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.

Zwebner v. Coughlin

Date: 06/21/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Forum
Michael J. Zwebner, CEO of penny-stock holding company Universal Communication Systems, sued James Coughlin, a.k.a. IrishJim44, and 25 "Doe" defendants over statements on the Raging Bull financial message board that were critical of him and his company. According to the...
- 09/21/2008 - 6:23pm - 0 comments

Arthur v. TMZ.com (state)

Date: 04/21/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: Material Removed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Blog
Virgie Arthur, the mother of deceased celebrity Anna Nicole Smith, filed a defamation suit against a number of bloggers and others in Texas state court, alleging that the defendants conspired to ruin her reputation through defamatory e-mails, blog and website postings, and...
- 09/21/2008 - 11:11am - 2 comments

City of Memphis v. Does

Date: 07/10/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Virginia, Tennessee
Publication: Blog
The City of Memphis and the Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin filed a petition for pre-litigation discovery in Tennessee state court, seeking the identity of  a number of unknown defendants, including the pseudonymous blog operators of MPD...
- 09/19/2008 - 7:27pm - 0 comments

Arthur v. Turner

Date: 03/14/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Blog
Virgie Arthur subpoenaed blogger Nelda (Rose) Turner and her husband Kenneth Turner as part of her lawsuit against Howard K. Stern and other defendants in federal court in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.  The subpoenas sought emails from...
- 09/19/2008 - 6:23pm - 1 comments

Arthur v. TMZ.com (federal)

Date: 03/17/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Blog, Website
Virgie Arthur,  mother of deceased celebrity Anna Nicole Smith, attempted to add several bloggers as defendants to a defamation lawsuit in Texas federal court.  Arthur originally filed claims of defamation and conspiracy to defame against Howard K. Stern, CBS Studios, and KPRC...
- 09/19/2008 - 4:35pm - 0 comments

Arthur v. Harrington

Date: 01/28/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Blog
Virgie Arthur, mother of deceased celebrity Anna Nicole Smith, subpoenaed blogger Lyndal Harrington in a federal defamation lawsuit.  Arthur originally filed claims of defamation and conspiracy to defame against Howard K. Stern, CBS Studios, and KPRC Houston after Stern and Anna Nicole...
- 09/19/2008 - 3:46pm - 0 comments

MP v. Does

Date: 09/02/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Material Removed, Subpoena Quashed
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Blog
Proceeding anonymously, the owner of a country club located in Del Mar, California filed a petition in Texas state court seeking pre-litigation discovery from Google, arguing that "derogatory statements" about her had been posted on "blogs hosted by Google." The Texas state...
- 09/19/2008 - 2:50pm - 0 comments

Florida Bar v. Conway

Date: 04/03/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: n/a
Type: Disciplinary Action
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Blog
The Florida Bar took disciplinary action against Florida attorney Sean Conway after he wrote a post on JAABlog criticizing Judge Cheryl Aleman's practice of setting unreasonably short time periods for criminal defendants to prepare for trial.  In the...
- 09/19/2008 - 2:11pm - 0 comments

Mitchell v. Trummel

Date: 03/01/2001
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Injunction Denied, Injunction Issued, Material Removed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Washington
Publication: Print, Verbal, Website
Stephen Mitchell, the administrator of Council House, Inc., a nonprofit housing complex for low-income senior citizens in Seattle, sought a restraining order against Council House resident Paul Trummel in 2001 after Trummel allegedly verbally accosted staff and residents, disrupted meetings, posted his...
- 09/19/2008 - 12:27pm - 0 comments

Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. v. McManus

Date: 09/05/2007
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Forum, Website
Odyssey Marine Exploration, a company involved in shipwreck salvaging, sued Jim McManus, a diver and a director of a UK-based historical website, for defamation in Florida state court.  Odyssey contends that McManus defamed it in postings to its Yahoo! Finance message board...
- 09/17/2008 - 6:52pm - 0 comments

Judge Lenard v. Markus

Date: 12/31/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Other
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Blog
David O. Markus, an attorney who writes the Southern District of Florida Blog, was silenced by a gag order issued by Judge Joan Lenard of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, in connection with the...
- 09/17/2008 - 5:16pm - 0 comments

Sachay v. Coconate

Date: 04/04/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Illinois
Publication: Blog
James Sachay, former assistant commissioner of the Chicago’s aviation department, sued Frank Coconate and the Chicago Reader for defamation and false light after the Chicago Reader's Clout City blog published a comment that purported to be written by...
- 09/17/2008 - 4:24pm - 0 comments

Puntarelli v. Does

Date: 05/08/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: Material Removed, Subpoena Enforced
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Indiana
Publication: Social Network
Tim Puntarelli, Dean of Roncalli High Scool in Indianapolis, filed a defamation lawsuit against an anonymous Facebook user (or users) who allegedly created a fake profie for him and used it to send inappropriate messages to students.  According to one...
- 09/17/2008 - 3:46pm - 0 comments

Tilghman v. Albero

Date: 07/10/2007
Status: Pending
Disposition: Verdict (defendant)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Maryland
Publication: Blog
Barrie P. Tilghman, Mayor of Salisbury Maryland, filed a defamation lawsuit against local blogger Joe Albero, who operates the Salisbury News blog, wich covers matters of local interest in Salisbury and Wicomico County. The case is pending in Wicomico County...
- 09/17/2008 - 3:01pm - 0 comments

Moore v. O'Bannon

Date: 03/01/2006
Status: Pending
Disposition: Injunction Issued
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Publication: Website
Reverend Ronald K. Moore and his wife sued Valerie O'Bannon after she created a website claiming that she had a five-month affair with Moore. According to the MLRC, Moore obtained an injunction from a Mississippi chancery court shutting down the...
- 09/17/2008 - 2:23pm - 0 comments

Knight v. Lavandeira

Date: 05/11/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Blog
In May 2007, professional photographer Ken Knight sued Mario Lavandeira for copyright infringement in New York federal court.  The dispute arose out of Lavandeira's alleged use of Knight's photograph of Jason Alexander (briefly married to Britney Spears in 2004) on PerezHilton.com.  Lavandeira...
- 09/17/2008 - 1:32pm - 0 comments

NYP Holdings v. Lavandeira

Date: 05/02/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Material Removed, Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Blog
In May 2005, NYP Holdings, Inc., the owner of the New York Post, sued Mario Lavandeira (a.k.a Perez Hilton) for trademark law violations and unfair competition in federal court in New York.  NYP Holdings alleged that Lavandeira's operation of the PageSixSixSix gossip...
- 09/17/2008 - 11:47am - 0 comments

Boulder County Sheriff v. Unknown MySpace User

Date: 11/11/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Criminal Investigation
Jurisdiction: Colorado
Publication: Social Network
MySpace provided records subpoenaed by the Boulder County sheriff's department in a criminal libel investigation, commenced after a Colorado woman reported finding pictures of herself on MySpace under a fake profile named "Dirty Whore" that included information indicating that she...
- 09/16/2008 - 10:03pm - 0 comments

United States v. Drew

Date: 05/15/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total), Verdict (plaintiff)
Type: Criminal Charge
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Social Network
On May 15, 2008, Lori Drew was indicted in federal court in California for her alleged role in a hoax on MySpace directed at Megan Meier, a 13-year-old neighbor of Drew's who committed suicide in October 2006 after a "boy" she met...
- 09/16/2008 - 9:38pm - 1 comments

Peters & Freedman, LLP v. McMahon

Date: 10/27/2005
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
The California law firm Peters & Freedman sued Elizabeth and Arnold McMahon for libel and invasion of privacy based on statements they posted on their website, American Homeowners Resource Center, which describes itself as a “public interest interactive website...
- 09/16/2008 - 9:09pm - 0 comments

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