Hagele v. Hanson, No. 06AS00839 (Cal. Super., Sacramento County filed March 2, 2006).
Status: Temporary restraining order issued; case pending.

In Jan. 2003, Brent Hanson, who operates and posts to websites criticizing refractive surgery, filed suit in Illinois against Glenn Hagele, founder and executive director of the Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance (www.usaeyes.org), a group of such surgeons. Hanson v. Hagele, No. 03M300136 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cooke County 2003) (docket at https://63.251.13.149/cookcounty/Finddock.asp?DocketKey=CAAD0MD0AAABDG0SD). The Illinois case was dismissed in June 2003, after Hanson did not pursue it. After dismissal of the Illinois case, Hanson added postings to his web sites claiming that Hagele had lost the Illinois suit and was being pursued by a collection agency. Hagele then to sued Hanson in California state court on the grounds that these statements were libelous; he added privacy claims after Hanson posted personal information about Hagele, including financial information. On March 4, 2008, the court issued a temporary restraining order against Hagele.

Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/hagele-v-hanson
Complaint: http://www.glennhagele.com/brenthanson/hagele-v-brent-hanson-defamation.pdf
Answer to complaint: http://www.usaeyes.info/documents/glennhagele/lawsuits/hagele_vs_hanson_response_10.pdf
Defense motion for default judgment: http://www.citmedialaw.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2006-09-18-Hagele's%20Request%20for%20Default%20Judgment.pd