-restoration surgeon, filed a lawsuit in Florida federal court against Media Visions, Inc., and its president, Patrick Hennessey, the operators of The Hair Tranplant Network, a hair-loss forum.  The complaint, also filed... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 06/10/2009 - 3:33pm - 0 comments
  • Remove Your Content v. Does
    Date: 03/02/2009
    Status: Pending
    Disposition:
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: Texas
    Publication: Blog, Email, Forum
    Remove Your Content LLC, which bills itself as a "targeted adult content removal service," filed suit in federal district court in Texas against 20 unnamed defendants for defamation, business disparagement, tortious interference, assault, and trademark infringement. Remove Your Content's claims... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 06/03/2009 - 5:35pm - 0 comments
  • Ascentive v. 1ShoppingCart.com
    Date: 02/13/2009
    Status: Pending
    Disposition: Withdrawn
    Type: Lawsuit
    Jurisdiction: Oregon
    Publication: Forum
    On February 13, 2009, Ascentive LLC, a company that develops software such as FinallyFast to improve computer performance, sued PCPitstop and its CEO, Rob Cheng, along with 1ShoppingCart.com, a conveyer of eCommerce software and... read full description
    Legal Threat - - 06/02/2009 - 7:51pm - 0 comments

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