IANAL, but sure sounds like a SLAPP to me. Ben and Meg of Consumerist report that the consumer watchdog blog has been named in a lawsuit by an apparently allegedly reportedly purportedly sleazebag internet pawnshop. Above, all the proof you need: MC Hammer and Ed McMahon in the Cash4Gold Super Bowl ad. Snip:
The whistleblower's post appeared on ComplaintsBoard last November. We featured it this February, as part of our ongoing coverage of Cash4Gold, after the company raised its public profile with a multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad. The post was indeed written by an ex-employee, Michele Liberis, who is now being sued by the company for defamation. Recently, Cash4Gold added Consumerist and ComplaintsBoard as co-defendants in its lawsuits (PDF) against Liberis and another former employee, Vielka Nephew (PDF), in an attempt to force us to take the information down. Liberis and Nephew have chosen to stand up to Cash4Gold's legal attack, and so have we.
We believe citizens, consumers, and employees should be able to exercise their free-speech rights online – and journalists should be able to report on those efforts – without fear of intimidation. That belief is at the core of what makes Consumerist tick. And it's what keeps the internet from being just a brochure with hyperlinks. Inside, more about this episode and what goes on behind the public façade of a company that bills itself as "World's #1 Gold Buyer."
The Article Cash4Gold Doesn't Want You To Read (Consumerist via Brian Lam)
