John Doe Lawsuit For Release Of Ip Information...

[Earnan]

We recently discovered fabricated comments posted about our business on a third-party website which is a search/referral site for local businesses, let's call them "CS" for now. Because the jabs are so specific we are 99.9% certain we know exactly who posted them. Of course, due to privacy laws, we must initiate a John Doe suit for release of the IP information to begin tracing it back to "John Doe".
We are a Florida Corporation & would prefer to file the complaint here. CS's t&c's stipulate a California action, but I'm not certain we are bound to that...probably depends on whether or not we have cause for an action against them (which I think we might if it all traces back). Naturally, first & foremost, we'd like the false comments removed from CS's website...we have made our case, in writing, on two occassions--they have declined. Their t&c's stipulate that they can/will remove comments which are posted by a competitor, former employee, etc and you would think they would err on the side of caution under such circumstances where such comments cannot be validated or verified. I should not that we have been & continue to be an online advertiser with CS; however, perhaps we need to terminate that relationship prior to action. Our competitor, John Doe, is also listed on the site, but is not an active advertiser. Needless to say, the comment was a one off posting by a fake user on the CS (obviously not done directly under our competitor's brand name) Issue at hand: Getting the fabricated comment permanently removed by CS is the most important. This whole matter is compounded by the fact that the comments are syndicated & fed to other websites (like Google for example), so CS's failure to remove the comments is causing substantial material harm (i.e. loss of business) that may merit separate action later. Part of the initial John Doe filing will be to seek an immediate injuction against CS to remove the comments from their website pending resolution of ligation.
The initial John Doe action against CS for release of the IP information will give us the IP address for the user that posted this comment, that will in turn will tell us who the IP provider is: Bellsouth, Comcast, xyz company. That company must then be enjoined in the suit to obtain a court order for release of the ultimate IP address (physical location).
At that point, if John Doe is who we think it is, then they are named in the suit and we pursue damages. The IP provider is dropped & separate/continued action against CS will be evaluated. Now, of course, there is a possibility that IP address will NOT trace back to the physical (street) address of our competitor...it's entirely possible this comment was posted from a laptop on a free wireless network at Starbuck's or something; if so, then we're s.o.l. :( But then it's also possible it traces back to the residence of our competitor's owner :) Should we withdraw/terminate all advertising with CS immediately; it is my gut that we should (since ligitation is imminent)? Naturally, we're looking to get the initial filing(s) done asap & for as little $$$ as possible; the liable suit might be a contigency arrangement...that would have to be evaluated by counsel. Any comments or suggestions would be helpful.  If you (or your firm) is interested in pursuing this matter, please let us know. I'll be preparing a package over the weekend & will be seeking to retain counsel next week.

[Buddey]

Well, yes, I agree that getting a response was a long shot.  My optimistic perception would have been that the original author would still be receiving emails from the post, and that the case would have been settled by now.

To update our case, we contacted both websites - G & Y (both had the same defamatory review posted independently). 

Y was fairly unhelpful as it was their opinion that the author had a suffcient history on the website to be credible and it "appeared" that the author was reporting their own personal experience. 

G, on the other hand, was confusing.  At first, they were very helpful.  She stated that after their "investigation" that it was decided to remove the post.  After a few days, I sent a follow up email to confirm the removal as it was still visible.  She then reversed her decision in her response, and stated that it would remain.  Even more confusing is that the post is not publicly available (thank god), so I keep waiting for the fly to show up in my ointment again.  Hopefully, they have forgotten about it and it has been removed permanently. 

Even though it appears to be insanely obvious that this is the work of the previous owner (quoted almost literally from our last conversation with the previous owner - we secretly videotaped the last conversation on our cell phone), we understood that there is a 1 year statute of limitations in Texas to file a lawsuit for libel/slander/defamation of character.  The previous owner is "contractually" obligated by a non-compete agreement that specifically has a clause for "interference".

If indeed this is the work of the previous owner, then this is just one more piece of evidence for a laundry list of infractions of the non-compete agreement.

We're hoping that by not reacting, that she will just go away & the interference will eventually stop. 

If we took this to court (filing against John Doe first), I feel like this is just going to escalate out of control, because the person that we're dealing with is such an irrational douchebag. 

So, the go forward plan as of right now is to wait and see.  Spending $5,000 in legal fees almost seems like it's worth the confirmation of the author, but we have so many other priorities to handle that it makes the investment hard to accept at the current moment.  We'll probably revisit this next year in May-June before the time is expired to file to see if any other infractions are committed.     

If we do take this douchebag to court, we have to be prepared for the full monty.  I feel like our evidence has to be ridiculously overwhelming to really put a stop to this interference for good.

My worst fear is that if we win, the other side will be left with nothing...and a computer.  Oh yeah...and a gun (as the previous owner's spouse has a concealed handgun license).  So, with them having nothing to lose, I'm sure I'll end up dead in the parking lot.  : (

[Gower]

I'm interested in how that turned out as well. My first reaction was to drop the advertising becasue it was becoming a glaring conflict of interest. 

[Broughton]

This post is over 3 year old, and chance of the OP still checking this board is slim to none, since they got no responses in 2009.

[StancIyf]

Weird...we are having the exact same issue in Texas.  However, instead of being a competitor, we believe that it's the previous owner who is insanely jealous. 

How did this get resolved?  Overall Cost?  Any action from CS?