Blog law suit dismissed : Advertising agency, lawyers look like clowns

The advertising agency suing Maine blogger, Lance Dutson, relating to blog posts about wasteful spending of Maine’s tax dollars in the advertising agencies pitch of Maine tourism has been voluntarily dismissed. A week plus ago the advertising agency and it’s lawyers were asking for big bucks for alleged defamation and copyright infringement. Now they drop their law suit.

In my opinion, The New York Ad Agency, Warren Kremer Paino, and their lawyers look like clowns. The ad agency gets called on some arguably sloppy Internet marketing by a Maine citizen. Instead of shutting up and maybe learning something, the head of the agency fires off a ridiculous 7 page letter to the citizen and follows it up with a law suit trying to crush the little guy.

Problem is the ad agency is in the United States. We still allow free speech. And having fall behind the times on Internet advertising, the ad agency didn’t have a clue of the forthcoming backlash from the blogosphere. The ad agency found out about both. It’s now going away before things get worse.

I’ve had lawyers threaten law suits for my criticism of a public figure. I have been sued for defamation as part of representing a small farmer against an insurance company. Never got to trial after getting thrown out by the judge. Didn’t stop the insurance company and their lawyers from appealing to death before they were finally told to go home. I’ve been threatened with defamation more than once publishing this blog, including threats by a lawyer blogger. Defamation claims and suits are a bullying tactic that people and companies, especially those with more time and money, use when they get ticked off for someone saying something they do not like.

Kudo’s to Greg Herbert of Greenberg Traurig, who represented Dutson, and to the Media Bloggers Association , with their attorney Ron Coleman, who supported Dunston throughout. You did us lawyers proud.

To the lawyer and firm who represented Warren Kremer Paino, shame on you. Carrying the water for those seeking to crush free speech is not something to be proud of.

Source on case being dismissed: Shel Israel at Naked Conversations