Prenda Law Sues Critics For Defamation

from the grab-some-popcorn dept

Mon, Mar 4th 2013 5:34am — Mike Masnick

Wow. Wow. Wow. Okay, so we have another story we've been working on concerning Brett Gibbs, a lawyer who was working for Prenda Law in California, finally answering some of the questions presented to him by a judge. We'll get that story up later, because there's a new Prenda story that has leapfrogged all the others. It appears that three separate lawsuits have now been filed -- one from Prenda itself, one from John Steele (the guy who is often considered the man behind Prenda) and Paul Duffy the actual official partner of Prenda Law (you may remember Paul from this story, in which he sent a letter insisting that Prenda Law had nothing to do with a case, despite the lawyer appearing believing they had been hired by Prenda). Jordan Rushie, a lawyer who has been following the Prenda cases pretty closely, has links to all of the filings, which we've embedded below. All three were originally filed in state courts (Prenda & Duffy in Illinois, Steele in Florida), but were quickly removed to federal courts.

These are basically defamation lawsuits with a few other claims thrown in as well. There are two named defendants in the lawsuit: Alan Cooper (a caretaker for a home of John Steele, who has accused Steele/Prenda of illegally using his name as "CEO" of companies Ingenuity 13 and AF Holdings) and Paul Godfread, Cooper's lawyer, who filed the letter alerting some judges to these concerns, and then followed it up by filing a lawsuit against Steele and Prenda on behalf of Cooper.

The other targets of the lawsuit are a bunch of unnamed John Does (and if these guys have expertise in anything, it's filing lawsuits that involve John Does), who are... a bunch of anonymous commentators concerning the various Prenda Lawsuits. It looks like they're targeting people on the two main copyright troll tracking websites out there, FightCopyrightTrolls.com and DieTrollDie.com. It's worth noting that both sites were the subject of a nice profile article in Ars Technica last week.

The three filings are similar, but not identical. The Prenda one and the Duffy one are almost identical, but the Steele one is different in a few ways, including focusing on lots and lots and lots of statements specifically about Steele. Steele's suit also does not make the "false light" claim, which means he actually realized that Florida has rejected "false light" as a tort in that state.

Still, all three suits read like obvious SLAPP suits, targeting online critics. The fact that they target Cooper and Godfread, who have a lawsuit pending against them, is ridiculous. That they then go after anonymous bloggers and commenters who have been revealing and calling attention to some of Prenda's more questionable moves seems like an obvious SLAPP situation, in which they appear to be using the lawsuit to create chilling effects and to stifle speech. Looking over the long list of quotes they pull out in the various lawsuits, the vast majority seem to be clear statements of opinion, rather than fact. And even when you could argue some of them are statements of fact -- such as referring to anyone associated with Prenda as a "criminal" or a "scammer" or calling Prenda a "fraud" or similar such things -- courts have increasingly noted that name calling in online forums does not reach the level of defamation, since the context matters. That's no guarantee, as those rulings are still limited, but it's at least a sign that these lawsuits may be overreaching in their claims (which, of course, is a key component of a SLAPP).

It is not uncommon for people in comments on blogs to go a bit far in some of their claims (and even the main authors of the two blogs above sometimes seem to make pretty strong statements that may not be fully supported by the evidence presented). However, to take that to the level of defamation feels like a pretty big stretch. If anything, these lawsuits seem more likely to be attempts to first "out" the folks behind those blogs (and some of the nastier comments) and, barring that, to scare them with chilling effects.

Of course, one interesting thing: the best defense against defamation claims, obviously, is the truth. And, it would seem that, in filing these lawsuits, Steele, Duffy and Prenda may have opened themselves up to pretty wide discovery efforts which may turn up things they probably would rather not have in court. That point alone has me wondering why they'd take this step.

On top of that, the lawsuits note that the plaintiffs are not public figures, which sets the bar much lower for defamation. Paul Duffy might be able to get away with such a claim, but John Steele would seem to have a lot more difficulty. After all, he's been the subject of detailed profiles in Forbes Magazine (which he happily participated in). Forbes doesn't do profile stories on nobodies.

It would seem important to note that both Illinois and Florida have passed anti-SLAPP laws. Florida's are fairly narrowly defined, however, and may not be useful here. Illinois, however, has as broader anti-SLAPP law that has sometimes been interpreted narrowly. Both of these are reminders for why we desperately need a federal anti-SLAPP law.

It appears that, at least for now, Steele and Duffy are representing themselves, while Prenda has another law firm representing the firm. Cooper and Godfread have signed up lawyers to represent them in both Illinois and Florida (in Illinois the lawyers, Erin Russell and Jason Sweet, both have a decently established history of fighting Prenda cases, and while I wasn't familiar with the name, the same appears to be true of Brad Patrick, who is representing them in Florida).

As always with Prenda/Steele, every time you think a story can't possibly get crazier, it seems to take another massive curve in the road. At some point, when this is all over, there's going to be an amazing book to be written about the rise (and, most likely, fall) of John Steele and his adventures in copyright trolling. The story is gripping.

128278939 Prenda Law v Paul Godfread Alan Cooper Does 1 10 (PDF)128278939 Prenda Law v Paul Godfread Alan Cooper Does 1 10 (Text)

Steele v Godfread (PDF)Steele v Godfread (Text)

Prenda Law Complaint (PDF)Prenda Law Complaint (Text)

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Filed Under: alan cooper, defamation, dietrolldie, fightcopyrighttrolls, florida, illinois, john steele, paul duffy, paul godfread, prenda, prenda law, slapp
Companies: prenda, prenda law

48 Comments

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Ninja (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 3:45am

Whenever I see human stupidity face on I always think to myself "how can humans be so stupid?" then I remember of Prenda. At that point everything seems so much smarter and wiser....
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2013 @ 5:42am

Every time I see a story about 'Prenda Law' I can't help but change their name to 'Pretenda Law', the name fits with what they often do.
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That One Guy (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 5:50am

The facepalms heard around the world...
So they are filing SLAPP suits against people on two different sites filled to the brim with lawyers that already don't care for them.

Yeah, I can't for the life of me see how that could backfire horribly on them... /s
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out_of_the_blue, 4 Mar 2013 @ 5:55am

Oh, boy. Another Prenda item. -- Not popcorn, but coffee.
If you want to stay awake.

Not only an anomaly, but UNIQUE.

Take a loopy tour of Techdirt.com! You always end up at same place!
http://techdirt.com/
Mike Masnick, the economist with the soul of a lawyer. Watch for his "At The Bench" series.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:04am

Re: Oh, boy. Another Prenda item. -- Not popcorn, but coffee.
Oh, boy. You're just mad that legal shenanigans like these are all your righteous heroes and defenders of copyright (and - dare I say it? - corporations) are reduced to.

Looks like someone should've put stock in popcorn rather than popcorn without the "opc".
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:10am

Re:
I DEMAND MY NICKEL!
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:11am

And suddenly, I'm reminded of Spaghetti junction in Birmingham in the UK.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:14am

Re: The facepalms heard around the world...
They might go after more people, they left the door open to add more people who made comments.
One wonders if they think a Judge is going to hand them the list of every single IP address that ever left a comment on the site.

Of course then there would be the final proof that Steele was posting all of those lovely things...
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Zakida Paul (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:17am

Anyone who cannot take a bit of criticism has no business being alive.
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Zakida Paul (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:19am

Re: Oh, boy. Another Prenda item. -- Not popcorn, but coffee.
Oh dear.

Another week, more stupidity from the idiots.

I need coffee every time I read your posts.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:21am

Re:
careful they will cut that statement up and put it in a new filing claiming you wished they were dead.

I mean its not like they took anything I said out of contex... er wait...
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:26am

One effect should be a court saying produce another Alan Cooper, with proof of when he became CEO.
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special-interesting (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:33am

An offensive defense I expect to backfire quickly.
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G Thompson (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:37am

Mike, don't be surprised if TD is somehow mentioned in all of those after the initial stage (if it gets past that and looks like its been sent to Federal from state so who knows), especially with some of the not too kind comments (hyperbole/opinion/accurate/truthful) that have been place under your articles.

Though the relief section is nothing. Prenda can do better.. I mean if some batshit crazy nutter (the 'batshit' statement gives it away for those in the know) can ask for $100billion US in a Nevada court (not kidding) for relief for alleged defamation from legal blogs and mainstream media articles etc then Prenda just isn't trying that hard!

Personally I suspect this is more a fishing expedition to generate discovery to confuse and confabulate from other more serious issues that are most likely to be highly problematic for Prenda et.al very soon.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:38am

i hope, when this is all over, these clowns are disbarred! i cant keep reading this shit! it makes me laugh so hard, my sides hurt!!
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OldGeezer (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:39am

Come on you bastards, bring it on! As if lawyers didn't already have a bad enough reputation these idiots have sunk to unbelievably new lows. (opinion, 1st amendment protected)
Judges have threatened them with criminal action (fact, cannot be considered libel) They seem to be gluttons for punishment. Any decent judge would have the bailiff throw them out on their asses. If they think they have had enough negative comments already their latest antics will really open the floodgates. With the long string of losses mount you have to wonder how they can stay in business. Ambulance chasing would be much more profitable.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:40am

The heroes of average_joe, bob, out_of_the_asscrack and hurricane head up the ass made another play.

Your moves, courts of America.
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G Thompson (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:40am

Re: Oh, boy. Another Prenda item. -- Not popcorn, but coffee.
Nope NOT unique at all, dipshits like yourself and Prenda and other crazy batshit loons file crap to tie up courts all the time based on the amount of Butthurt they seem to think they have verses the amount of Egotistical fortitude they don't have.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:46am

Re:
Oooh oooh oooh It'll be my fault! :D
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G Thompson (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 6:56am

Re: Re:
Of course it will, though you'll only be accepted into the "crazy batshit conspiracy club" when you too (like me) are a defendant in a $100US billion claim of idiocy with Misplaced Capital letters for the win!!! WOOT!
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 7:01am

Re: Re: Re:
Meh, all I can do is get quoted in 3 lawsuits filed at the same time.
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Designerfx (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 7:09am

bah
I would have loved to hear Prenda get laughed out of court in Illinois, but I'm not going to drive down to St. Clair. Jeez, no wonder this guy is so crazy.
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Designerfx (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 7:13am

Re: bah
also the claims are even better.

People are afraid of being identified? Man, that first amendment thing - clearly it's making people angry, or hiding, or....something! That's why they should be identified!

/facepalm

Illinois filing (note that it's vs the internet, literally): "Defendant Does 1-10 are individuals whose actual names are unknown to Plaintiff. Instead, they are known to Plaintiff only by the childish and unsophisticated - yet often exceedingly angry - pseudonyms they hide behind while falsely conversing in writing about Plaintiff and it's agents on the Internet".
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Raul, 4 Mar 2013 @ 7:14am

it is woth noting that in the FL Steele complaint Steele refers to himself as "undersigned counsel" and requests an award of "attorneys' fees" and yet, last time I checked, he is not licensed to practice law in FL.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 7:19am

Re:
OHAI Raul!
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Atkray (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 7:21am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
You two can stop now, we don't need this turning into a "Mine is bigger than yours" contest.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 7:23am

Re: Re: bah
Huh, they fib...
My names right there on the post.

I wonder if they are trying to get access to the whole site to see if they can go fishing even deeper.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2013 @ 7:31am

Prenda Law and John Steele to sue the moon for failing to appear during the daytime hours.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 7:31am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Why must you take away all of my fun...
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Lurker Keith, 4 Mar 2013 @ 8:10am

How to Make a Troll Slayer
Prenda is aware they've sued sites who actually do research, right? I mean what is their strategy? To let Those Who Fight Trolls properly kill Pretenda, turning them into Troll Slayers? That hasn't been their goal all along, has it, to create a Troll Slayer? That's the ONLY way this makes ANY kind of sense.
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Baldaur Regis (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 8:11am

This isn't totally crazy...
...but it is a very close cousin. It seems Prenda Law is indulging in reductio ad absurdum; the penultimate moment will occur when Prenda sues itself for infringing on its' own copyright claim to legal clown piefights.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 8:20am

For the anon commenters...
Ohai Gang!
I�ve been chatting with Ken White of Popehat fame.
http://www.brownwhitelaw.com/attorneys/kwhite.html
He has graciously offered his help to those who would seek it.
And I Quote:
�For now, my offer is to try to connect people needing a defense with attorneys and entities willing to give it. Probably can�t take a pro bono client myself right now � very busy with existing ones. �

A small sample of what the Popehat signal can do�
http://www.popehat.com/tag/popehat-signal/

You can contact him via the popehat.com website.

Understand that you can�t be anonymous with the lawyer, but they will be doing their best to keep Prenda, Duffy, Steele from getting your information.

Like we tell the Does, only you can make the decision that is correct for you.
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GMacGuffin (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 8:21am

Litigation Privilege?
Don't know how strong the litigation privilege is in these states, but if so, you can't generally sue people for things they say related to a lawsuit...
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Lurker Keith, 4 Mar 2013 @ 8:24am

Re: For the anon commenters...
I was wondering how long before Popehat got involved. Not long at all. :D
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AC, 4 Mar 2013 @ 8:42am

Perhaps Steele just wants to unmask commenters so he can sue them for copyright infringement?
A quick look at the list of allegedly defamatory comments yields ones that seem to be so obviously opinion, humor or puffery that one wonders if fighting "defamation" or a SLAPP are the real purpose of these suits, or if it is only a side benefit. The quotes seem so mixed and tenuous in there "defamitory" nature that it seems that at least some the anonymous posters may have been singled out because they have alluded to being people sued by Prenda. I wonder if this is a scheme to unmask them even as Steele failed to do so directly through copyright cases?
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2013 @ 8:42am

Re: Oh, boy. Another Prenda item. -- Not popcorn, but coffee.
This is just spam at this point. I see nothing here in this post to indicate a human put conscious effort into it.

It's like like intentially misreading an article and inventing an insane post in reaction to it weaving strawman stories... this is just... lazy.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 8:54am

Re: Re: For the anon commenters...
And I halped!

Well mostly I emailed him and then shared the offer of help with the community.

And I'm waiting on other seeds I planted to bloom.
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avideogameplayer, 4 Mar 2013 @ 8:59am

How in the world are they financing these lawsuits? It's not like they actually WON anything yet. (Maybe we oughtta crowdfund bail money for these bozos, just in case.)

I don't get it...
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 9:07am

Re:
You should read the Forbes article on John Steele.
They have obtained many settlements from people not in on the joke of how they operate.
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Baldaur Regis (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 9:09am

Re:
Steele et al have admitted making 'a few million' in their trolling schemes. Besides, they're lawyers, they can file the paperwork themselves - if they aren't busy with other cases.

And I don't believe their caseload is very heavy these days.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 9:14am

Re: Re:
In 7 days it should be REAL busy...
http://fightcopyrighttrolls.com/2013/02/28/judge-otis-wright-to-hapless-troll-gibbs-if-you- pledge-dont-hedge/
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Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 9:15am

Re:
It's not like they actually WON anything yet.

The whole point of their "business" model is that they never have to win in court.

They only have to threaten someone enough to get them to send money.

And they have done this quite well, at least until people started speaking out and fighting.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2013 @ 11:21am

I'm getting a sense of deja vu. Didn't the estimable Mr. Carreon do much the same thing at one point while his little fracas with The Oatmeal was going on?
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neghvar, 4 Mar 2013 @ 11:25am

be careful
Be careful what you say or they may Sue us too.
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Bryan (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 11:33am

Removed To Federal Court
Some District Court judges are NOT going to like this. Mr. Steele, may I introduce you to Rule 11?

This is like a movie you have to see in a theatre that serves beer as well.

Bryan
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2013 @ 12:51pm

Re: Re: The facepalms heard around the world...
Its their new business model, copyright extortion is being turned off so they will try defamation extortion. It may have an advantage in that they will get some names and email addresses if the courts play along with them, which will allow them to identify real people.
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DogBreath, 4 Mar 2013 @ 1:44pm

Re:
Maybe he meant to say "undeserved counsel", but even that would be a mistake because he is the lawyer he deserves.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2013 @ 4:18pm

Re:
Moreover he signed an affidavit, where he acknowledged that it would be 3rd degree felony if he is caught practicing.
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