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

Cisneros v. Sanchez, No. 2005-CCL-01024-A (Tex. County Ct., filed Aug. 24, 2005).
Status: Settled for $150,000
Robert Sanchez, who lost a 2005 race for the Brownsville, Tex. city commission, maintained his former campaign web site (www.robertsanchez05.com) to advertise his restaurant , with a blog on local politics (formerly at http://www.robertsanchez05.com/phpBB2/index.php?c=2). The wife of Carlos Cisneros, who defeated Sanchez in the race, sued for defamation for statements on the site. The suit eventually settled for $150,000, after the plaintiff showed that Sanchez’s computer was used to write comments to the web site. As part of the settlement, Sanchez admitted that he posted the comments under various pseudonyms; he also wrote a letter vindicating Elena Cisneros’ good name and apologizing to her children for the comments on the website.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/site_66261___article.html/cisneros_web.html
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/sanchez_66364___article.html/lawsuit_baird.html
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/court_67939___article.html/federal_sanchez.html
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/court_68828___article.html/sanchez_lawsuits.html

Nomvuyo Mzamane v. Huffington Post, No. 080905308 (Pa. C.P., Philadelphia County filed Oct. 3, 2008).
Status: Settled (Non-monetary).

In November of 2007, Joan Stewart posted a blog entry on the “Publicity Hound” and later on “the Huffington Post” falsely alleging that Nomvuyo Mzamane, the former headmistress of Oprah Winfrey’s South African Leadership Academy for Girls, had been charged with a crime in connection with a sexual abuse scandal at the school. Mzamane responded by filing a lawsuit for defamation against Stewart, The Huffington Post, owner Ariana Huffington, and separately against Oprah Winfrey. A settlement was reached by the parties in December, 2008, including public retractions and apologies. No money was exchanged.

Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/nomvuyo-mzamane-v-huffington-post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-stewart/what-ceos-can-learn-from-_b_73348.html

Pressler v. Mills, No. ___ (N.J. Super. Ct., Chancery Div., Bergen County filed Jan. 30, 2009).

Status: Pending.

Attorney Sheldon H. Pressler filed a complaint for defamation against Scott Mills for comments made by Mills on his blog (www.caipnj.org) and Internet radio show. Pressler asked the court for a permanent injunction and to order a public retraction; the court denied temporary restraining order on Mills’ publishing activities.

Links and Court Documents:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/pressler-v-mills-lawsuit