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.

Filler, et al. v. Walker, et al.

Date: 05/31/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Forum
Dr. Aaron Filler filed a complaint against former patient Susan Walker in Los Angeles Superior Court on May 31, 2011. In his complaint, Filler alleged defamation and interference with prospective economic advantage in response to Walker's review of Dr. Filler on a...
- 07/31/2012 - 2:51pm - 0 comments

Nilan v. Valenti

Date: 06/22/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: Injunction Denied
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
Publication: Blog
According to a police report, on December 8, 2011, Meredith Nilan, the 24-year-old daughter of the Chief of Probation at Berkshire Superior Court, was involved in a car accident. While driving home from a social gathering, Nilan allegedly...
- 07/26/2012 - 9:53am - 0 comments

Suffolk County District Attorney's Office v. Twitter, Inc. (subpoena)

Date: 12/14/2011
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Subpoena Enforced
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
Publication: Micro-blog
On December 14, 2011, as part of a criminal investigation conducted by the District Attorney of Suffolk County and the Boston Police Department, the District Attorney issued an administrative subpoena under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 271, Section 17B and...
- 07/24/2012 - 11:18am - 0 comments

Charles Carreon v. Matthew Inman, et al.

Date: 06/15/2012
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
Charles Carreon is an attorney, who was retained by FunnyJunk, LLC, on matters related to the website FunnyJunk.com. On June 2, 2012, Carreon sent a letter on behalf of FunnyJunk to Matthew Inman, creator of TheOatmeal.com, which threatened legal action and demanded...
- 07/20/2012 - 3:57pm - 0 comments

FunnyJunk, LLC vs. TheOatmeal.com

Date: 06/02/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Washington
Publication: Blog
On June 2, 2012, attorney Charles Carreon sent a letter on behalf of FunnyJunk, LLC ("FunnyJunk") to Matthew Inman, creator of TheOatmeal.com, which threatened legal action on the basis of a May 2011 blog post by Inman titled "...
- 07/20/2012 - 3:57pm - 0 comments

Scott v. WorldStarHipHop, Inc.

Date: 12/16/2010
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (partial)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Website
On December 16, 2010, Robert Scott filed a pro se complaint in the Southern District of New York against Berkeley College and WorldStarHipHop, Inc. (hereafter "WorldStar"). Berkeley College is private college in New York; WorldStar, a Nevada corporation, operates and...
- 07/17/2012 - 4:38pm - 0 comments

Jacobson v. "Almostinnocentbystander"

Date: 04/23/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Idaho
Publication: Blog, Website
On Febraury 14, 2012, Republican presidential nominee Rick Santorum spoke at an event in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The Kootenai County Republican Chair, Tina Jacobson, was present at the event and appeared on the stage with Santorum. The blog Huckleberries Online – which...
- 07/16/2012 - 5:13pm - 0 comments

Hermès International v. Does

Date: 02/29/2012
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Default Judgment, Injunction Issued
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Website
On March 6, 2012, Hermès International and its subsidiary Hermès of Paris filed a complaint (which had been prepared for February 29, 2012) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against 34 websites that...
- 07/12/2012 - 11:10am - 0 comments

Beaverton Grace Bible Church v. Smith

Date: 02/22/2012
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Oregon
Publication: Blog
On February 22, 2012, O'Neal and the Beaverton Grace Bible Church filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon for Washington County against Julie Anne Smith, her daughter, and two other blog commentators (the Stephens), alleging...
- 07/10/2012 - 12:52pm - 0 comments

Hoang v. Amazon.com, Inc.

Date: 10/13/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (partial)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Washington
Publication: Website
Junie Hoang, the stage name of Asian actress Huong Huang, filed an anonymous "Jane Doe" complaint in the Western District of Washington against the Internet Movie Database website, IMDb.com, and its parent company, Amazon.com, on October 13, 2011. Hoang, who...
- 07/06/2012 - 3:50pm - 0 comments

Art of Living Foundation v. Does 1-10

Date: 11/05/2010
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (partial), Settled (partial)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog
Substantive Proceedings The Art of Living Foundation is an international nonprofit organization that, according to its website, is "engaged in stress-management and service initiatives." Two former followers, Skywalker and Klim, published anonymous blogs (entitled "Leaving the Art of Living" and "Beyond the...
- 06/27/2012 - 4:40pm - 0 comments

Bland v. Roberts

Date: 04/24/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Publication: Social Network, Other
On March 3, 2011, Bobby Bland, along with five coworkers in the Sheriff's Department in Hampton, Virginia, sued their former employer, Sheriff B.J. Roberts, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia alleging wrongful termination due to their support...
- 06/25/2012 - 9:51am - 0 comments

Brown v. Doe

Date: 03/27/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Nevada
Publication: Website
On March 27, 2012, Mary and Phil Brown filed suit in Nevada state court against an annonymous online commenter. According to news reports, a commenter on the Las Vegas Review-Journal's website posted allegedly defamatory statements about the plaintiffs' romantic history. The...
- 04/25/2012 - 1:53pm - 0 comments

Kessler International v. Citizen Media Law Project

Date: 03/14/2012
Status:
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
Publication: Blog, Forum
Kessler International ("Kessler") is a forensic accounting and brand protection company, and claims ownership in the USPTO-registered trademark FRAUDBUSTER, in multiple fields related to forensic accounting news and services.  On March 14, 2012, Kessler sent a a cease and desist letter...
- 04/13/2012 - 2:29pm - 0 comments

Suffolk County Police Department v. Datz

Date: 07/29/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Police Activity
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Broadcast
According to CBS, on July 29, 2011, Philip Datz ("Datz") was in Bohemia, New York filming police activity following a car chase as a videographer for the Stringer News Service. During the course of his filming, Suffolk County Police Sergeant...
- 04/13/2012 - 1:45pm - 0 comments

White, et al. v. West Publishing Corporation, et al.

Date: 02/22/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Website
On February 22, 2012, two attorneys and an associated law firm filed a class-action lawsuit against legal database companies West Publishing (proprietor of Westlaw) and Reed Elsevier (proprietor of LexisNexis). The plaintiffs allege that by including legal filings—such as motions, briefs, and...
- 03/26/2012 - 1:26pm - 0 comments

Guadagnini Violin Shop v. TruthTeller1790

Date: 01/23/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Illinois
Publication: Website
On January 23, 2012, the Guadagnini Violin Shop (the "Shop") and owner Chunyee Lu filed suit in Illinois state court against a then-anonymous online reviewer. The complaint alleged that on January 21, 2011, a person using variations on the screen name "TruthTeller1790"...
- 03/26/2012 - 9:21am - 0 comments

M.A. v. Village Voice Media, LLC

Date: 09/16/2010
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Missouri
Publication: Website
On September 16, 2010, M.A., a minor, filed suit against Village Voice Media for content posted on Backpage.com, a website that allows users to post classified ads targeted to specific geographic areas. M.A.'s claims were based on the Child Abuse...
- 03/23/2012 - 3:03pm - 0 comments

R.S. v. Minnewaska Area School District No. 2149

Date: 03/06/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Disciplinary Action
Jurisdiction: Minnesota
Publication: Social Network
On March 6, 2012, R.S., a minor, and R.S.'s mother S.S., filed suit in federal court in Minnesota against Minnewaska Area Middle School, the school district, the county, and a number of school and county employees (including the county Sheriff). All of...
- 03/12/2012 - 12:35pm - 0 comments

Ratingz, Inc. v. Adrian Philip Thomas, P.A.

Date: 02/22/2012
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
On February 22, 2012, Ratingz, Inc., operator of LawyerRatingz.com, a user-review site for reviewing attorneys, filed a declaratory judgment action in federal court in California. According to Ratingz's complaint and the attached exhibits, the background to the declaratory judgment filing is...
- 03/02/2012 - 11:55am - 0 comments

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