UPDATE (4/20/2011)
STATUS: Judgment granting defendant's motion for summary judgment was affirmed on April 13, 2011
Tenn. App.: Cult Accusations Lacked Malice, Court Affirms
Courthouse News Service
A Christian weight-loss guru failed to prove that she was defamed by a critic who accused her on the Internet of running a cult, a Tennessee appeals court ruled. Gwen Shamblin, leader of the Remnant Fellowship Church in Brentwood, Tenn., sued Rafael Martinez after he made an allegedly defamatory comment about her on the Celebgalz.com website. . . "We have reviewed the record in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs and have determined that the record does not contain clear and convincing evidence upon which a trier of fact could find actual malice," Judge Richard Dinkins wrote on behalf of the appeals court.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/04/18/35887.htm
--Opinion: Shamblin v. Martinez
http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/TCA/PDF/112/Gwen%20Shamblin%20et%20al%20v%20Rafael%20Martinez.pdf
See also:
Shamblin v. Anonymous Blogger, No. 06648 (Tenn. Dist. Ct., Williamson County filed Nov. 6, 2006).
Gwen Shamblin and 78 members of the Remnant Fellowship Church that she leads sued an anonymous blogger, and Rafael Martinez, who operates the web site spiritwatch.org, for statements labeling the church as a cult and saying that it advocates starvation and torture of children. In April 2007, plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the suit.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=5909117
http://www.wkrn.com/nashville/news/remnant-church-files-defamation-lawsuit/85157.htm
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070315/NEWS01/703150391 Complaint: http://www.spiritwatch.org/shamblie1.pdf
Defendant’s motion to dismiss: http://www.spiritwatch.org/martinezmotion.pdf
Plaintiff’s notice of voluntary dismissal: http://www.spiritwatch.org/MartinezNoticeOrder-1.pdf
Spirit Watch statements on the suit: http://www.spiritwatch.org/shamblie2.htm
Showing posts with label Withdrawn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Withdrawn. Show all posts
CRIMINAL CASE: Oklahoma v. King (2008 criminal defamation investigation)
Status: No charges filedSeparate criminal complaints were made by Pittsburg County, Okla. District Attorney Jim Bob Miller; and Billie Jean Stipe, and her son Wayne Stripe of McAlester, Okla., against McAlester Watercooler (http://www.mccooler.net/) publisher Harold King. (Billie Jean Stipe is the widow of businessman Francis Stipe, who was the brother of former State Senator Gene Stipe, who filed a 2005 complaint against the same site.) After Miller recused himself, the case was referred to Kay County District Attorney Mark Gibson for investigation. Although no charges were filed against King over the site, although District Attorney Miller agreed not to seek re-election as part of a deferred prosecution agreement over his efforts to discover the identities of posters to the McAlester Watercooler site.
Butler University v. Doe(?), No. _____ (Ind. Cir. Ct.? 2009).
Status: Withdrawn.
In January 2009, Butler University sued a blogger using the pseudonym "Soodo Nym," for posted comments disparaging two university administrators.
The university says that by subpoenaing Google to identify the user of a Gmail account, in June 2009 it determined that the blogger was Butler student Jess Zimmerman. Zimmerman, who has admitted writing the blog, claims that the university determined his identity earlier, by monitorins his campus e-mail account.
Zimmerman's parents both work for the university, and the blog criticized what it alleged was disparate and unfair treatment of the school's employees. "Soodo Nym"also sent an e-mail to the administrators that school officials characterized as a threat.
The university dropped the suit in October, but said that the matter would be handled internally.
Meanwhile, Zimmerman has started the "I am 'John Doe'" blog to publicize this case.
Links and Court Documents:
University's Libel Suit Highlights Growing Online Dilemma (The Indy Channel, Oct. 13, 2009)
Butler president defends school's choice to file lawsuit against blogger (Student Press Law Center, Oct. 16, 2009)
University Sues Student Blogger (Inside High Ed, Oct. 16, 2009)
Lawsuit dropped in Butler blogger case (Indianapolis Star, Oct. 27, 2009)
Butler drops libel lawsuit against student blogger (Student Press Law Center, Oct. 30, 2009)
Status: Withdrawn.
In January 2009, Butler University sued a blogger using the pseudonym "Soodo Nym," for posted comments disparaging two university administrators.
The university says that by subpoenaing Google to identify the user of a Gmail account, in June 2009 it determined that the blogger was Butler student Jess Zimmerman. Zimmerman, who has admitted writing the blog, claims that the university determined his identity earlier, by monitorins his campus e-mail account.
Zimmerman's parents both work for the university, and the blog criticized what it alleged was disparate and unfair treatment of the school's employees. "Soodo Nym"also sent an e-mail to the administrators that school officials characterized as a threat.
The university dropped the suit in October, but said that the matter would be handled internally.
Meanwhile, Zimmerman has started the "I am 'John Doe'" blog to publicize this case.
Links and Court Documents:
University's Libel Suit Highlights Growing Online Dilemma (The Indy Channel, Oct. 13, 2009)
Butler president defends school's choice to file lawsuit against blogger (Student Press Law Center, Oct. 16, 2009)
University Sues Student Blogger (Inside High Ed, Oct. 16, 2009)
Lawsuit dropped in Butler blogger case (Indianapolis Star, Oct. 27, 2009)
Butler drops libel lawsuit against student blogger (Student Press Law Center, Oct. 30, 2009)
Save-A-Life Foundation v. Baratz, No. 2007-CH-12022 (
Save-A-Life Foundation, Inc. v. Heimlich et al, No. 1:08-cv-06022 (N.D.
Status: Withdrawn
The Chicago-based foundation Save-A-Life Foundation, which teaches and promotes the use of the “Heimlich maneuver” has sued three critics of the first aid procedure and its creator, Dr. Henry Heimlich. Among the critics named in the suit is Jason Harp, who maintains the “Cincinnati Beacon” blog (www.cincinnatibeacon.com), and Peter Heimlich, Henry Heimlich’s son, who maintains his own website (http://medfraud.info/). The foundation is also seeking an injunction against the critics’ comments. In its amended complaint, the foundation added American Broadcasting Company, WLS-TV in Chicago, and WLS reporter Chuck Goudie as defendants over two WLS-TV stories on the controversy. In January 2009, the case was moved to federal court.
In July 2009, the plaintiff voluntarily withdrew the case.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/save-life-foundation-v-baratz
Amended complaint: http://www.citmedialaw.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2007-11-15-Save-A-Life%20Amended%20Complaint.pdf
State court docket: https://w3.courtlink.lexisnexis.com/cookcounty/FindDock.asp?SearchType=2&Database=3&NCase=&CDate=&PLtype=1&sname=Save-A-Life
Hammitt v. Watson, Civil No. 07-4954 (Ga. Super., Floyd County
Status: Dropped by plaintiffs.
Ed and Brenda Hammitt sued the operator of the RomeNewsbyWatson.com web site over comments posted by a user of the site that accused them of criminal activity. The case was dropped by the plaintiffs in December 2007 for procedural reasons, but was refiled in Chattooga County.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/hammitt-v-watson
http://www.romenewsbywatson.com/?p=1315
http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news859120.html
Complaint: http://www1.romenews-tribune.com/Files/Documents/Watsonsuit.pdf
Status: Dropped by plaintiffs.
Ed and Brenda Hammitt sued the operator of the RomeNewsbyWatson.com web site over comments posted by a user of the site that accused them of criminal activity. The case was dropped by the plaintiffs in December 2007 for procedural reasons, but was refiled in Chattooga County.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/hammitt-v-watson
http://www.romenewsbywatson.com/?p=1315
http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news859120.html
Complaint: http://www1.romenews-tribune.com/Files/Documents/Watsonsuit.pdf
Duffin v. MySpace, No. BC410118 (Cal. Super., Los Angeles County
Status: Withdrawn by plaintiff
Plaintiff Cyd Duffin, principal of Colony High School in Palmer, Alaska sued MySpace and several John Doe defendants in California, where the company is based, over a fake profile created on the social networking site in her name which claimed that she went to strip clubs after school hours and was a member of the Klu Klux Klan. Duffin dropped the suit after the creators of the fake profile confessed and were punished by the school.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_11977752
http://chs.matsuk12.us/knightlynews/2008-2009/Dec2008.pdf
http://splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1935
Status: Withdrawn by plaintiff
Plaintiff Cyd Duffin, principal of Colony High School in Palmer, Alaska sued MySpace and several John Doe defendants in California, where the company is based, over a fake profile created on the social networking site in her name which claimed that she went to strip clubs after school hours and was a member of the Klu Klux Klan. Duffin dropped the suit after the creators of the fake profile confessed and were punished by the school.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_11977752
http://chs.matsuk12.us/knightlynews/2008-2009/Dec2008.pdf
http://splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1935
Ward v. Cisco Systems, No. 2007-2502-A (Tex. Dist. Ct., Gregg County filed Nov. 7, 2007)
Status: Withdrawn
Eric Albritton and T. John Ward, Jr., two attorneys representing a company which claims that Cisco violated its patents (in ESN, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc., Civil No. 07-00156 (E.D.Tex. stipulated dismissal Nov. 2, 2007)) both filed their own lawsuits against the author of the Patent Troll Tracker blog (www.trolltracker.blogspot.com; now members only).
The defamation suits claim that a posting on the blog defamed the attorneys by alleging that although the patent suit had been filed on Oct. 15, 2007 (the day before the patent at issue was granted), the attorneys got the court clerk to change the date to Oct. 16, 2007 in order to avoid having the case dismissed. (They parties eventually agreed to a stipulated dismissal of the patent case in Texas, although another case in Connecticut is still pending.)
Ward initially sued the anonymous blogger as John Doe, and sought to obtain the blogger’s identity by seeking to depose Google. But on Feb. 23 -- after Chicago attorney Ray Niro offered a reward for the identity of the blog’s author and the blogger received an e-mail threatening to identify him -- the blogger identified himself as Rick Frenkel, an attorney who held the position of director of intellectual property at Cisco. Ward then amended his complaint to name Frenkel and his employer.
Later, Ward withdrew the Texas state case, and filed a federal suit in Arkansas against the same defendants.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1205491400004&rss=newswire
http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/209237-patent-troll-tracker-sued-for-defamation
http://techdirt.com/articles/20080312/020814510.shtml
http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2008/03/troll-tracker-d.html
http://thepriorart.typepad.com/the_prior_art/2008/03/judge-wards-son.html
http://thepriorart.typepad.com/the_prior_art/2008/03/ward-jr-may-hav.html
http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/legal/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210003653&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All
Complaint: http://thepriorart.typepad.com/the_prior_art/files/Ward_v_Cisco_Gregg_complaint.pdf
Docket: http://co.gregg.tx.us/OdysseyPA/CaseDetail.aspx?CaseID=246928
Status: Withdrawn
Eric Albritton and T. John Ward, Jr., two attorneys representing a company which claims that Cisco violated its patents (in ESN, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc., Civil No. 07-00156 (E.D.Tex. stipulated dismissal Nov. 2, 2007)) both filed their own lawsuits against the author of the Patent Troll Tracker blog (www.trolltracker.blogspot.com; now members only).
The defamation suits claim that a posting on the blog defamed the attorneys by alleging that although the patent suit had been filed on Oct. 15, 2007 (the day before the patent at issue was granted), the attorneys got the court clerk to change the date to Oct. 16, 2007 in order to avoid having the case dismissed. (They parties eventually agreed to a stipulated dismissal of the patent case in Texas, although another case in Connecticut is still pending.)
Ward initially sued the anonymous blogger as John Doe, and sought to obtain the blogger’s identity by seeking to depose Google. But on Feb. 23 -- after Chicago attorney Ray Niro offered a reward for the identity of the blog’s author and the blogger received an e-mail threatening to identify him -- the blogger identified himself as Rick Frenkel, an attorney who held the position of director of intellectual property at Cisco. Ward then amended his complaint to name Frenkel and his employer.
Later, Ward withdrew the Texas state case, and filed a federal suit in Arkansas against the same defendants.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1205491400004&rss=newswire
http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/209237-patent-troll-tracker-sued-for-defamation
http://techdirt.com/articles/20080312/020814510.shtml
http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2008/03/troll-tracker-d.html
http://thepriorart.typepad.com/the_prior_art/2008/03/judge-wards-son.html
http://thepriorart.typepad.com/the_prior_art/2008/03/ward-jr-may-hav.html
http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/legal/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210003653&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All
Complaint: http://thepriorart.typepad.com/the_prior_art/files/Ward_v_Cisco_Gregg_complaint.pdf
Docket: http://co.gregg.tx.us/OdysseyPA/CaseDetail.aspx?CaseID=246928
Dominick v. MySpace, No. 2008L005191 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook Co. filed May 12, 2008)
Status: Dropped by plaintiff.
Larry Dominick, town president of Cicero, Ill., filed a petition seeking an order requiring MySpace to reveal the author of two fake profiles of him, which he alleges included defamatory comments and privacy violations. He dropped the case after the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted an amicus brief in the case, arguing that the petition did not demonstrate a viable legal claim sufficient to overcome the poster’s First Amendment right to anonymity.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/06/13
Case information and documents: http://www.eff.org/cases/dominick-v-my-space
Status: Dropped by plaintiff.
Larry Dominick, town president of Cicero, Ill., filed a petition seeking an order requiring MySpace to reveal the author of two fake profiles of him, which he alleges included defamatory comments and privacy violations. He dropped the case after the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted an amicus brief in the case, arguing that the petition did not demonstrate a viable legal claim sufficient to overcome the poster’s First Amendment right to anonymity.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/06/13
Case information and documents: http://www.eff.org/cases/dominick-v-my-space
Vision Media TV Group v. Richard, Civil No. 08-80797 (S.D. Fla.
Status: Withdrawn by plaintiff.
Vision Media TV Group allegedly contacted Leslie Richard, saying that it would feature her eco-friendly fashion business in a report to be aired on PBS and CNN. But then the company told Richard that she would have to pay $22,900 in production fees and $3,000 in airfare. Richard wrote about the incident on her blog for her business, the Oko Box blog, http://oko-organic-clothing.blogspot.com/, calling it a “scam.” The television company then filed suit, but dropped the case in October 2008.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/vision-media-tv-group-v-richard
http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/local_business_owner_sued_for_20_million_over_blog_post
http://oko-organic-clothing.blogspot.com/2008/07/vision-media-sues-oko-box-for-5-million.html
Complaint: http://www.mountainx.com/files/vmtlawsuit.pdf
Status: Withdrawn by plaintiff.
Vision Media TV Group allegedly contacted Leslie Richard, saying that it would feature her eco-friendly fashion business in a report to be aired on PBS and CNN. But then the company told Richard that she would have to pay $22,900 in production fees and $3,000 in airfare. Richard wrote about the incident on her blog for her business, the Oko Box blog, http://oko-organic-clothing.blogspot.com/, calling it a “scam.” The television company then filed suit, but dropped the case in October 2008.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/vision-media-tv-group-v-richard
http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/local_business_owner_sued_for_20_million_over_blog_post
http://oko-organic-clothing.blogspot.com/2008/07/vision-media-sues-oko-box-for-5-million.html
Complaint: http://www.mountainx.com/files/vmtlawsuit.pdf
Opera Tower LLC v. Lechuga, No. 2008-3086-CA-01 (
Status: Dismissed by plaintiff
The developer of the
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
Complaint: http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2008/01/28/20/Complaint.Revised.source.prod_affiliate.56.pdf
Ligonier Ministries, Inc. v. Vance, No. ________ (Fla. Cir. Ct. Seminole County
Status: Dismissed at request of plaintiff.
Status: Dismissed at request of plaintiff.
A religious organization sued a critic, Frank Vance, for comments posted on his blog about the group and its leaders at vancetribe.blogspot.com. The religious group also sought a court order prohibiting additional postings. The organization dropped the case in late September 2006.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/ligonier-ministries-v-vance
http://ministrywatchman.com/wp-content/uploads/orlando_sentinel092906.html
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-blog0506sep05,0,931489.story?track=rss
http://www.worldmagblog.com/blog/archives/026345.html
Complaint: http://ministrywatchman.com/wp-content/uploads/Ligonier_Ministries_v_Vance_complaint.pdf
Plaintiff’s emergency motion for ex parte hearing: http://ministrywatchman.com/wp-content/uploads/Ligonier_Ministries_vs_Vance_Ex_Parte.pdf
Johnson v. Tucker Max, No 2003 CA 004867 (
Status: Dismissed by plaintiff
Plaintiff, formerly Miss
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/johnson-v-tucker-max
http://www.tuckermax.com/archives/entries/the_almost_banned_miss_vermont_story.phtml
http://www.tuckermax.com/archives/images/tuckernytimesweb.pdf
http://maroon.uchicago.edu/news/articles/2003/05/16/college_graduate_tuc.php
Initial complaint: http://www.tuckermax.com/images/Complaint%20for%20Injunctive%20Relief%20and%20Damages.PDF
Tallerico v. Doe, No. BC398715 (
Status: Pending.
The lead singer of the rock group Aerosmith, Steven Tyler – whose real name is Steven Tallarico – sued the anonymous authors of two fake blogs, that were removed from the blogspot.com website at
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSTRE48O0DQ20080925
Case information and documents: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/tyler-v-does
Eclipse Aviation Corp. v. Doe, No. 108CV110380 (Cal. Super., Santa Clara Co. dismissed July 31, 2008).
Status: Withdrawn by plaintiff
Eclipse Aviation, which manufactures very light jet aircraft, sued several John Does in New Mexico state court, alleging that they were current and former employees who had violated their confidentiality agreements by contributing and posting comments to the Eclipse Aviation Critic blog, http://eclipseaviationcritic.blogspot.com, which was active until 2007, and its successor, the Eclipse Aviation Critic Next Generation blog, www.eclipsecriticng.blogspot.com. Eclipse then filed a related action in
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.charterx.com/resources/article.aspx?id=3286
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/302137nm04-22-08.htm
Docket: http://www.sccaseinfo.org/pa6.asp?full_case_number=1-08-CV-110380
Motion to quash subpoena: http://www.charterx.com/mediafiles/store/58773/128547467269195924.pdf
Coverage of settlement: http://www.charterx.com/resources/article.aspx?id=3444
Cohen v. Ford, No. 00-CV-5966 (C.D. Cal. dismissed Feb. 21, 2001)
Status: Dropped
In 1998, Gary Kremen sued Stephen Michael Cohen, alleging that he had fraudulently obtained the sex.com domain name owned by Kremen by forging a letter to Network Solutions in 1995, asking for transfer of ownership of the URL. (That suit eventually ended with a $65 million award to Kremen, and restoration of control of the domain, although the judgment has not been collected.) While that case was pending, in 2000 Cohen sued Luke Ford over coverage of the sex.com lawsuit on his lukeford.com porn-industry blog. But the case was dropped by the plaintiff in 2001.
Brabus Ventures v. Zablotskyy, No. VG08390958 (
Status: Dismissed
Following a series of postings on the “Go Beyond MLS” blog (www.go-beyond-mls.com) in which former real estate agent Vlad Zablotskyy criticized the website www.ePerks.com, operated by Brabus Ventures Corp, Brabus filed a complaint in state court alleging defamation. The complaint claimed that Zablotskyy defamed Brabus by asserting that they had indirectly and falsely accused him of charges of child molestation on the Yahoo! answers website through an attempt to identify them with the IP address used by the poster. Brabus voluntarily dismissed the action on October 23, 2008.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/brabus-ventures-v-zablotskyy
Summons and complaint: http://www.scribd.com/doc/3271851/Barabus-vs-Zablotskyy
Apple Computer, Inc. v. Doe, No. 1-04-CV-032178, 20005 WL 578641, 33 Media L. Rep. 1449 (Cal. Ct. of Santa Clara County Cal.
Status: Discovery motion denied; lawsuit against alleged leakers withdrawn
Status: Discovery motion denied; lawsuit against alleged leakers withdrawn
In Dec. 2004, Apple Computer, Inc., filed suit against numerous unknown entities in connection with the leak of confidential information prior to the release of an Apple product codenamed "Asteroid." The information, which Apple claims are trade secrets, was posted on a number of websites, including AppleInsider (http://www.appleinsider.com/) and PowerPage (http://www.powerpage.org/). Apple sued the unknown people who leaked the information. In an attempt to determine who these people were, Apple subpoenaed Nfox, the e-mail service provider for PowerPage, seeking e-mail messages that could identify the source(s) of the leaked information. The trial court ruled that Apple is entitled to subpoena an e-mail provider to try and identify the source(s), but declined to determine whether the bloggers qualified as journalists under the
Links and Court Documents:
Docket available at: http://www.sccaseinfo.org/
Case information and updates: http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Apple_v_Does/
Cal. App. decision at http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Apple_v_Does/H028579.pdf
Garrido v. Krasnansky, No. 466-12-06 (Vt. Fam. Ct., Washington County).
Status: Preliminary injunction issued against blog, then dissolved on reconsideration
In a divorce case, Judge Thomas Devine of Washington County Family Court issued an injunction requiring William Krasnansky to remove “any and all Internet postings,” including his blog (lookatmypugs.livejournal.com), which features what Krasnansky says is a fictionalized account of his wife, their marriage and divorce. Krasnansky refused to remove the material from the site, calling it “an act of civil disobedience.” Upon reconsideration, the judge vacated his prior order.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/us/10divorce.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1199985014-nY8QymmMd24iBLLkuZNIqw
http://www.abajournal.com/news/judge_orders_divorcing_blogger_to_take_down_posts_on_marriage/
Status: Preliminary injunction issued against blog, then dissolved on reconsideration
In a divorce case, Judge Thomas Devine of Washington County Family Court issued an injunction requiring William Krasnansky to remove “any and all Internet postings,” including his blog (lookatmypugs.livejournal.com), which features what Krasnansky says is a fictionalized account of his wife, their marriage and divorce. Krasnansky refused to remove the material from the site, calling it “an act of civil disobedience.” Upon reconsideration, the judge vacated his prior order.
Links and Court Documents:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/us/10divorce.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1199985014-nY8QymmMd24iBLLkuZNIqw
http://www.abajournal.com/news/judge_orders_divorcing_blogger_to_take_down_posts_on_marriage/
Sorenson's Ranch School et al v. My Space, Civil No. 06-00632 (D. Utah dismissed Dec. 12, 2006).
Status: Voluntarily dismissed by plaintiff
Sorenson's Ranch School and its owners, Burnell and Carrol Sorenson, filed suit against MySpace over a page devoted to the school on the site, created by an unknown party, which alleged that the Sorensons engage in child abuse, their staff is not qualified, and they engage in false advertising. . The page appears to have been removed, and the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the action in December 2006.
Status: Voluntarily dismissed by plaintiff
Sorenson's Ranch School and its owners, Burnell and Carrol Sorenson, filed suit against MySpace over a page devoted to the school on the site, created by an unknown party, which alleged that the Sorensons engage in child abuse, their staff is not qualified, and they engage in false advertising. . The page appears to have been removed, and the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the action in December 2006.
Galveston Independent School Dist. v. Tetley (threatened lawsuit)
Status: Threated suit; Not filed
In late October 2007, the Galveston Independent School District had its attorney send a letter to the operator of the Galveston Alliance for Neighborhood Schools blog site (www.gisdwatch.com), threatening to sue over comments accusing school board members of various improprieties. The threat gained national attention after the Drudge Report website linked to articles about the dispute. The following week, the school board announced that it would not sue, saying that the threat had shifted the district’s focus away from its educational mission.
Links and Court Documents:
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=67e7147b74f58ff1
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=ca5de54a31ed2eb0
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=472efc34c322e922
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=81e82cbf8f477747
Status: Threated suit; Not filed
In late October 2007, the Galveston Independent School District had its attorney send a letter to the operator of the Galveston Alliance for Neighborhood Schools blog site (www.gisdwatch.com), threatening to sue over comments accusing school board members of various improprieties. The threat gained national attention after the Drudge Report website linked to articles about the dispute. The following week, the school board announced that it would not sue, saying that the threat had shifted the district’s focus away from its educational mission.
Links and Court Documents:
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=67e7147b74f58ff1
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=ca5de54a31ed2eb0
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=472efc34c322e922
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=81e82cbf8f477747
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