As an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York, I assure you I have an inkling of basic consumer rights law.
All I said was that your so-called 'suck' site was risky. I implied the same thing about AGC's site in your April 12th "AGC just continues to get more desperate" post. Both sides are fodder for the discovery machine and, depending on how things shake out, it's foreseeable that both could be against their proponents on issues of credibility and/or bias.
<< <i>K6, may be a little paranoid, but what if ACG were to subpoena your registration records to get the throwaway email addresses, then subpoena Yahoo/Hotmail and get IP addresses?...It might be double protection if people used proxy servers to set up their throwaway emails. >>
I disabled the requirement for a valid email address, and for those who signed up when it was required, I purged their emails from the database.
<< <i>Now you tell me which is more legally damaging, K6AZ posting a product "sucks" site, or ASA-Accugrade posting my personal information on their site, including my full social security number.
Two wrongs don't make a right.
IMO the proliferation of new TPG's with unknown and/or unheard of standards is far worse than the "alleged" ills of ACG. This is not to say that there wasn't a concern over the grading standards of ACG particularly when it came to MS grades but I think what we have now is far worse.
The ACG message board smacks of the same kind of thinking that goes into Laura's wannabe threads. I think they are both bad ideas.
I wonder if Laura will post to this thread.
Joe. >>
You're just plain wrong. The board if for free expression of opinions in relation to ACG. Several words have been banned, and anything that even approaches libel will be removed.
As I stated earlier, case law is firmly established regarding "sucks" web sites and message boards.
As far as I can discern, no one is saying that your 'AGC Sucks' Message Board subjects you to personal liability. Rather, the point is that your 'AGC Sucks' Message Board may prove detrimental to your ongoing litigation. Two entirely different issues.
I don't know what you mean by "bothering with civil law[,]" but that doesn't matter. If you have a legitimate gripe with the law firm, you should consider contacting the New York State Bar Association, which lays out how to file grievances here. And here's a link for reporting violations of New York State consumer protection laws.
<<You would have had a point if they had a case against me. They don't. >>
It appears to me that you are letting your emotions interfere with good judgment. Your opinion on the validity of the case does not matter. The only opinion that does matter is that of the Judge. Operating a "ACG Sucks" website might be just enough to sway his opinion. The only point I'm trying to make is that the web site cannot help your defense and it might work against you.
Who is General Failure, and why is he reading my hard drive?
Come on, you claim to work for the NY AG and you don't know who Lenahan is?
Frankly, you're starting to sound irrational. I never said that I wasn't familiar with Lenahan. If you want to verify my employment status, simply call up our New York City office and ask to speak with me.
Well then, why don't you take care of your business and I'll take care of mine? I find it odd that Lenahan has been barred in Maine and Connecticut, about to be in Pennsylvania, but still hasn't had any action taken against them in New York.
I don't need "legal advice" regarding my sites. I know where I stand legally.
The NYS AG is not responsible for attorney discipline; that's up to other NYS government agencies.
I was under the impression that you had invited commentary on your ACG Sucks! Message Board, but nonetheless I shall honor your request that I mind my own business. Good luck with your suit.
I used to work for Lockheed. I remember that one of the earliest cases of a site like this involved the domain "lockheedsucks.com," which I followed since I was working there at the time (late 1990s, I believe). As I recall, the legal decision was that the only potential case the business would have is if one could reasonably believe that visitors would be confused and believe that they were actually at a site being run by that business.
Since no one would think Lockheed would create a site called lockheedsucks.com, the judge ruled that there's no likely confusion for site visitors, no one would rationally think they are at a site run by Lockheed, and that therefore the use of a domain like "lockheedsucks.com" was allowed.
<< <i>The NYS AG is not responsible for attorney discipline; that's up to other NYS government agencies. >>
Excuse me? You claim to work for the AG's office and you are telling me that criminal activity by Lenahan is a civil matter?
<< <i>I was under the impression that you had invited commentary on your ACG Sucks! Message Board, but nonetheless I shall honor your request that I mind my own business. Good luck with your suit. >>
What part of Announcing the ACG Sucks! Message Board don't you understand? This was an announcement, not a request for armchair attornies to tell me how I'm going to get sued into the ground.
Comments
All I said was that your so-called 'suck' site was risky. I implied the same thing about AGC's site in your April 12th "AGC just continues to get more desperate" post. Both sides are fodder for the discovery machine and, depending on how things shake out, it's foreseeable that both could be against their proponents on issues of credibility and/or bias.
Tiger trout, Deerfield River, c. 2001.
<< <i>The point is that ACG lawyers can use the site as one more bit of evidence to help their case against you. >>
You would have had a point if they had a case against me. They don't.
<< <i>K6, may be a little paranoid, but what if ACG were to subpoena your registration records to get the throwaway email addresses, then subpoena Yahoo/Hotmail and get IP addresses?...It might be double protection if people used proxy servers to set up their throwaway emails. >>
I disabled the requirement for a valid email address, and for those who signed up when it was required, I purged their emails from the database.
<< <i>Now you tell me which is more legally damaging, K6AZ posting a product "sucks" site, or ASA-Accugrade posting my personal information on their site, including my full social security number.
Two wrongs don't make a right.
IMO the proliferation of new TPG's with unknown and/or unheard of standards is far worse than the "alleged" ills of ACG. This is not to say that there wasn't a concern over the grading standards of ACG particularly when it came to MS grades but I think what we have now is far worse.
The ACG message board smacks of the same kind of thinking that goes into Laura's wannabe threads. I think they are both bad ideas.
I wonder if Laura will post to this thread.
Joe. >>
You're just plain wrong. The board if for free expression of opinions in relation to ACG. Several words have been banned, and anything that even approaches libel will be removed.
As I stated earlier, case law is firmly established regarding "sucks" web sites and message boards.
<< <i>As an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York, I assure you I have an inkling of basic consumer rights law. >>
If that's the case, why bother yourself with civil law?
Why don't you do something useful, like shutting down the Lenahan Law Office in Buffalo.
I don't know what you mean by "bothering with civil law[,]" but that doesn't matter. If you have a legitimate gripe with the law firm, you should consider contacting the New York State Bar Association, which lays out how to file grievances here. And here's a link for reporting violations of New York State consumer protection laws.
Tiger trout, Deerfield River, c. 2001.
Refresher
It appears to me that you are letting your emotions interfere with good judgment. Your opinion on the validity of the case does not matter. The only opinion that does matter is that of the Judge. Operating a "ACG Sucks" website might be just enough to sway his opinion. The only point I'm trying to make is that the web site cannot help your defense and it might work against you.
Frankly, you're starting to sound irrational. I never said that I wasn't familiar with Lenahan. If you want to verify my employment status, simply call up our New York City office and ask to speak with me.
Tiger trout, Deerfield River, c. 2001.
I don't need "legal advice" regarding my sites. I know where I stand legally.
I was under the impression that you had invited commentary on your ACG Sucks! Message Board, but nonetheless I shall honor your request that I mind my own business. Good luck with your suit.
Tiger trout, Deerfield River, c. 2001.
Thank You
SilverDollar
Since no one would think Lockheed would create a site called lockheedsucks.com, the judge ruled that there's no likely confusion for site visitors, no one would rationally think they are at a site run by Lockheed, and that therefore the use of a domain like "lockheedsucks.com" was allowed.
<< <i>The NYS AG is not responsible for attorney discipline; that's up to other NYS government agencies. >>
Excuse me? You claim to work for the AG's office and you are telling me that criminal activity by Lenahan is a civil matter?
<< <i>I was under the impression that you had invited commentary on your ACG Sucks! Message Board, but nonetheless I shall honor your request that I mind my own business. Good luck with your suit. >>
What part of Announcing the ACG Sucks! Message Board don't you understand? This was an announcement, not a request for armchair attornies to tell me how I'm going to get sued into the ground.
--csw
ps: What part of Announcing the ACG Sucks! Message Board don't you understand?
I guess it was this part: "feel free to voice your opinions!"
Tiger trout, Deerfield River, c. 2001.