Legal Threats Database

legal threats database Welcome to the CMLP's Database of Online Legal Threats! The database contains lawsuits, cease & desist letters, subpoenas, and other legal threats directed at those who engage in online speech. You can view, search, and comment on every entry in the database. Interested in lawsuits against bloggers? You'll find them on the Lawsuits Involving Blogs page. How about threats involving forum posts and user comments? You'll find those here. You can use our advanced search page to sort the entries by any criterion of your choosing, as well as perform full-text searching of the underlying documents.

We need your help to keep the database accurate and up to date. If you've been threatened with legal action or know of someone who has, please let us know by using our contact form or by entering the information directly into the database through our easy to use threat entry form. If you have questions, check out our database FAQ.

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New Threat Entries

  • DeRosa v. Rattanni
    Added:
    February 4th, 2010
    On November 20, 2009, Thomas DeRosa, Chairman of the Forward Township Board of Supervisors, issued a subpoena seeking discovery from Richard S. Rattanni, the operator of the website elizabethboro.com, in order to identify the posters of allegedly defamatory comments on that website. The subpoena...
  • DeRosa v. Does
    Added:
    February 4th, 2010
    On November 19, 2009, Thomas DeRosa, Chairman of the Forward Township Board of Supervisors, filed a complaint in the Court of Common Pleas for Allegheny County against two Doe defendants, asserting claims for defamation.  According to news reports from the Pittsburg Tribune-Review,...
  • Hvide v. Doe
    Added:
    February 3rd, 2010
    Eric Hvide sued eight anonymous Yahoo and America Online posters for defamation in Florida state court after the posters criticized Hvide's running of Hvide Marine, Inc.  The record is sketchy, but it appears the court ordered disclosure of the commenters' identities despite...
  • Kindelan v. Hoffman
    Added:
    February 1st, 2010
    Note: The following is a user-submitted description: Rebecca Hoffman maintains a blog entitled "Here's a Gem," in which she shares her experience with her husband's adventure as an entrepreneur and the lawsuits resulting from claims of breach of contract and...
  • Moore v. Boing Boing
    Added:
    January 28th, 2010
    In December 2009, counsel for Demi Moore sent a demand letter to Boing Boing, in regard to a November 17 Xeni Jardin post titled "Was Demi Moore Ralph-Laurenized on 'W' mag cover, with missing hip-flesh?."  The...
  • Dane v. Gawker
    Added:
    January 28th, 2010
    On September 23, 2009, Grey's Anatomy star Eric Dane and his wife Rebecca Gayheart filed a complaint for copyright infringement against Mark Ebner and various Gawker Media entities in the federal district court for the Central District of California. According to the Complaint,...
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Most Viewed Threat Entries

  • Doe v. Fortuny
    Total Views:
    34969
    On February 20, 2008, an anonymous plaintiff sued Jason Fortuny in Illinois federal court for copyright infringement, invasion of privacy through the publication of private facts, and intrusion, after Mr. Fortuny allegedly posted his photograph and personal information on the Internet. Mr....
  • Johnson v. Tucker Max
    Total Views:
    17989
    Tucker Max maintains a website detailing his sexual exploits with women. He had a relationship with former Miss Vermont, Katy Johnson, and put the entire story on his website under the title, the "Miss Vermont Story." Johnson sued Max in...
  • Doninger v. Niehoff
    Total Views:
    12484
    Administrators barred a Connecticut high school student from running in a student election after the student critized admininstrators online for their handling of a student festival. In the spring of 2007, Jamfest, a yearly music festival at a Connecticut high school, experienced...
  • Beck v. Eiland-Hall
    Total Views:
    10438
    In September 2009, conservative talk show host and self-described "rodeo clown" Glenn Beck filed an administrative complaint with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) against the privacy...
  • Julius Baer Bank and Trust v. Wikileaks
    Total Views:
    9219
    On February 6, 2008, Julius Baer Bank and Trust Company, a Cayman Islands banking entity, filed suit in federal court in California against Wikileaks, which is developing an "uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis." ...
  • Xyience Inc. v. Bergeron
    Total Views:
    9119
    Xyience Inc., a manufacturer of energy drinks and supplements, sued Rich Bergeron in Nevada state court over statements posted on his MySpace.com page and website, unlimitedfightnews.com. According to the complaint, Bergeron posted an article to his MySpace page that contained allegations that...
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