PDF scans of lawsuit against Deb Filcman, Ron Newman, and John and Jane Does 1-100

[ron_newman]

[continuing the discussion that started here: Help! I am being sued for my participation in davis_square ]

I have placed on Dropbox a scan of the Amended Complaint that I was served with yesterday afternoon.

Here's a list of username handles mentioned in the lawsuit: https://gist.github.com/anonymous/d231f81633d2a4163536 . Most are from LJ, but a few are from the Wicked Local/Somerville Journal blog, and one is from journalfen.com .

Someone also found the original complaint in a court database. (I was never served with this one.)

The amended complaint has hundreds of pages of attached exhibits, which I did NOT scan in. They are copies of posts and comments to davis_square, davis_snark, sf_drama, discussions at journalfen.com, blog posts and comments at Wicked Local Somerville (Somerville Journal), Encyclopedia Dramatica article, etc.

Comments

[misterthorn.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this. My condolences for the travail this must represent for you. I hope it all comes out well for you, and at minimal psychic, emotional, and physical cost. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy!

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

What he(?) said.

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

I would ask that all people who aren't lawyers please refrain from giving legal advice right now. Ron is working on getting an attorney and will go from there.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Yes, this!

[rmd.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I suspect all this added publicity is going to be a great example of the Streisand effect (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect) in action.

[ifotismeni]

Folks - I've reached out to Ron about any support he might need from the community once he has received legal counsel. As soon as we know what's needed to support fighting this, expect some organization (socially, financially, whatever is needed). Watch this space.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you for doing this. *makes a note*

[smammy]

For the lazy, here's a list of the 28 does who are mentioned by online handle in the amended complaint.

[ron_newman]

Your link does not work. Or at least, it doesn't go to any place useful.

[rozasharn.livejournal.com]

Yeech! Unfortunately I don't have any lawyers handy to recommend, but best wishes!

[marphod.livejournal.com]

It wouldn't hurt to see if the ACLU or EFF would be interested in the case. Not that the content is what I'd want to see as a test case, it does hit their assorted bailiwicks.

The Berkman Center was also going to be a suggestion. It also might be worth seeing if someone at other local law schools/university centers would be interested. There's also a Technology and Law program at MIT ( http://ssrc.mit.edu/tl/ ).

---

Given the legal requirements to prove a libel case (http://injury.findlaw.com/torts-and-personal-injuries/elements-of-libel-and-slander.html), I can't imagine that this case is going anywhere, but better safe than sorry.

(In particular: "Generally, courts require a plaintiff to prove that he or she has been defamed in the eyes of the community or within a defined group within the community." ... Within the eyes of the davis_snark community is going to be hard.)

---

As for legal advice, it is probably best to ignore any you get here.

Any given by someone who isn't a lawyer is subject to high skepticism, and as I understand it, it is an ethical violation for lawyers to give specific legal advice without being closer to a party in the case.

[gingicat]

My condolences. I'll be hoping it gets shot down hard and he gets fined for a frivolous lawsuit. (Even better, have criminal charges filed for the date rape such that he actually has to answer to them. But that is unlikely.)

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

The discussion of the plaintiff reminds me of a pathetic case I experienced years ago... A guy at the college I was attending hadn't come back for the new school year. A group of people were discussing this, and started throwing out rumors and speculations, which became increasingly disreputable and even criminal. Since no one had any actual information, the discussion was inconclusive, but I noticed that nobody said, "No, that can't be true, XYZ would never do that!" But such was his reputation that nobody doubted that he could get into any sort of trouble...

[siderea]

Ron, I'm so sorry you're going through this, and likewise my sympathies to all the other targeted parties. I am shocked and appalled.

Do keep us all updated, please.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

I am pleased by the apparent outpouring of support.

[teko.livejournal.com]

I'm not pleased to see you on the list :/

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

My sympathies. Good luck.

[teko.livejournal.com]

After reading the complaint, it seems to me that this is the sort of lawsuit that the plaintiff is well aware will quickly fail in court, but will temporarily make life miserable for people with less money than them.

[contradictacat.livejournal.com]

Unless a pro-bono group gets involved, which looks to be what's happening. I'm personally pretty glad, since I'm not really sure how extradition from China works.

[usernamenumber.livejournal.com]

If (and only if) it's legal for you to do so (I don't know what kind of privacy restrictions are associated with these things), could you also scan Exhibit 1, the criminal docket re the arrest at the party? Very curious about that, particularly whether it explains or contradicts the wickedlocal article's claim that the police report has him identifying himself as the host of the party. Come to think of it, is there any way to get a copy of the police report?

[ron_newman]

The two ETA: three pages of Exhibit 1 are close to illegible in the complaint I was served with. I cannot read them. They look like what you would get if you copied dark colored paper on a black-and-white copier. In addition, they contain scrawled handwriting on a printed form. Trying to scan or copy these pages would make them look even worse.

[usernamenumber.livejournal.com]

Also, can I just say that the mental image of Ron Newman sitting in a dark, smoky room of conspirators, saying "So, friends, what lies shall we spread about JonMon today? Mwa-hahahaha!" has been amusing the hell out of me all day?

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Feel free to give your attorney my legal name and address, Ron. I certainly stand by my linking to and paraphrase of reporting I believe to be accurate about his past actions.

Handwritten cover letter, super professional, JonMon!

[anyee.livejournal.com]

Without exaggeration, everyone in this thread should probably have legal representation ready in two years, 350 days from now. It seems very likely that he's going to go after any and all of us for talking about him in any way that might be negative.

[contradictacat.livejournal.com]

Though the fact that he so far hasn't bothered to get a sockpuppet in here claiming some nonsense is a good sign that he's not actively paying attention to this.

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

This is all such an embarrassment.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

Not for any of us, but for him, yes.

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

I received a "confidential settlement communication" letter from Jonmon today, saying
1) if I take down my two posts from the thread three years ago, I can have myself removed from the lawsuit
2) the letter is copyright Jonmon and I may not publish or disclose it (!) without written permission

Screw point 1. I made true statements, and I stand with Ron.

[redbird]

IANAL, but while he might be able to use copyright to stop you from republishing that letter, copyright is on the specific words (or photos, etc.), not the meaning. It's possible Jonmon doesn't know that&mdashla lot of people are confused about copyright—but his lawyer certainly should. I wonder whether he talked to his lawyer before sending that letter.

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

I figure it may be worth mentioning I received a letter today, from a PO Box, signed by Johnny. I have also been called for several hours today from a blocked number I refuse to answer, which is extremely out of the ordinary so I shall have to assume it is related.

[spatch]

I got one of these love letters, too! It's adorable. Unfortunately the paper is coarse and will not work well in the bathroom.

[rhondalea.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to offer a little support. Been there, done that. I was out very quickly, but I wouldn't like to do it again.

I saw that the Popehat Signal has gone up for you, but just in case, you might want to consider starting a donation fund for legal fees. Even with a pro bono attorney, you will still have costs to pay, and I'm sure there are many who would contribute.

FTR, this is what happened to me. It's possible you might find something in the morass that will be helpful.

http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2010/04/online_defamati.htm
http://www.dmlp.org/threats/novins-v-cannon-lawsuit
http://archive.recapthelaw.org/njd/233861/

The case is currently under appeal because two defendants were unhappy with the "no cause" on their counterclaims (and the plaintiff was just unhappy), but the plaintiff's complaint was dismissed against all but one defendant very early on. The decision is here:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10724385837288301408&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr

Good luck to you, from a fellow sufferer.

Rhonda Lea Kirk Fries

[jikamens.livejournal.com]

If this ends up costing you money, please set up a legal defense fund so I can contribute to it.

JonMon gave off creep vibes back at MIT, but this takes it to a whole new level. I'm embarrased to share an alma mater with him.

I just tweeted @WheelQuestions and told him so. I hope he sues me, I really do.

[jmwolman.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately for Mr. JonMon, the Streisand effect is coming to bear. The scattershot approach is going to cost him far more than a more surgical approach would have. I and others have been commenting over at Popehat, and I recommend reading the piece and the commentary.

[en-ki.livejournal.com]

I am crushed to have been left out of the extortion letters. I should have been meaner, but I thought being literally Hitler was enough:

"It's funny, because the LJ community prides itself on being open-minded, but the reality is that you'd have fit right in with the Nazis. It's just that instead of hating Jews you're hating men who like to date younger women." --JonMon to me, 2010