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.

Pratt v. McMahon

Date: 01/06/2006
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
Jeffrey Pratt, a lawyer at 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...
- 09/16/2008 - 6:07pm - 0 comments

Silver v. Lavandeira

Date: 07/22/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Blog
On July 22, 2008, Elizabeth Silver, a blogger on PerezRevenge.com (now www.rPulse.com), which describes itself as a "website where celebrities could post information about their careers, events and when necessary personal lives without the taint of rumor or speculation" sued rival celebrity...
- 09/16/2008 - 12:29am - 0 comments

Lavandeira v. Infuse, LLC

Date: 07/21/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: Default Judgment
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog
Celebrity gossip blogger Mario Lavandeira (aka Perez Hilton), who operates the blog perezhilton.com, sued Infuse LLC, Margie E. Rogers and Elizabeth Silver-Fagan, the owner, editor and publisher, respectively, of a rival celebrity blog named PerezRevenge.com, which describes itself as a...
- 09/16/2008 - 12:07am - 0 comments

E! Entertainment Television v. De Filippis

Date: 07/01/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total), Material Removed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog
E! Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Louie De Filippis and several companies he is alleged to be associated with over several websites and blogs he operated called enewzbuzz, one of which described itself as "Canada's Leading Entertainment News and Image...
- 09/15/2008 - 7:33pm - 0 comments

Mercy Hospital Anderson v. Selmeier

Date: 01/01/2002
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Injunction Denied, Injunction Issued, Material Removed, Verdict (plaintiff)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Ohio
Publication: Website
An Ohio hospital, a doctor, and a nurse sued Joel Selmeier for defamation after he created a website making allegations about how he was treated during a 1996 hernia operation. According to one press account, the plaintiffs obtained a court...
- 09/15/2008 - 7:33pm - 0 comments

The Oklahoma Publishing Company v. Conradt

Date: 07/14/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Material Removed, Retraction Issued, Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Oklahoma
Publication: Forum, Website
The Oklahoma Publishing Company and one of its reporters, Jacob Trotter, sued James W. Conradt in federal court in Oklahoma in July 2008, after he posted a fake article that mimicked the appearance of the publishing company's NewsOK.com...
- 09/15/2008 - 6:52pm - 0 comments

Cedillos v. Madigan

Date: 06/16/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog
In April 2005, Ronald Cedillos, an Orange County reserve sheriff's deputy, allegedly got into a shouting match at a Newport Beach restaurant with attorney Joe Cavallo. Later, Cedillos allegedly used a key to scratch Cavallo's Bentley automobile.  Michael Madigan, a private investigator...
- 09/15/2008 - 6:45pm - 0 comments

Shurwest Product Connection, LLC v. Premium Producers Group LLC

Date: 02/21/2007
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Arizona
Publication: Blog
ShurWest Product Connection dba The Annexus Group, a distributor of insurance products, filed a defamation lawsuit against Premium Producers Group, Mitchell Maynard, and Dorice Maynard over, among other things, a review they published on their blog, Index Annuity...
- 09/15/2008 - 5:53pm - 0 comments

United States v. Fletcher

Date: 09/26/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Convicted, Material Removed
Type: Criminal Charge
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Publication: Website
In September 2006, Federal authorities prosecuted Karen Fletcher for transmitting obscene materials in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1462(a) and 2, after she posted graphic fictional stories on her website, Red Rose Stories.  According to the indictment,...
- 09/15/2008 - 5:30pm - 0 comments

Polich v. Nahmod

Date: 07/11/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Injunction Issued
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Arizona
Publication: Blog
In July 2008, freelance writer and gay rights blogger David Nahmod, who blogs on David's Open Forum and on the gay news website www.lavenderliberal.com, was enjoined by an Arizona judge from posting online the names or hometown of a couple in Arizona...
- 09/15/2008 - 4:34pm - 0 comments

Mesa Airlines v. Uslan

Date: 01/24/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Arizona
Publication: Blog
Mesa Airlines, which operates go! airline serving the Hawaiian islands, sued Mike Uslan, a pilot employed by rival Aloha Airlines, over postings Uslan allegedly made on the Dont Fly Go Airlines website, a blog that was critical of go!  The...
- 09/15/2008 - 3:58pm - 0 comments

Port Arthur Independent School District v. Klein

Date: 05/03/2001
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Blog
In 2001, the Port Arthur Independent School District sued Philip Klein and his company Klein & Associates Political Relations for defamation after Klein published a post on the South East Texas Political Review blog stating that a "huge fight" had...
- 09/15/2008 - 3:32pm - 0 comments

Wisconsin v. Bachert

Date: 06/14/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Criminal Charge
Jurisdiction: Wisconsin
Publication: Social Network
Wisconsin authorities criminally prosecuted Joshua Bachert after he created a fake MySpace profile for a high school police officer. In August 2007, authorities agreed to defer prosecution if Bachert stayed out of trouble for one year. Instead, Bachert will pay a fine...
- 09/15/2008 - 2:59pm - 0 comments

Wisconsin v. Phillips

Date: 05/20/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Convicted, Dismissed (partial)
Type: Criminal Charge
Jurisdiction: Wisconsin
Publication: Social Network
The State of Wisconsin criminally prosecuted seventeen-year-old Alex Phillips of Wisconsin after he posted nude photos of his former girlfriend on his MySpace page.  The State charged him with criminal libel, possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child and causing...
- 09/15/2008 - 2:35pm - 0 comments

Riches v. Lavandeira

Date: 10/15/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Wyoming
Publication: Blog
In October 2007, Jonathan Lee Riches, a federal inmate incarcerated in South Carolina, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Wyoming against celebrity blogger Mario Lavandeira. Riches has gained notoriety for bringing bizarre lawsuits (The Smoking Gun has coverage here...
- 09/15/2008 - 2:15pm - 0 comments

Odelson v. Welch

Date: 08/21/2007
Status: Pending
Disposition: Material Removed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Illinois
Publication: Blog
Lawyers Burton Odelson and Mark Sterk sued the anonymous blogger behind the Proviso Insider, a blog focusing on politics in Proviso Township, Illinois. Odelson and Sterk allege defamation based on a July 2007 post suggesting that they might be indicted...
- 09/15/2008 - 1:42pm - 0 comments

Goldhaber v. Kohlenberg

Date: 01/16/2004
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New Jersey
Publication: Forum
Danna and Richard Goldhaber sued Charles Kohlenberg for defamation in New Jersey state court after Kohlenberg allegedly posted derogatory comments about them on an Internet newsgroup devoted to cruises and cruise ships. Kohlenberg did not appear in the New Jersey action...
- 09/12/2008 - 5:50pm - 0 comments

Danks v. Harris

Date: 03/22/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
Don Danks, CEO of Imergent, Inc., filed a lawsuit against Stocklemon.com and its operators, Andrew Left, Bill Harris, Alex Waynberg, and Alex Khachaturyan, alleging defamation, tortious interference with economic advantage, and violations of federal and state securities laws.  According to one ...
- 09/12/2008 - 4:46pm - 0 comments

Thalin v. Misbach

Date: 06/15/2004
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Utah
Publication: Website
In 2004, Laura Thalin and Hope for Children sued Alan Misbach and Matt Misbach for defamation in Utah state court over information posted on their website, KidsComeFirst. According to the Deseret News, the website site contained photos and...
- 09/12/2008 - 3:12pm - 0 comments

Vogel v. Felice

Date: 09/01/2001
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Email, Forum, Website
In September 2001, John Vogel and Paul Grannis, who at the time were candidates for public office, sued Joseph Felice for libel, false light invasion of privacy, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. According to legal filings in the...
- 09/11/2008 - 10:25pm - 0 comments

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