Katherine Coble posted information on her blog relating to her husband's personal experience with JL Kirk Associates, a job placement company. In the posting, Coble criticized the company's "interview process" and made other statements about the company and its recruitment tactics. A JL Kirk representative posted a comment to the posting, defending the company. Coble then posted the comment as a post of its own.

Through counsel, the company sent Coble a letter, claiming that various statements in her blog posting were libelous and threatening to sue if the statements were not removed.

Ms. Coble retained counsel through the Media Bloggers Association, and her lawyer sent a response letter to JL Kirk's attorney asking the company to discuss the matter. According to Ms. Coble, both sides expressed their desire to avoid litigation and discuss the matter privately.