Anthony Ciolli, AutoAdmit / Xoxohth, Defamation, Rudeness, Technology

Has AutoAdmit Been Pwn3d?

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Anthony Ciolli, the former Chief Education Director of the AutoAdmit.com website, and various posters on that message board have been sued. A civil action has been filed against them in federal district court in Connecticut.
The claims made against defendants are as follows: copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 501; appropriation of another’s name or likeness; unreasonable publicity given to another’s life; publicity that places another in a false light before the public; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligent infliction of emotional distress; and defamation.
For more details, check out this thread at AutoAdmit.com. There was some debate over at AutoAdmit concerning the authenticity of the posting. But we emailed David Rosen, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the case, and he confirmed:

We did post something giving notice of a lawsuit. I’m not available for comment for the moment. You can check with Dorothy McLaughlin at Keker & Van Nest — they are lead counsel.

We have contacted Dorothy McLaughlin Sachs and will let you know when we hear back from her.
Our speculation is that the “Doe I” and “Doe II” plaintiffs are two of the individuals interviewed in this Washington Post article about AutoAdmit. The individual attacked on AutoAdmit.com who figures most prominently in the Post article is a female Yale Law School student. Plaintiffs’ counsel, David Rosen, is an alumnus of Yale Law School who also teaches at YLS.
This is a developing story. We’ll bring you more information as soon as we have it. If someone might be able to send us a copy of the summons and complaint, we’d be most grateful. Thanks.
Update: The WSJ Law Blog has a detailed post, including lots of additional information, over here.
For those of you who are curious, the full text of the AutoAdmit.com posting appears after the jump.
(Gavel bang: commenters.)
Notice of lawsuit pending vs. certain AutoAdmit posters [AutoAdmit.com / Xoxohth]
Students File Suit Against AutoAdmit Director, Others [WSJ Law Blog]
Harsh Words Die Hard on the Web [Washington Post]
David N. Rosen bio [Yale Law School]
David Rosen & Associates [Best Lawyers in America]


Here is the full text of last night’s posting at AutoAdmit.com:

Date: June 11th, 2007 8:38 PM
Author: DavidRosen
Subject: Notice of lawsuit pending vs. certain AutoAdmit posters

To the defendants listed below, you are being sued in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. The defendants are the persons using the following pseudonyms on the website autoadmit.com or xoxohth.com: Pauliewalnuts; neoprag; STANFORDtroll; :D; 😀 (Hillary v. Jeb’08); MoreDoughHi; Remember when I said I would kill you last? I lied; lkjhgf; yalelaw; Spanky; ylsdooder; Community Norm; HI; David Carr (Glass of water for Mr. Grainger); vincimus; Beach Body Brady; Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey; Todd Christopher; A horse walks into a bar (saving one CPGWBT at a time); The Ayatollah of Rock-n-Rollah; DRACULA; Sleazy Z; Whamo (Let me lay it on the line, he had two on the vine); Ari Gold; Ugly Women; playboytroll; Get_to_da_choppa; Dean_Harold_Koh. The allegations are as follows: copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 501; appropriation of another’s name or likeness; unreasonable publicity given to another’s life; publicity that places another in a false light before the public; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligent infliction of emotional distress; and defamation.

The plaintiffs are attempting to serve you with a complaint and summons in a civil action. The text of the summons appears below. So that we may deliver a copy of the summons and complaint to you, please provide your complete contact information to the following email address: drosenlaw@gmail.com.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT
SUMMONS IN A CIVIL CASE
CASE NUMBER: 307CV00909 CFD

I. (a) PLAINTIFFS

DOE I, and DOE II

v.

DEFENDANTS

Anthony Ciolli; Individuals, whose true names are unknown, using the following pseudonyms: Pauliewalnuts; neoprag; STANFORDtroll; :D; 😀 (Hillary v. Jeb’08); MoreDoughHi; Remember when I said I would kill you last? I lied; lkjhgf; yalelaw; Spanky; ylsdooder; Community Norm; HI; David Carr (Glass of water for Mr. Grainger); vincimus; Beach Body Brady; Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey; Todd Christopher; A horse walks into a bar (saving one CPGWBT at a time); The Ayatollah of Rock-n-Rollah; DRACULA; Sleazy Z; Whamo (Let me lay it on the line, he had two on the vine); Ari Gold; Ugly Women; playboytroll; Get_to_da_choppa; Dean_Harold_Koh

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to serve upon PLAINTIFF’S ATTORNEY

David N. Rosen, Esq.
David Rosen & Associates, P.C.
400 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06511

an answer to the complaint which is herewith served upon you, within twenty days after service of this summons upon you, exclusive of the day of service. If you fail to do so, judgment by default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. You must also file your answer with the Clerk of this Court within a reasonable period of time after service.

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of AutoAdmit.com (scroll down).

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