In 2003, Erin Brady brought two civil lawsuits alleging that a particular Catholic priest had molested her as a child. Her attorney, Ray Boucher, gave an interview with the Los Angeles Times regarding Brady’s lawsuit. In response, the accused clergy member sued Brady, Ray Boucher and his firm, Kiesel, Boucher & Larson, and SNAP, an advocacy organization for victims of clergy molestation.
Read MoreIn 2004, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Burberry, and other companies suspected that their products were being counterfeited on Santee Street in downtown Los Angeles, also known as Santee Alley. Hundreds of shops, booths, and stands make up Santee Alley and sell anything from clothing to jewelry. These companies hired a company called Investigative Consultants to investigate the matter. Investigative Consultants confirmed that these companies’ products were indeed being counterfeited.
Read MoreIn Maryland in 2006, a real estate developer brought a defamation lawsuit against an internet newspaper company, Independent Newspapers, Inc. (INI), and three John Doe defendants in state court. The lawsuit arose from statements criticizing the developer for selling his historic home to another developer and accusing him of maintaining a dirty Dunkin’ Donuts establishment.
Read MoreNedGam Productions and Edge 1 Productions are businesses that run “The” and “ACT”, talent agencies that hold auditions at hotels nationwide in search children looking to become actors. Ironically, “The” and “ACT” are both owned by Michael Palance. BizParentz Foundation is a non-profit charity that helps children and their families to avoid scams and make their way in the child star industry.
Read MoreIn 2007, Avvo, Inc., an attorney-rating website, was sued by some attorneys who opposed Avvo’s numerical rating system (or more specifically, the number Avvo had awarded them). Avvo argued that the rating system was non-actionable fact, and the court agreed. Avvo’s site also allows consumers to post comments.
Read MoreIn 2001, manufacturer of the Metabolife herbal diet pill sued a Harvard Medical School professor for product defamation from statements he made in a consumer report on the safety of diet pills containing ephedrine. Blackburn was able to take advantage of the California anti-SLAPP law ...
Read MoreIn 2004, the president of a Hawaiian taxi company and 2004 Hawaii Small Business Person of the Year, Dale Evans, asked state officials to investigate reports of misconduct and possible illegal activities engaged in by another taxi company. Based on her assertion, the Hawaii Attorney General opened an investigation, found some minor wrongdoing and corrected the problems on site.
Read MoreIn 2001, a group of environmental advocates took out an ad in the New York Times entitled “Global Warming-How Will It End?” The ad highlighted the causes, potential impacts and possible solutions to global warming and mentioned coal as a cause of climate change.
Read MoreIn 2001, the members of Southeast Citizens for Smart Development (SCSD) peacefully protested the proposed development of a home for troubled teens called Boys Town in its community. The builders sued the District of Columbia for violations of the Fair Housing Act, but they named as defendants of the suit the SCSD and two of its members.
Read MoreIn 2002, Meena Chandok, a scientist under Daniel Klessig at Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) at Cornell, made exciting discoveries about nitric oxide synthase activity in a plant protein. The findings were published with Klessig in Cell a scientific journal.
Read MoreIn 2004, the American Academy for Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) filed a lawsuit against Dr. Thomas Perls of Boston University and Professor S. Jay Olshansky of University of Illinois at Chicago in an Illinois circuit court. The suit alleged that the two professors had engaged in “defamatory conduct” and interfered with A4M’s business and economic advantage.
Read MoreIn August of 2008, the law firm Jones Day sued Chicago’s BlockShopper site, a site that reports on real estate transactions, often with descriptions of those buying and selling homes. Jones Day alleged trademark infringement and unfair trade practices based on Blockshopper’s use of Jones Day’s service marks, links to the Jones Day site and the use of its lawyers’ photos.
Read MoreIn the early 2000s, DIRECTV sent demand letters to thousands of people who purchased certain devices that can pirate DIRECTV’s television programming, requesting the recipients cease using the devices. An attorney searched internet sites promoting satellite television piracy to find a class of plaintiffs who were recipients of DIRECTV’s demand letters.
Read MoreIn 1996, medical services provider Beverly Enterprises sued a nurses union in Pennsylvania for malicious defamation in the publication of fliers and radio statements about safety issues and the ongoing labor dispute between the union and the medical services company.
Read MoreIn September of 2008, New York attorney Marina Tylo filed a lawsuit against blogger Andrew Lavoott Bluestone of the New York Attorney Malpractice Blog, seeking $10,000,000 in damages for libel, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and tortious interference with prospective contractual relations. Tylo’s lawsuit arose out of a neutral statement on Bluestone’s blog stating only – and truthfully – that Tylo had been sued for malpractice.
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