So Act Network v. Twitter, No. _____ (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook County  filed Nov. 16, 2009).
Status: Pending.

Social Action Network, operator of the social networking site SoAct!, filed a petition for pre-suit discovery naming Twitter, on order to obtain information to identify a tweeter who, using the pseudonym bobandscott, it alleges is sending defamatory messages about the company.  (The tweets also appear on the Bob and Scott website.)  According to the suit, the offending comments allege that So Act Network is involved in various financial frauds and stock manipulation.

Links and Court Documents:
SoAct wants Twitter to identify the users defaming it (Chicago Bar-Tender blog,  Nov. 19, 2009).
>> Petition for pre-suit discovery

Opera Tower LLC v. Lechuga, No. 2008-3086-CA-01 (Fla. Cir. Ct., Miami-Dade County filed Jan. 22, 2008).

Status: Dismissed by plaintiff

The developer of the Opera Tower condominium sued Miami real estate agent and blogger Lucas Lechuga for statements on the Miami Condo Investments blog (http://blog.miamicondoinvestments.com/) about the project. The blog initially stated that several contracts for sale of apartments in Opera Tower were likely to not close, and that developer Tibor Hollo had filed for bankruptcy in the 1980s. After the suit was filed, that blog entry was removed and a modified version posted. Lechuga’s employer, Miami real estate firm Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, was also named as a defendant; the firm fired Lechuga after the suit was filed. In January 2009, the plaintiff dropped the case.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.miamicondoinvestments.com/2008/01/29/opera-tower-llc-tibor-hollo-sues-me-for-25m/

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/397182.html

http://cbs4.com/video/?id=46869@wfor.dayport.com
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/856198.html

Docket: http://www.miami-dadeclerk.com/civil/docketinfo.asp?pCase_Year=2008&pCase_Seq=3086&pCase_Code=CA&pCase_Loc=01&id=AAAA8tAAHAAAoW/AAx

Complaint: http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2008/01/28/20/Complaint.Revised.source.prod_affiliate.56.pdf

Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc v. McManus, No. 07-CA-011305 (Fla. Cir. Ct., Hillsborough County filed Sept. 5, 2007)
Status: Pending

Odyssey Marine Exploration, which explores and recovers shipwrecks and precious cargo, sued blogger Jim McManus over comments he posted on his web site and on stock bulletin boards claiming that the company overstated the value of its latest find. The case was stayed on Sept. 28, 2008, after the defendant filed for bankruptcy.

Links and Court Documents:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2801122.ece
http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2007/11/19/story1.html
Docket: http://publicrecord.hillsclerk.com/oridev/criminal_pack.doc?pcSearchMode=CS&pcCaseId=07-CA-011305&pnCnt=1

Difrawi v. Henderson, No. 6:07-CV-1854 (M.D. Fla. filed Nov. 21, 2007).

Status: Referred to mediation.

Plaintiff brought suit individually and on behalf of Internet Solutions Corp. for defamation and false light invasion of privacy, among other torts, for comments posted on a variety of online sources, including Tampabay.com’s Money Talk blog (http://blogs.tampabay.com/money/, no longer updated). The comments are claimed to infer that plaintiffs participated in fraud and on-going criminal conduct. In January 2009, the case was referred to mediation.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/difrawi-v-henderson

Loan Center of California, Inc. v. Krowne, No. FCS029554 (Cal. Super., Solono Co. filed May 7, 2007).

Status: Non-monetary settlement after defendant’s motion to strike (anti-SLAPP motion) denied

The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter (ml-implode.com), a blog run by Aaron Krowne which tracks mortgage finance companies that are in financial trouble, posted the contents of an anonymous e-mail sent to the site alleging that Loan Center of California was having financial problems. (The e-mail contents were also posted on the AutoDogmatic blog (www.autodogmatic.com), run by a friend of Krowne’s.) Krowne removed the post the same day after Loan Center of California complained, but the company still filed suit. Krowne’s motion to have the suit struck under California’s anti-SLAPP statute was denied on Sept. 7, 2007; the case was settled two months later.

Links and Court Documents:

http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/wp-print.php?year=2007&monthnum=08&day=08&name=mortgage-implode-o-suit

http://www.thereporter.com/ci_6638254

http://ml-implode.com/viewnews/2007-07-26_JudgeFranklinRTaftDeniesMlImplodeMotionToStrikeviaAntiSLAPP.html (denial of motion to strike; includes documents)

http://ml-implode.com/viewnews/2007-07-05_LoanCenterofCaliforniaSuesMortgageLenderImplodeOMeterMotiontoStr.html (complaint; includes documents)

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/loan-center-california-v-krowne

Complaint: http://ml-implode.com/lcc_suit/complaint.pdf

Docket available via http://courtconnect.solanocourts.com

Shurwest Product Connection, LLC v. Premium Producers Group LLC, No. CV2007-003021 (Ariz. Super. Ct., Maticopa County filed Feb. 26, 2007).
Status: Pending

An investment company sued a company that makes software to rate investments over comments on the software company’s blog about an annuity product offered by the plaintiff, and the subsequent inclusion of the investment company in a list of non-independent wholesale firms. A defense motion to dismiss the case was denied on Sept. 21, 2007.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060825/REG/608250701/-1/INDaily04

Docket available at http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/CivilCourtCases/caseSearch.asp (enter case number)

Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/shurwest-product-connection-llc-v-premium-producers-group-llc

Order denying defendant’s motion to dismiss: http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Civil/092007/m2855169.pdf