November 21, 2009

Wargo v. Lavandeira

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.

Posted August 11th, 2008 by Arthur Bright

Summary

Threat Type: Lawsuit	Date: 07/14/2008
Status: Concluded	Location: Ohio
Disposition: Dismissed (total)	Verdict/Settlement Amount: n/a
Legal Claims: Breach of Contract; Defamation; Fraud; Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress; Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress; Negligence; Publication of Private Facts; Tortious Interference
Diane Wargo sued Mario Lavandeira, also known as Perez Hilton, and 25 anonymous PerezHilton.com posters in Ohio state court after Lavandeira published an email containing homophobic slurs that Wargo sent to the blog from her work email account.... read full description

Parties

Party Issuing Legal Threat:	Party Receiving Legal Threat:
Diane Wargo; Joel Wargo; Joel Wargo, Jr.; Justin Wargo	Mario Lavandeira, dba PerezHilton.com and Perez Hilton; John Does
Type of Party:	Type of Party:
Individual	Individual
Location of Party:	Location of Party:
Ohio	California
Legal Counsel:	Legal Counsel:
Brian Spitz, John M. Heffernan - Spitz Law Firm	Bryan J. Freedman - Freedman & Taitelman

Description

Diane Wargo sued Mario Lavandeira, also known as Perez Hilton, and 25 anonymous PerezHilton.com posters in Ohio state court after Lavandeira published an email containing homophobic slurs that Wargo sent to the blog from her work email account.

The posted version of the email included Wargo's full name, work email address, and the name of her employer. Wargo's employer fired her after it became aware of the email and received harassing emails and telephone calls. Wargo's complaint alleges that publishing her personal information violated PerezHilton.com's terms of use and privacy policy.

In the lawsuit, Wargo seeks $25 million in damages on thirteen claims, including invasion of privacy through publication of private facts, breach of contract, fraud, negligence, defamation, and both negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Wargo also seeks a preliminary injunction against Lavandeira to prevent him from publicizing her personal information on his website.

Update:

08/27/08 - Case was removed to the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio

10/03/08 - Court granted Lavandeira's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and entered judgment against Wargo.

Related Links:

Details

Website(s) Involved:	Content Type(s):
PerezHilton.com	Text
Publication Medium:	Subject Area(s):
Blog	Business Torts Defamation Publication of Private Facts Terms and Conditions

Court Information & Documents

Location of Filing/Threat:	Source of Law:
Ohio	Ohio
Court Name:	Court Type:
Court of Common Pleas, Cuyahoga County, Ohio; United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio	Federal; State
Case Number:
CV 08 664752; 1:08-CV-2035
Relevant Documents:
Wargo's Complaint (07-14-2008) Lavandeira's Motion to Dismiss (08-28-2008) Wargo's Response to Motion to Dismiss (09-08-2008) Lavandeira's Reply to Response to Motion to Dismiss (09-18-2008) Memorandum of Opinion and Order Granting Lavandeira's Motion to Dismiss (10-03-2008) Judgment Entry (10-03-2008)

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Last updated on February 26th, 2009

did Diane Wargo win the

Submitted by Guest (not verified) on Mon, 02/02/2009 - 09:03.

did Diane Wargo win the lawsuit?