Apex Tech. Group, Inc. v. John Doe(s) 1-10, No. MID-L-7879-09 (N.J. Super. Ct., filed Dec. 23, 2009)

Status: Pending

A staffing and consulting services company ("Apex") brought suit against three websites -- http://www.endh1b.com/, http://www.itgrunt.com/, http://www.guestworkerfraud.com/ -- that allegedly posted defamatory comments about Apex, calling it a "bodyshop" and accusing it of engaging in bad practices while staffing H1-B workers from India. (The H1-B is a visa that allows American employers to use foreign workers in specialty occupations.) After the plaintiff filed an order to show cause, the court ordered Comcast, Yahoo!, and Facebook to turn over all documents relating to the identity of the owners of the websites. The court also enjoined the three websites, ordering them to remove all postings and references to the plaintiff. Finally, the court ordered discountASP.net, GoDaddy.com, and Domains by Proxy, Inc. to shut down and disable the websites "until further notice of this Court."

Links and court documents:- Order shutting down websites, filed Dec. 23, 2009

- H1B spat unites activities, xenophobes against common enemy, Ars Technica, Dec. 30, 2009
- Order to Shut Down Websites Critical of Apex Technology Group is Dangerous and Wrong, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Jan. 7, 2010
- Get to Work: Court order shuts web sites over H1-B fracas, San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 11, 2010
- Determining the Proper Scope of Prior Restraints against Blogs in Defamation Cases, JOLT Digest, May 11, 2010

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