February 11, 2012

Lawsuits Involving Section 230 (by date of filing)

NOTE: The information and commentary contained in this database entry are based on court filings and other informational sources that may contain unproven allegations made by the parties. The truthfulness and accuracy of such information is likely to be in dispute. Information contained in this entry is current as of the last event mentioned in the "Description" section below; additional proceedings might have taken place in this matter since this event.

Fraley v. Facebook

Date: 03/18/2011	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: California	Publication: Social Network

On March 18, 2011, five plaintiffs (including two minors) sued Facebook in California state court. The plaintiffs claimed to represent the class of people injured by Facebook's introduction of a "Sponsored Story" system, through which Facebook turns certain types of user...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 01/04/2012 - 2:02pm - 0 comments

Roger Nicosia v. Lisa Rollins, Christopher Bartlett, John Etzler, Philip A. Grogan d/b/a Spearboard.com/Enterprise Publications

Date: 01/10/2011	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Florida	Publication: Forum

On January 9, 2009, Plaintiff Roger Nicosia navigated his boat into a dive area and ran over diver Robert Murphy (“Murphy”). The boat’s propellers sliced through Murphy’s legs, resulting in amputation of both legs below the knee. The collision was...

Legal Threat - kwimberly - 03/22/2011 - 12:45pm - 0 comments

Ascentive v. Opinion Corp.

Date: 09/24/2010	Status: Pending	Disposition: Injunction Denied
Type: Lawsuit	Location: New York	Publication: Forum

Ascentive, LLC, a software company, filed suit against Opinion Corp. d/b/a PissedConsumer.com on September 24, 2010, claiming that Opinion Corp., through its PissedConsumer website, infringed on Ascentive trademarks. The complaint alleges seven claims for relief against Opinion Corp.: The first...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 02/09/2012 - 5:14pm - 0 comments

T&J Towing v. Kurtz

Date: 04/05/2010	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Michigan	Publication: Social Network

On April 5, 2010, T&J Towing of Kalamazoo, Michigan, filed a defamation lawsuit against Justin Kurtz, a 21-year-old student at Western Michigan University. The dispute revolves around Kurtz's creation of a Facebook page called “Kalamazoo Residents against T&J Towing.” T&J seeks...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 06/07/2010 - 10:09am - 0 comments

Reit v. Yelp

Date: 03/04/2010	Status: Pending	Disposition: Dismissed (partial)
Type: Lawsuit	Location: New York	Publication: Forum

Glenn Reit, a Manhattan dentist, sued Yelp! and John Doe (Michael S.) for defamation and Yelp! for deceptive acts and practices under New York’s General Business Law § 349 and § 350. According to his complaint, as of May 2009, Dr....

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 12/06/2010 - 4:03pm - 0 comments

Kehoe v. Craigslist

Date: 03/01/2010	Status: Pending	Disposition: Material Removed
Type: Lawsuit	Location: New York	Publication: Forum

Leo Kehoe, a Queens accountant, sued Craigslist, Inc. in New York state court after an anonymous individual posted ads on Craigslist calling him a "crook" and a "fraudulent scumbag." Kehoe also sued the anonymous poster. According to Gothamist,...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 03/23/2010 - 5:44pm - 0 comments

Scott P. v. Craigslist, Inc.

Date: 02/05/2010	Status: Pending	Disposition: ; Material Removed
Type: Lawsuit	Location: California	Publication: Forum

In February 2010, Scott P., an unnamed plaintiff proceeding anonymously, filed a lawsuit against Craigslist and other defendants in California state court after his co-workers allegedly posted a series of Craiglist ads impersonating him. The complaint alleges that, in March...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 06/10/2010 - 6:02pm - 0 comments

Jones v. Dirty World, LLC

Date: 12/23/2009	Status: Pending	Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Kentucky	Publication: Blog

On December 23, 2009, a Jane Doe filed a lawsuit in federal court. The plaintiff intended to sue TheDirty.com, alleging that a number of posts on the blog (self-described as a "reality blogger . . . all about gossip...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 01/13/2012 - 9:09am - 0 comments

Giordano v. Romeo

Date: 09/17/2009	Status: Pending	Disposition: Dismissed (partial)
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Florida	Publication: Website

John Giordano, president of a Florida-based addiction treatment company, filed suit (individually and on behalf of his company) against Donna Romeo over a posting on consumer-reporting website Ripoff Report. The post describes the treatment facility's conditions in harsh terms, and...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 01/12/2012 - 2:41pm - 0 comments

Glass v. Doe d/b/a pogowasright.org

Date: 07/30/2009	Status:	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: California	Publication: Blog; Forum

Jane Doe, an anonymous blogger and author of the website Pogo Was Right: Privacy News from Around the World, filed suit in the Central District of California against Lillian Glass, Ph.D. The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment that (1) Doe is protected...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 08/14/2009 - 2:28pm - 0 comments

Devenyns v. Albero

Date: 07/24/2009	Status: Concluded	Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Maryland	Publication: Blog

A Maryland prison director filed a defamation lawsuit against Maryland political blogger Joseph Albero for allowing an allegedly defamatory user comment to appear on his website. Douglas Devenyns claims an anonymous commenter on Albero's Salisbury News blog falsely stated he was a...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 02/11/2010 - 4:04pm - 0 comments

Gorman v. Meale

Date: 07/07/2009	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Illinois	Publication: Forum

Attorneys at Favaro & Gorman Ltd. filed a lawsuit against Jennifer Meale and Xcentric Ventures, LLC over allegedly defamatory posts made anonymously by Meale on Ripoff Report, a consumer review website. It is not clear how the law determined that...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 07/21/2009 - 6:06pm - 0 comments

First Call Properties v. Craigslist

Date: 05/29/2009	Status: Pending	Disposition: Dismissed (partial)
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Texas	Publication: Website

First Call Properties and its officers filed suit against AAA Apartment Locating and Craigslist in Texas state court, alleging, among other claims, trademark infringement, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and tortious interference. According to the complaint, First Call began...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 07/28/2009 - 2:48pm - 0 comments

Henry v. Google

Date: 05/20/2009	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Mississippi	Publication: Other

Johnny I. Henry, an inventor of the vibrating toilet seat, filed a lawsuit against Google, Inc. and AOL, claiming that search results delivered by Google and hosted by AOL are defamatory. Henry, who is African-American, asserts that Google's search results include links...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 12/21/2009 - 4:55pm - 0 comments

Doe v. Dirty World Entertainment

Date: 05/06/2009	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Texas	Publication: Website

An anonymous Texas woman has filed suit in state court against the operator of The Dirty, self-described as the "first and most famous reality gossip blog," for allegedly lending credence to a third-party comment on the site that showed her...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 08/25/2009 - 12:47pm - 0 comments

Video Professor v. Informercial Consumer Awareness

Date: 05/03/2009	Status: Pending	Disposition: Settled (partial)
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Colorado	Publication: Website

Video Professor, a computer instruction software company, filed a lawsuit against the owners of Infomercialscams.com, a website which hosts anonymous reviews of infomercial products, and several related individuals asserting claims that the owners of Infomercialscams.com used the threat of negative consumer ratings to extort...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 08/28/2009 - 9:57am - 0 comments

Davis v. Google

Date: 04/09/2009	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Illinois	Publication: Blog

Cherie Davis, mother of 2006 gold medal winner Shani Davis, the first African American speed skater to make the U.S. Olympic team, sued Google, Inc. in Illinois state court, seeking an injunction requiring the company to take down a blog post written...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 07/05/2011 - 9:12am - 1 comments

24grille v. TripAdvisor.com

Date: 04/02/2009	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Michigan	Publication: Website

24 Grille, a self-described upscale restaurant at a hotel in Detroit, Michigan, filed a libel and negligence lawsuit against review site TripAdvisor.com after an anonymous TripAdvisor user advised others to avoid the restaurant. According to the complaint, the poster told...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 07/20/2009 - 8:14am - 0 comments

Esfeller v. The Daily Reveille

Date: 03/16/2009	Status: Pending	Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Louisiana	Publication: Print; Website

In March 2009, Terrance Esfeller filed a defamation lawsuit in Louisiana state court against Louisiana State University, its student newspaper The Daily Reveille, faculty advisers to the newspaper, and its top student editors. The lawsuit revolves around anonymous comments posted on ...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 04/29/2009 - 11:16am - 0 comments

Vision Media TV Group v. Forte

Date: 03/09/2009	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Florida	Publication: Forum

In February 2009, Vision Media TV, a company that makes video segments that advertise nonprofit companies, sued Julia Forte, who runs the website 800Notes, a forum site on which members of the public can discuss telemarketing companies and practices. Vision...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 02/19/2010 - 9:58am - 0 comments

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Lawsuits Involving Section 230 (by date of filing)

Fraley v. Facebook

Roger Nicosia v. Lisa Rollins, Christopher Bartlett, John Etzler, Philip A. Grogan d/b/a Spearboard.com/Enterprise Publications

Ascentive v. Opinion Corp.

T&J Towing v. Kurtz

Reit v. Yelp

Kehoe v. Craigslist

Scott P. v. Craigslist, Inc.

Jones v. Dirty World, LLC

Giordano v. Romeo

Glass v. Doe d/b/a pogowasright.org

Devenyns v. Albero

Gorman v. Meale

First Call Properties v. Craigslist

Henry v. Google

Doe v. Dirty World Entertainment

Video Professor v. Informercial Consumer Awareness

Davis v. Google

24grille v. TripAdvisor.com

Esfeller v. The Daily Reveille

Vision Media TV Group v. Forte

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Lawsuits Involving Section 230 (by date of filing)

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