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Damages awarded in fake Facebook libel case

July 24th, 2008 by Scott Marks

A guy throws a party and a couple of uninvited guests steal away to his computer room to create a phony Facebook account that lists libelous info pertaining to the whereabouts, activities, birthday and relationship status of the host’s former school chum. The rascally gate-crashers also take time to impugn the friend’s sexuality and political beliefs.

That was Grant Raphael’s defense in a landmark libel suit , the first defamation case involving Facebook in the UK.

The judge didn’t buy it ruling that Rapheal’s argument was “built on lies.” Mathew Firsht has been awarded £22,000 in damages against his former friend and business associate. Times on Line reports, ” Deputy Judge Richard Parkes QC awarded Mr Firsht £15,000 for libel and £2,000 for breach of privacy. Mr Firsht’s company, which arranges audiences for shows such as Big Brother and Ready Steady Cook, was also awarded for £5,000 for libel.”

Mr. Firsht sued Mr. Raphael for creating the fake profile which claimed that Mr. Firsht was “looking for whatever I can get” in a relationship. Mr. Raphael had also signed the profile up to various groups on Facebook, including “Gay in the Wood…Borehamwood” and “Gay Jews in London.’”

Now in his late 30s, Firsht and Raphael became good friends in Brighton, where they went to school together. After a falling out, Firsht’s company thrived while Raphael, a freelance cameraman, floundered. The difference between the two men is that Raphael held a grudge.

The judge called Raphael’s testimony, ““glib and loquacious, always prepared, it seemed to me, to talk his way out of a difficulty, with no apparent insight into the implausibility of some of his answers.” He was flummoxed over Mr. Raphael’s argument that a party-crasher stumbled into his flat for the first time, used his computer for more than an hour, without being observed, to create a false and hurtful profile containing information that only someone associated with Mr. Raphael could have known.

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False Facebook profile sparks landmark libel suit

June 30th, 2008 by Scott Marks

The managing director of a British company that finds audiences for TV and radios shows appears to have attracted a one man following.

Grant Rapheal is accused of posted a false profile of his old schoolchum Applausestore.com’s Mathew Firsht on the social networking website Facebook. A fake entry was posted listing Firsht’s personal details and listing a bunch of gay groups that he was signed up to. Firsht is heterosexual.

For a kick, the ad also falsely claimed he was ‘Looking for whatever I can get’ in terms of a relationship.

Yesterday, Raphael’s prank initiated a landmark High Court claim for damages. According to thisislondon.co.uk, “Mr Firsht is suing old schoolfriend Grant Rapheal for libel and misuse of private information in what is believed to be the first defamation case involving Facebook in the UK.”

During Monday’s hearing Firsht’s lawyer Lorna Skinner listed the private information including his whereabouts, activities, birthday and relationship status. To underscore the latter, Firsht was signed up the Facebook groups ‘Gay in the Wood. . . Borehamwood’ and ‘Gay Jews in London.’ He was not, however, a member in good standing of ‘Gay Cocken Affan Yom.’

In addition, Ms. Skinner claims that her client was defamed by additional allegations that he owed large sums of money which he attempted to lie his way out of as well as smears that made Matthew’s Applausestore.com sound Firsh*t.

Miss Skinner continued: ‘Mr Firsht values his privacy highly. It was the gross invasion of his privacy, namely having his personal details, including false details concerning his sexuality, laid bare for all to see that caused him the most distress.’

The two friends had a severe falling out in 2000 that, according to Ms. Skinner, left Mr. Raphael harboring an enormous grudge. She also claimed that Raphael had access to Firsht that “only a very limited number of people would.”

Facebook took off in 2006 and is the seventh most popular site on the internet! Last month alone, it attracted 129.3million visitors. I’m on Facebook, but I’m not sure I get it. It just seems like a lot of silly games and quizzes, but, hey, it’s the closest I’ll ever get to really being friends with Roger Corman.

And it’s okay to goof on me for only having 46 friends. If you can count more friends than you’ve got fingers on one hand, you shouldn’t operate a punch press.

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TMZ ordered to take down Verne Troyer sex tape snippet

June 27th, 2008 by Scott Marks

TMZ has been ordered to take down 25-second video clip showing ankle-high freak of nature Verne Troyer romancing a former girlfriend. Troyer claims that the sex tape was stolen from his home months ago.

CNN reports that on Friday, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order requested by Troyer’s attorneys that prevents porn distributors from taking orders for the full-length video. It also prevents TMZ from broadcasting any more clips.

The celebrity Web site posted the short segment on its site Wednesday; Troyer sued the site and porn distributors Thursday for $20 million in damages.

U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez wrote that Troyer’s motion “demonstrated that he will suffer irreparable harm to his reputation” if the tape is distributed. The only harm the little shaver will experience is a loss of revenue accumulated from video sales.

The ruling barred further broadcasting of the tape, which Troyer’s attorney, Tracy Rane, interpreted as meaning that TMZ has to remove the video from its site. The clip was removed late Friday afternoon.

The lawsuit claims TMZ invaded his privacy in addition to copyright infringement. He is also seeking the return of all copies of the video. In a shocking revelation, Troyer asserted that he never intended it to be shown publicly.

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Liza Minnelli: Former chauffer sues for rape, assault and battery

June 27th, 2008 by Scott Marks

The Addams Family in happier times

What good is sitting all alone in your limo? Judy Garland’s daughter Liza Minnelli fought and won the battle to personally defend herself against claims she sexually forced herself on her former driver.

M’hammed Soumayah is suing the 62-year-old superstar for $50 - $100 million. Soumayah claims that in 2004, Minnelli wanted him to drive more than just her limo. According to Soumayah, the Rent-A-Cop star forced him to have sexual relations “without his consent.” In reality, he probably found it impossible to follow Martin Scorsese. (It has always been my contention that the only reason Scorsese went with her was because he wanted to f–k old Hollywood.)

Soumayah is also alleging that he suffered assault and battery and that his pay was withheld until he performed…err…uhh… certain services for the star. It’s enough to make a cuckoo sterile!

As reported on WENN, “Soumayah’s lawyer suggested the star give testimony by video, as Minnelli ‘has been known to have professional commitments to meet.’ But Minnelli’s rep has insisted the request is’ just a way to embarrass’ the singer and would suggest she isn’t sound enough to appear for the deposition in person.”

If Soumayah really wants to embarrass her, all he has to do is bring a copy of Stepping Out to court.

Minnelli is scheduled to make a pre-trial statement in Manhattan Supreme court on August 15. Minnelli’s lawyers have previously called the Liza Driver’s lawsuit “a quicksand of untruths and misstatements” and accused him of an attempt to “shakedown” Sid Luft’s step-daughter for financial gain.

This is not Minnelli’s first experience dealing with a sexual harassment lawsuit. Liza’s suit against her former husband David Gest was thrown out of court by a New York federal judge in 2006 before the couple’s divorce was finalized the following year. Gest later accused his ex-wife of physical brutality.

Can’t wait to see what Liza wears on the stand. The judge had better allow cameras in the courtroom.

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Judy Davis wins libel case against The Daily Telegraph

June 2nd, 2008 by Scott Marks

Last month, Emulsion Compulsion reported that actress Judy Davis was suing Nationwide News, publisher of Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, for a 2006 article she claims painted her as a child-hater.

Ms. Davis won her libel action suit today after a jury jury of three men and one woman found that Australia’s Daily Telegraph had indeed defamed the double Oscar nominee in articles about her appearance at a meeting at which objections were raised against plans to install floodlighting at a sports field near her home.

It was determined that News Ltd’s Nationwide News, the publisher of the Telegraph, had defamed Davis and was “actuated by malice in publishing (the article),” the Australian Associated Press reported.

According to Breitbart.com, the jury found the articles published in February 2006 defamed Davis by stating she “acted in an unreasonable and selfish manner in opposing developments at Birchgrove Oval designed to protect children from physical injury.”

The article also defamed her by saying she “was a heartless person in being indifferent to the risk of injury to hundreds of young children due to the poor lighting at Birchgrove Oval”, the jury found.

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GIRLS GONE WILD founder Joe Francis vs. call girl Ashley Alexandra Dupre

April 30th, 2008 by Scott Marks

joe-francis-ashley-alexandra-dupre.jpg

The whore that brought New York Governor Eliot Spitzer to his knees is now trying to take down lovable American folk hero Joe Francis.

On Monday, Ashley Alexandra Dupre filed a lawsuit seeking more than $10 million in damages from the plucky Girls Gone Wild founder.  While she was vacationing in Florida in 2003, Dupre alleges that GGW representatives approached her and offered her alcohol before encouraging her to expose her breasts for their cameras. Dupre claimed to have been 17 at the time.

The suit alleges GGW has illegally exploited Dupre’s name, picture, voice and likeness in a number of deceptive internet ad campaigns, reports People.com.

Yesterday, Francis released a video that he said proved the call girl agreed to be filmed by GGW cameras.

In the new release, Dupre appears covered by a terrycloth towel and gives her name as Amber Arpaio. An unseen questioner asks if she is 18.

“Yes I am,” Dupre answers in a strong Southern accent.

“Do you know what ‘Girls Gone Wild’ is?” the questioner asks.

“Yes I do,” she replies with a laugh.

“Can I use this on ‘Girls Gone Wild’?” she is asked.

“Of course you can,” Dupre answers.

The video also displays a New Jersey driver’s license with the Amber Arpaio name and a birth date that would have made her appear to be in her 20s.

Francis has said that Dupre was on the Girls Gone Wild bus for a week and made seven full-length videos. He said the video of her agreement to appear is proof that her lawsuit has no merit.

After the Spitzer scandal, Francis, man of the people that he is, publicly offered Dupre a million bucks to appear in one of his videos and participate in a promotional tour. He later withdrew the offer after one of his minions told him that they already had plenty of material in the vault.

Last month, Francis was released from a jail in Nevada, where he spent a year after pleading no contest to child abuse and prostitution charges for filming underage girls  in Panama City, Fla. He continues to face federal tax evasion charges.

Let’s hope that Joe can put this all behind him and get back to doing what he does best: Persuading drunken college girls to flash their tits and sign release forms so Joe can make millions by exploiting their youthful indiscretions.

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