BlogHer - Blogger sued for $20 million - Comments

It really makes you think

AliciaK — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:43:19 -0600

It really makes you think that could happen to somebody for just expressing them

selves. I think I will have to look into a LLC

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Disclaimer

NurseBarb — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:49:58 -0500

Virginia,

This is great information. I also read Kim's post. I've added a disclaimer to my blog at www.NurseBarb.com thanks to your timely advice.

I carry malpractice insurance, business insurance, and because I'm a licensed health care provider I have to be very careful about the health advice I provide on-line. The disclaimer will help me sleep better at night!

thanks again,

NurseBarb

EFF

Virginia DeBolt — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:06:29 -0500

The contact information at EFF that minjungkim found has been passed on to Leslie.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer Technology Contributing Editor
Web Teacher
First 50 Words

NYT Article...

theokobox — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:54:30 -0500

Thanks for posting the NY Times article, I felt it reflected my experience and was really well written. That was the first time I had read any responses from Vision Media Television in an article. And I felt those responses were revealing, in ways even I had been uncertain about.

Leslie @ The Oko box

www.oko-organic-clothing.blogspot.com

NYT picks up VMT story

Maria Niles — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:38:29 -0500

here

The California Community Foundation was first contacted by Vision Media representatives in May about participating in its National Business Series programs. “It seemed like they were trying to sell us an advertorial,” said Namju Cho, the foundation’s director of communications.

Two months later, another executive at the foundation was contacted by a Vision Media representative pitching what the company calls its “Giving Back” programs. This month, the foundation was again contacted by a Vision Media representative pitching the same programs, “hosted by Hugh Downs.”

When Ms. Cho returned that call, she was told the cost of the offer was $22,900. “I told him not to call or contact any of our staff again,” she said.

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I reached out to the EFF re: This issue

minjungkim — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:57:38 -0500

They'd like to be able to connect to discuss if they can help.

Drop me a line at minjung_AT_minjungkim.com and I'll pass the info along as well but at least folks at the EFF are now aware of this.

Minjungkim.com

Contact the EFF

myrnatheminx — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:54:52 -0500

If she hasnt already, she needs to contact the EFF who may have a pro bono lawyer take her case. This one sounds like it would be right up their alley.

http://www.eff.org/

Yours, Tracy Viselli (a.k.a. Myrna the Minx)

My Company

Reno Fabulous Media: www.renofabulousmedia.com
My Main Blog
Reno and Its Discontents: www.renodiscontent.com

This Industry Is "Sue Happy"

kegill — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:41:06 -0500

I wrote about this at WiredPen. In my research, I learned that this "pay to play" video production industry -- which seems centered in Florida -- has been sued by Walter Cronkite and Michael Douglas. At least one of the celebrities was counter-sued by the production company. Both were settled out of court.

The hardsell marketing tactic is related to bait-and-switch. I don't understand how this company can continue to talk about "Public Television" (in all caps) and not have PBS all over them!

Do the math -- they said 400 clients in 2007 - that's $10+ million. It'll pay for a lot of telemarkting cold calls ...

And sister companies have been called "scams" in print.

The religious persecution of the ages has been done under what was claimed to be the command of God. I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do to their fellows, because it always coincides with their own desires.
-- Susan B Antho

I'm laughing

mommalittle.com — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:52:31 -0500

Well, in a lawsuit we were involved in, the judge seemed to think one does have to be totally upfront.

Come share a laugh!

http://mommalittle.com

Thanks for the link, Shelley

Virginia DeBolt — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:12:24 -0500

AND for the comments. They are definitely not clutter.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer Technology Contributing Editor
Web Teacher
First 50 Words

other criticism

shelleyp — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:44:29 -0500

One more comment and then I'll stop cluttering up your comment space Virginia.

I'm not sure if any of you saw this report on Vision Media Television. Interesting information, and I also thought it was a very effective writing.

Thanks for the link to legal tips.

Thanks, Virginia!

Kim Pearson — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:28:22 -0500

kudos to you for starting this conversation!

Kim
BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

Must Read: Professor Kim's article

Virginia DeBolt — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:18:37 -0500

for more helpful information.
How to avoid a lawsuit: tips for bloggers

A fact

Virginia DeBolt — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:12:23 -0500

to keep in mind is that no contract was signed.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer Technology Contributing Editor
Web Teacher
First 50 Words

Good, I just wanted to make

shelleyp — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:07:15 -0500

Good, I just wanted to make sure you're careful. I hope my
note didn't come across as patronizing -- I'm just concerned about your not having a lawyer. Yet.

You know, I read that lawsuit and though I'm not a lawyer, I have a feeling a lawyer could shred this company, and that filing. Especially that filing.

Blogger sued for $20 million

Virginia DeBolt — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:44:07 -0500

Leslie Richard runs a small organic clothing store called The Oko Box. She was contacted by a TV production company called Vision Media Television. They told her they wanted to make a TV documentary that included her business.

After some conversations and emails, Vision Media Television told her they would need $25,000 from her upfront to include her in the documentary. Sound fishy? Leslie thought so. She did some investigating and concluded that Vision Media Televsion was not exactly what they presented themselves to be. She wrote the story on her Oko Box Blog in Scam Taking Advantage of Green Businesses in February of this year. This post describes what they told her and prints some of the email she received from them.

Vision Media responded in July with a lawsuit. They objected to her use of the word "scam." Leslie again blogged the story: Vision Media Sues The Oko Box For $20 Million Dollars. She goes into specific detail about her research findings on the company, its officers, and its rating with the Better Business Bureau.

An Ashville, NC newspaper, Mountain Xpress, picked up the story and did a report on Vision Media Television, its claimed relationship with television—specifically PBS and CNN—and its reputation. The Mountain Xpress story is Local business owner sued for $20 million over blog post. The newspaper report quotes an official at CNN who says that CNN has no relationship with Vision Media Television and points to a disclaimer on the PBS Web site that specifically names Vision Media Television among companies and programs that it is not associated with. Mountain Xpress includes a link to the lawsuit at the end of its story.

The ABC affiliate in Leslie's area of North Carolina, WLOS, aired a report about the story. You can watch the video Local Blogger Sued.

Leslie researched her facts, provided public documentation from such places as the Better Business Bureau to back up her opinions about Vision Media Television. She still got sued. If they wanted her to keep quiet about their company's business practices, they failed. The story has gone out to the traditional media and the blogosphere. The horrifying part is that even if the lawsuit eventually fails, is dropped, or ends favorably for Leslie, she still has to go through stress, worry, legal expense, and all sorts of other complications because of this lawsuit.

I contacted Leslie. Here's what she said about the approach she's taken so far:

I answered the summons on Friday, mailing out a "Motion To Dismiss/Motion To Transfer" to the Southern district of Florida Court & VMT's Lawyer. I answered "Pro Se" with assistance (which means I am defending myself but someone helped me write the Motion in legal language.)
The "Motion" basically says that I have no vehicle, no financial means to travel to Florida, and also I have seizures (doctor signed and notarized) and am not able to travel in a car, plane or train, therefore the case needs to be transferred to Asheville, North Carolina where I could have a fair chance at defending myself OR dismissed entirely. I have not obtained legal assistance yet, because I would need someone to represent me pro bono, but I am very hopeful that something will come along. I am taking it step by step, so there have not been plans yet to counter sue, although it is not out of the realm of possibility. I will know more once I have a lawyer representing me.

The legal rights of bloggers are murky. What rights belong to Leslie and bloggers like her who express opinions and review products and businesses on the web? What does the First Amendment mean to bloggers and do bloggers need protection beyond the rights protected by the US Constitution?

Some bloggers have gone the route of registering their blog trademark and forming an LLC (Limited Liability Company) to protect their brand and their assets. Jumping through these two hoops does give you some legal defensive moves that may help with certain issues, but they are not a complete guarantee of safety or immunity.

Registering a trademark means that you have the right to a certain name. If anyone else tries to use it, you can prevent that. There are limits to what trademark does. You can register a trademark with a government entity (http://www.uspto.gov/web/trademarks/workflow/start.htm), which gives you the right to take legal proceedings for trademark infringement to prevent unauthorized use of that trademark. There is also a common law trademark that gives certain rights to someone who has been using a name for a certain period or is recognized by a certain name in a particular geographical area, even if the trademark is unregistered.

Trademarks only protect your right to a name of a service, product, or other items of commercial value. They offer no help if you are sued for expressing an opinion.

LLC, on the other hand, is a form of business. When a business is formed as an LLC, the owners have limited liability for the actions and debts of the company (or blog, or online business). It often used for partnerships, but is suitable for a single owner company. You file for status as an LLC with the secretary of state in your state. When you operate as an LLC, the only assets you stand to lose in the event of a problem are those belonging to the business.

You can use the services of a lawyer to set up legal protections like this, and get a much more in-depth description of exactly what you'd be getting for your time and money with either a registered tradmark or by establishing an LLC. There are also online companies that help with legal matters. Cool Mom Picks recently worked with the online company Legal Zoom and found them thorough and of good reputation.

Since the suit was filed against her, Leslie has added some disclaimers to her blog. By email, Leslie said,

Putting a disclaimer is super important for anyone blogging, especially if you ever criticize anyone's company, product, or even a politician. Even this may not be all you need to protect yourself though, but it's a good start. Once someone threatens to sue, another thing you can do is "retract" your statement, especially if it wasn't true, or if you found out later it wasn't true. In some cases this can make it so the plaintiff can not get any punitive damages (which in my case would be $15 million). I have added a statement retracting that VMT was entirely "imaginary" because I found out this wasn't true, as I had originally believed. I did not however retract any of my other statements, which were the story of what I experienced with them - but did note my personal definition of "scam" since this is mainly what they are suing me over.

Libel and slander are complex issues, as Leslie pointed out in her remarks about retracting her statement when she found out something was not true. Be careful not to knowingly make false statements about a person, company, or anything else. Bloggers are protected by the 1st Amendment, but there's not a lot of legal precedent for bloggers or online media yet.