AutoAdmit / Xoxohth

AutoAdmit Case Ends Not With a Bang, But With a Whimper

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autoadmit.JPGIf you were hoping for the AutoAdmit lawsuit to result in courtroom drama, with Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey breaking down in tears on the stand, then we’re sorry to disappoint you. The case has ended, somewhat anticlimactically.
Last week, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their case against the remaining defendants. From the Hartford Courant:

Two former Yale University law school students have quietly settled a high-profile lawsuit they brought against about two dozen anonymous authors who the students said defamed and threatened them by posting malicious falsehoods on an Internet message board.

Perhaps plaintiff Brittan Heller felt ready to put down her sword, now that she’s happily married. But note that the dismissal is without prejudice (so check yo self, Pauliewalnuts).
What did the plaintiffs get out of filing their lawsuit?

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Lawsuit of the Day: Sort of Like the AutoAdmit Case….

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liskula cohen blog lawsuit.jpgBut with a hot blonde model as the plaintiff. From our sister site, Fashionista:

Liskula Cohen’s modeled for Versace and Armani and landed international Vogue covers, but recently she’s made less fashionable headlines.

Last year, a doorman smashed her over the head with a vodka bottle, and this year she’s sued Google to reveal the identity of an especially cruel blogger. The both tragic and anonymous person used Google’s blogger.com platform to unleash constant rants about the blond’s imagined sexual habits, but argued in court that the words were “non-actionable opinion and/or hyperbole.”

Find out how this fared, at Fashionista.
Internet Anonymity at its Worst [Fashionista]

Legal Eagle Wedding Watch 8.10: Seoulmates

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champagne glasses small.jpgLEWW loves summertime. We’re shining the spotlight on four law school graduates this week (well, three and an almost-graduate), and all four are from Yale or Harvard. All that prestige is perfect for a steamy Friday afternoon in August (and if it’s too elitist for you, here’s a cool lesbian-lawyer wedding).
Even better: One of our contestants is a plaintiff in a high-profile lawsuit involving anonymous internet comments! (So comment with care on this post.)
LEWW will be on vacation next week, but we’ll have June/July Couple of the Month polls for you. Regular weekly posting will resume with a double issue on Friday, August 28.
Here are this week’s three finalist couples:

1. Adina Yoffie and Matthew Feigin
2. Brittan Heller and Nathaniel Gleicher
3. Julie Cohen and Jared Strumwasser

Click on the link below for pictures and details on these fabulously credentialed newlyweds.

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What ever happened to that Yale gals / AK47 / AutoAdmit thing?

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autoadmit.JPGBack in 2007, two female Yale Law School students filed a lawsuit over allegedly defamatory and threatening comments written about them on AutoAdmit.com. The stuff written went way beyond lobsters and buttcheeks, and the women said the resulting Google hits on their names did serious damage to their job prospects.

The case was near and dear to ATL readers’ hearts in its challenge to the culture of anonymous online commentary, as the YLS students sought to out their unknown assailants (including the incongruously-named :D and more appropriately-named AK47) through the course of litigation. We covered the various twists and turns of the case, but hadn’t heard anything since last summer.

The newest issue of Portfolio Magazine has the case on its cover. In Slimed Online, David Margolick identifies the YLS plaintiffs as Brittan Heller and Heide Iravani and explores the legal ramifications for cyber bullying.

The article is a great read, and we’d advise checking it out. We’re a big fan of the writer: Margolick covered the O.J. Simpson trial as the New York Times national legal correspondent in the 90s, and was one of Kash’s favorite journalism professors last semester.

For the lazy among you, we have chosen some highlights, including the “where are they now” grafs (hint: hello, Cleary). Find out whether job prospects were really damaged, after the jump.

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AutoAdmit Update: AK-47 A Defendant Named :D, Outed

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AutoAdmit xoxohth Anthony Ciolli Above the Law blog.JPGSee the links below for more details. Also note this, from Marc Randazza of the Legal Satyricon:

For anyone who is curious, I have personally spoken to the University of Texas adjunct who happens to bear the [same name as the formerly anonymous defendant known as :D ].

He IS NOT the person in question. I would appreciate it if any readers would keep that in mind, and educate anyone who might hold this mistaken belief. I can confirm with 100% certainty that the [individual identified as :D ] in the complaint is not an attorney and is not a law professor.

It has been a while since our last posting about the AutoAdmit lawsuit, so feel free to discuss the latest developments in the comments. If you’re not familiar with the case, peruse the postings collected here.
Another Amended Complaint in the Auto Admit Case [Legal Satyricon]
Yale Students’ Lawsuit Unmasks Anonymous Trolls, Opens Pandora’s Box [Wired]
Yale Students Name Austinite Who Allegedly Defamed Them [keyetv.com]
Lawyers for 2 Female Students at Yale Law School Learn Identities of Anonymous Online Attackers [Chronicle of Higher Education]

55 Comments

Bar Exam Open Thread: It’s Over!!!

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BarBri bar bri bar exam review course prep course Above the Law Above the Law ATL.jpgTo everyone who is done with the bar exam: CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Go get yourself a well-deserved drink — or two, or three.
That’s what we’re going to do, and we didn’t even take the bar. We’re heading off now for drinks with some friends who just took — and, hopefully, passed — the bar.
Here’s an open thread to look back upon the bar exam experience. In the comments, feel free to share funny anecdotes, horror stories, and other personal perspectives on the test.
You should probably avoid mentioning the substance of specific questions and answers from the MBE, which could get you in hot water. See here (via a commenter).
P.S. Speaking of anonymous posters on the internet getting unmasked through legal process, here’s an update on the AutoAdmit lawsuit.
EarthLink Subpoenaed for Customer Records When Anonymous Web Posting Reveals Bar Questions [Fulton County Daily Report]
Yale Students’ Lawsuit Unmasks Anonymous Trolls, Opens Pandora’s Box [Wired]

173 Comments

AutoAdmit Update: AK47′s Pathetic Plea

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AutoAdmit xoxohth Anthony Ciolli Above the Law blog.JPGBased on all the non-sequiturs appended to Non-Sequiturs, some of you clearly want to talk about the latest filings in the AutoAdmit case. So here’s an open thread for you to go wild (but not too wild).
Most people who follow the case are already up on the recent developments. But if you need background, see The Legal Satyricon. Professor Marc Randazza writes: “Excuse me while I greedily devour this slice of humble pie…. If you want to see the dumbest thing ever done in litigation, feast your eyes on this letter [PDF] that AK47 sent to the Plaintiffs’ attorneys. What a nimrod.”
AK47 Pwned [The Legal Satyricon]
Earlier: Pro Se Litigant of the Day: ‘AK47′ of AutoAdmit

61 Comments

Breaking: Anthony Ciolli of AutoAdmit Takes the Offensive

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Speaking of Penn Law School… Penn grad Anthony Ciolli, the former AutoAdmit.com executive, has gone from being a defendant to a plaintiff. He’s filed a civil action in Pennsylvania state court against the two Yale Law School “Jane Does” from the AutoAdmit case, their lawyers, and various other parties.
We just got our hands on his Complaint, filed earlier today in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. We’re still reviewing it, but we didn’t want to delay in breaking the news and sharing the pleading with you. You can access the Complaint by clicking here (PDF).
Update (2:30 PM): You’ve done our job for us. There are lots of interesting observations, on both sides of the debate, in the comments. The WSJ Law Blog has also put up a post, which you can access over here.
To give you the flavor of it, here’s the caption and first page:
Anthony Ciolli Heide Iravani AutoAdmit xoxohth Above the Law blog.jpg
Ciolli v. Iravani [PDF]
Ciolli Sues Yale Law Students in AutoAdmit Scandal [WSJ Law Blog]

Pro Se Litigant of the Day: ‘AK47′ of AutoAdmit

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AutoAdmit xoxohth Anthony Ciolli Above the Law blog.JPGThere’s a new development in the well-publicized AutoAdmit lawsuit. The defendant known as “AK47″ has filed a pseudonymous, pro se motion to quash the plaintiffs’ subpeona. The memorandum in support of the motion appears here (PDF)
Over at the WSJ Law Blog, reporter Amir Efrati — who first broke the news of this case’s filing, and has done a great job covering it — describes the motion as “well-composed…. which leads us to suspect that ‘he’ is an aspiring lawyer.” He also notes that AK47 “shows he’s done some research, citing a host of Internet law precedents he says bolster his arguments.”
But over at the Legal Satyricon, Professor Marc Randazza is less impressed: “My prediction — had Mr. AK47 written his motion a little more skillfully, he might have had a great chance. Unfortunately for him, the motion is so poorly drafted that it will take some charity on the Court’s part for it to fly.”
We’re not surprised that Professor Randazza applies a demanding standard. After all, he practices First Amendment law. He previously (and successfully) represented AutoAdmit exec Anthony Ciolli, who was dropped from the lawsuit back in November.
Feel free to share your thoughts on any of this in the comments.
AutoAdmit Case – Motion to Quash by “AK47″ [The Legal Satyricon / Marc Randazza]
AutoAdmit Suit Update: Defendant “AK47″ Responds [WSJ Law Blog]

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Is Doe v. Ciolli Now… Doe v. pauliewalnuts?

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Anthony Ciolli Anthony Cioli AutoAdmit xoxohth Above the Law blog.jpgThere’s news to report in the lawsuit filed by two female Yale Law School students over various allegedly defamatory and threatening comments posted about them on AutoAdmit.com. The amended complaint, which was delayed in arriving, has finally been filed. You can check it out here.
For some thoughts on the amended complaint by Professor Dave Hoffman, who has established himself as the expert on all things AutoAdmit-related, see here. As Hoffman notes, the most significant change is the dropping of Anthony Ciolli as a defendant.
In response to this news, Ciolli issued this statement:

I am pleased to see that the Plaintiffs have voluntarily dismissed me from this suit. Including me in the suit in the first place was legally unsupportable. I never posted a single defamatory or invasive statement. I told the plaintiffs that from the start, and I provided them with a sworn declaration to that effect.

Had I remained as a defendant, the only theory could have been rooted in a desire to overturn Section 230. As I was merely an employee of AutoAdmit, leaving me in the suit would have been akin to suing a Google employee for anything found on a web page hosted by that company – even if Google was not responsible for the content. The weakness of that theory was apparent to me from the beginning, as were the ramifications of its unlikely success — an explosion of liability for every internet service provider in America.

You can read the whole thing over at Professor Marc Randazza’s blog, The Legal Satyricon. Congratulations to Ciolli and to Professor Randazza, who was representing him, on the good news.
Former Penn Law Student Dropped from Autoadmit Lawsuit [Concurring Opinions]
Anthony Ciolli Dropped from Auto Admit Lawsuit [The Legal Satyricon]
Doe v. pauliewalnuts et al. [Amended Complaint (PDF)]
Earlier: What the Heck Is Going on with Doe v. Ciolli?
Has AutoAdmit Been Pwn3d?

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