Huon v. Above the Law

STATUS: Complaint filed on May 6, 2011

N.D. Ill.: Lawyer Sues Legal Blog (Above the Law) for $50M Over Rape Story

Forbes (Blogs)
Getting publicly accused of committing rape is bad enough. Getting publicly accused of committing multiple rapes is considerably worse. Is the difference between the first and the second worth $50 million? That’s how much Chicago attorney Meanith Huon is seeking in damages from Above The Law, a legal-industry gossip blog, and its parent company, Breaking Media. Huon filed suit on May 6 in a federal district court in Illinois, claiming that an erroneous blog post has caused him emotional distress, destroyed his reputation and hurt his ability to find employment.
http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffbercovici/2011/05/11/lawyer-sues-legal-blog-for-50m-over-rape-story/

--Complaint: Huon v. Above the Law
http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/illinois/ilndce/1:2011cv03054/255448/1/

Sherrod v. Breitbart

UPDATE (6/27/13)

 
STATUS: Defamation suit can proceed.

D.C. Cir.: Defamation Suit Against Breitbart Can Proceed
BLT: Blog of the Legal Times
Local lawyers hoping for a conclusive ruling on whether the anti-SLAAP law applies in federal court will have to keep waiting.  In a ruling this morning, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decided the case on federal grounds.
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2013/06/dc-circuit-defamation-suit-against-breitbart-can-proceed.html

Opinion:
 http://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/AA5A0640B8CAA4A185257B95004EB083/$file/11-7088-1443074.pdf
  
UPDATE (2/6/12)

STATUS: Appellate panel puts case on hold and asks District Judge for statement of reasoning for ruling.

D.C. Circuit Wants Answers From Trial Judge On Denial Of Anti-SLAPP Motion
Blog of LegalTimes
In July, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued a series
of two-sentence orders denying blogger Andrew Breitbart's motions to dismiss a
defamation lawsuit against him in Washington federal court. The U.S. Court of
Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is considering Breitbart's appeal of those
orders, wants more.

--Order: Sherrod v. Breitbart
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/2-6-12-order.pdf


UPDATE (4/20/2011)

STATUS: Defendant filed a motion to dismiss on April 18, 2011

D.D.C.: Andrew Breitbart Argues for Dismissal, Challenges Venue in Sherrod Lawsuit

The Blog of LegalTimes
In a slew of new filings yesterday [April 18, 2011] in the libel lawsuit brought by former U.S. Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod against conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart, Breitbart and one of his co-defendants argued for a dismissal or, at the very least, a change of venue. . . In a joint motion for dismissal filed yesterday [April 18, 2011] in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Breitbart and co-defendant Larry O’Connor, who works with Breitbart, claim that in lodging accusations of racism against Sherrod based on her comments in the clip, they were engaging in protected speech under the First Amendment.
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2011/04/andrew-breitbart-argues-for-dismissal-challenges-venue-in-sherrod-lawsuit.html

--Defendant's Motion to Dismiss: Sherrod v. Breitbart
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/motion-to-disimss-or-transfer-venue.pdf

STATUS: Complaint filed Feb 11, 2011

D.C. Super.: Former USDA Employee Sues Conservative Blogger Over Video Posting

CNN
A former Department of Agriculture employee who was forced to resign last year after the posting of a misleading video has filed suit against Andrew Breitbart, the conservative blogger who posted it. Shirley Sherrod's suit was filed in District of Columbia Superior Court on Friday. The civil suit accuses Breitbart of "defamation, false light and infliction of emotional distress," according to a statement issued by the law firm representing her.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/14/sherrod.lawsuit/index.html?section=cnn_latest

--Complaint: Sherrod v. Breitbart
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2011/02/shirley-sherrods-dc-superior-court-libel-complaint-against-andrew-breitbart.php?page=1

Juzwiak v. Doe

N.J. Super. App. Div.: Recipient of Offensive E-Mails Can't Force Yahoo to Name Sender

New Jersey Law Journal

The ruling ... instructs how e-mails fit into the contours of the decade-old precedent that allowed for unmasking anonymous posters of injurious comments on the Web if certain tests are met.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202464260189&Recipient_of_Offensive_EMails_Cant_Force_Yahoo_to_Name_Sender

-- Decision: Juzwiak v. Doe: http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nj/Juzwiak-a2302-09.pdf

Doe v. R.C., No. ___ (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook County filed Sept. 24, 2009).
Status: Pending.

Laura Cook, suing on behalf of her minor son, alleges that the defendants -- who are all minors who know the plaintiff, according to the complaint -- created a fake Facebook profile using his real photograph and cell number, and posted racist and sexual comments that appeared to have been written by the plaintiff. The lawsuit claims defamation, placement in false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Case Information and Documents:
>> Complaint
‘Racist’ and ‘Homosexual’ Facebook Page Leads To Online Bullying Lawsuit
4 Teens Sued for Obscene Fake Facebook Profile

UPDATE 6.3.2013

STATUS: The court found for Smithgall.

Ga.Super: Judge Awards Damages in Defamation Suit
Forsyth News
A former Forsyth Court Sheriff's Office Deputy was awarded $180,000 in damages for a lawsuit that dates to August 2009.
 http://www.forsythnews.com/section/6/article/18062/



Smithgall v. Shelton, No. 09-CV-2199 (Ga. Super. filed Aug. 6, 2009).
Status: Pending.

Forsyth County, Ga. sheriff’s deputy John Smithgall sued over postings to the "About Forsyth" web site (http://www.aboutforsyth.net) alleging that he is the father of defendant Lisa Shelton's child. According to the suit, Sheldon -- Smithgall's former girlfriend -- made the initial posting with the allegation, and defendant Kim Pruitt posted a comment "confirming" the allegation.

The third defendant in the suit is "About Forsyth" webmaster David Milum, for a posting on the dispute that he wrote on the site, with the headline, "FCSO Officer John Smithgall Allegedly Denies Paternity?"

Links and Court Doucuments:
http://www.forsythnews.com/news/article/3127/
Complaint: http://www.aboutforsyth.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=29278&sid=cf0ced48e103b7a179583a733f2a1f64

Kruska v. Perverted Justice Foundation, No. 2:08-cv-00054 (D. Arizona filed January 10, 2008).
Status: Dismissed; appeal dismissed, No. 09-15426 (9th Cir. mandate May 21, 2009).

After journalist Jan Kruska expressed her opinion on the over breadth of anti-pedophile laws, several websites, including www.jankruska.com and www.jankruska.net, (both registered through defendant GoDaddy.com), posted allegations that Kruska was herself a convicted pedophile and child molester.

Kruska filed a complaint alleging both state and federal tort and criminal actions against these websites and several affiliated individuals, including Barbara Ochoa, who Kruska claims threatened her if she did not remover her “entire web presence.”

The court granted Ochoa’s motion to dismiss, and dismissed the claims against GoDaddy.com under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Kruska appealed, but the appellate court dismissed the appeal.

Links and Court Documents:
www.citmedialaw.org/threats/kruska-v-perverted-justice-foundation
Complaint: http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/arizona/azdce/2:2008cv00054/366532/1/
http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2008/07/godaddy_gets_23.htm
http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/packet/200902/arizona-district-court-rules-website-targeting-plaintiff-does-not-crea
Order granting motion to dismiss by GoDaddy.com and defendant Bob Parsons: http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/packet/200902/arizona-district-court-rules-website-targeting-plaintiff-does-not-crea

Duer v. Henderson, No. ____ (Ohio C.P., Miami County default verdict April 13, 2009).
Status: $129,794 default verdict for plaintiff

Melissa Duer, owner of the historic Staley Mill northeast of Dayton, Ohio, sued over statements in the book "Weird Ohio" and the Forgotten Ohio website (http://www.forgottenoh.com/) that the mill was haunted. In her suit, Duer said that the claims had put her and her family in a false light and intentionally caused them emotional distress. Duer also claimed that the statements led to people trespassing on the property, requiring her to get a guard dog and hire private security. The court dismissed the claims over the book, which Duer said she would appeal. But the owner of the website, Andrew Henderson, did not appear and a default judgment was entered. In addition to the award, which included expenses Duer alleged for security, alleged diminished value of the property, and attorney fees and litigation costs, the court also ordered Henderson to remove references to the mill from his site, and barred him from posting such references on any other website.

On Dec. 23, an appellate court in Ohio found that the trial court correctly found that no genuine issue of material fact existed as to Duer's claim for trespass to land.  2009 WL 4985475.

Links and Court Documents:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/03/19/ddn031909hauntedsuitweb.html
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/website-ordered-to-pay-125000-over-haunted-mill-claim-83396.html
http://www.themoneytimes.com/20090417/woman-wins-haunted-mill-lawsuit-id-1064179.html

Fahmy v. Hogge, No. 2:08-cv-01152 (C.D. Cal. filed Feb. 20, 2008).
Status: Dismissed.

Fatima dosSantos Fahmy filed a complaint against former law school classmate Stephen Graham for defamation, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and false light invasion of privacy for comments made about her on his blog, http://hogonice.com (defunct). On reconsideration of a motion to dismiss, the motion was granted on October 14, 2008 for lack of general and specific jurisdiction over Hogge, a Florida resident.

Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/fahmy-v-hogge
Complaint: http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/cacdce/2:2008cv01152/408884/1/
Initial denial of motion to dismiss: http://www.linksandlaw.de/news1310-fatima-graham-klage.htm

Staten v. Steel, No. 16-05-15033 (Or. Cir. Ct. Lane County jury verdict _____).
Status: $110,000 jury verdict affirmed (No. A133080, 222 Or. App. 17, 191 P.3d 778 (Or. App. Aug. 20, 2008), rev. denied, 345 Or. 618, 201 P.3d 909 (Or. Jan 13, 2009).

As part of a crusade against Club 71, a bar with nude dancing in Sunny Valley, Ore., defendants took pictures of club patrons and posted them and license plate numbers on their web site, www.seewhosthere.com.

Among those photographed and pictured on the site was plaintiff Greg Staten, who visted the club in March 2005 with his wife and some friends, and got into a scuffle with defendant Robert Falbo, who took pictures of Staten driving away from the club. During the scuffle, Staten destroyed Falbo’s camera.

Falbo took pictures with another camera, and posted them with commentary on the site. Staten sued for false light, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy; he later added similar claims based on commentary posted on the site in response to his lawsuit. Falbo claimed that the statements were mere hyperbole.

The trial court denied motions to dismiss the suit under Oregon’s anti-SLAPP law and for summary judgment, and a jury trial was held which resulted in a $110,000 verdict for plaintiff.

After trial, the court denied plaintiff’s motions for reimnursement for attorney fees and for sanctions against defendants’ attoirneys. On appeal, the appellate court affirmed the jury verdict, but vacated the trial’s court’s rulings on attorneys fees and sanctions, sending those rulings back to the trial court for reconsideration.

Links and Court Documents:
Appellate decision: http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/A133080.htm

Kono v. Meeker, No. CL92694 (Iowa Dist. Ct. 2006), aff’d, No. 06-1554, 2007 WL 4322060 (Iowa App. Dec. 12, 2007).
Status: $500,000 award to plaintiff affirmed

California residents Larry and Carole Meeker sell antiques through their “Patented Antiques” website (www.patented-antiques.com/). They reached an agreement with Iowa resident Dana Kono, who collects antique woodworking tools and scientific instruments as a hobby, to trade a surveying transit owned by Kono for seven crank handle chisels owned by the Meekers. They made the exchange by shipping the items in March 2003. Kono then called Larry Meeker to verify that he was satisfied. Their accounts of that conversation differed: Kono claimed that Larry Meeker told him that “the deal would work out fine,” while Meeker claimed that told Kono that he should have mentioned that the transit was Japanese and had the name “Sokkisha” on it, and that he wanted to investigate its value. Without further communication, Meeker sent the transit back to Kono, who refused to accept it. After an increasingly testy e-mail exchange, by early April Meeker had set up a “Dana Kono Watch Page” on the Internet, which recounted the transaction from Meeker’s perspective and said that Kono was “a flat-out liar, thief and cheat,” among other insults and accusations. Kono sued, and after trial the jury awarded Kono compensatory damages of $150,000 for defamation, $50,000 for invasion of privacy, and $50,000 for intentional infliction of emotional distress, and $125,000 in punitive damages against each of the Meekers. The Meekers appealed, but the award was affirmed.

Links and Court Documents:
Appellate opinion: http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/court_of_appeals/Recent_Opinions/20071212/7-596.pdf
http://cornponepapers.blogspot.com/2007/12/its-not-nice-to-say-bad-things-about.html