Doe 1 et al v. Ciolli et al

Filing 21

MOTION to Expedite Plaintiffs' Motion for Expedited Discovery by Doe 1, Doe 2. (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for Expedited Discovery, # 2 Affidavit Declaration of Doe I, # 3 Affidavit Declaration of Doe II, # 4 Affidavit Declaration of Doe II (Part 2 of 2), # 5 Affidavit Declaration of Steve Mitra. (Additional attachment(s) added on 4/11/2008: # 1 Memorandum in Support Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Support of Motion for Expedited Discovery, # 2 Affidavit Declaration of Doe I, # 3 Affidavit Declaration of Doe II, # 4 Affidavit Declaration of Doe II (Part 2 of 2), # 5 Affidavit Declaration of Steve Mitra, # 7 Affidavit of Steve Mitra Part 1, # 8 Affidavit of Steve Mitra Part 2) (Kunofsky, L.). Modified on 4/11/2008 (Kunofsky, L.). (Additional attachment(s) added on 4/11/2008: # 9 Proposed Order) (Kunofsky, L.). Modified on 10/6/2008 to correct text (S-D'Onofrio, B.).

Doe 1 et al v. Ciolli et al

Doc. 21 Att. 3

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

DOE I, and DOE II,
Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No. 3:07CV00909(CFD)

Individuals, whose true names are unown,
using the following pseudonyms: pauliewalnuts; neoprag; ST ANFORDtroll; :D; lkjhgf; yalelaw; Spany; ylsdooder; HI; David Car; vincimus; Cheese Eating Surender Monkey; A horse walks into a bar; The Ayatollah of Rock-n-Rollah; DRACULA; Sleazy Z; Whamo; Ari Gold; Ugly Women; playboytroll; Dean_Harold _ Koh; krOnz; reminderdood; r(fygold; who is; Joel Schellhamer; Prof. Brian Leiter; hitlerhitlerhitler; lonelyvirgin; Patrick Zeke ":patrick8765(fhotmaii.com~; Patrick Bateman ..batemanls08(fhotmaii.com~; (DOE IJ got a 157 LSA T; azn, azn, azn; Dirty Nigger; leaf; 114 guner; kibitzer; yaieis2009; AK47,
Defendants.

DECLARTION OF DOE II IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERy1
I, DOE II, declare as follows:
1. I am a plaintiff in this action. I have knowledge of the facts set forth herein, and

if called to testify as a witness thereto, could do so competently under oath.
2. In early February 2007, a friend of mine told me that I was the subject of a

i The exhibits attached to this declaration, as well as the statements in this declaration taken from those exhibits, have been redacted to replace my name with DOE II and co-plaintiffs name with DOE I, in accordance with this Cour's Order of June 18,2007 granting Plaintiffs' motion to
proceed anonymously.

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Dockets.Justia.com

message thread on AutoAdmit.com, a website which at that time I had never visited. After my
friend told me about the message thread, I visited the AutoAdmit website and found the first of
hundreds of message threads about me, most of which contained sexual and vulgar comments,
and others that included threats of

violence or rape and/or made false statements about me this first thread, titled "Rate this HUGE

harmful to my reputation. A true and correct copy of

breasted cheerful big tit girl from YLS" and authored by Defendant "HI," is attached hereto as

Exhibit 1.
3. Among the many offensive, threatening and false comments that were posted
about me by the defendants on AutoAdmit.com, some of

the most egregious threads contained,

for example, the following messages:

.

"Ugly Women" posted a message stating, "(DOE II) (YLS 09) IS AN ANOYING, SELFISH CUNT. I HOPE SHE GETS RAPED AND DIES. A true and correct copy of this post is attached hereto as Exhibit 2.
"AK47" wrote, "Women named. . . (DOE II) should be raped." A true and correct copy of this post is attached hereto as Exhibit 3.
"Dirty Nigger" wrote, "I wish to rape (DOE I) and (DOE II) in the ass." A true and correct copy of this post is attached hereto as Exhibit 4 (see p. 2).
"Ugly Women" falsely stated that I fantasized about being raped by my father. A true and correct copy ofthis post is attached hereto as Exhibit 5 (see p. 4).
"DRACULA" falsely stated that I .enjoyed having sex while my family members this post is attached hereto as Exhibit 6 (see p.
3.

. . . .

watched. A true and correct copy of

.

"Sleazy Z" falsely stated that I was "into scat," and encouraged others to "punch me in the stomach" when seven months pregnant. True and correct copies of these posts are attached hereto as Exhibit 7 and Exhibit 5 (see p. 2), respectively.

. . .

"Whamo" falsely alleged that I had the "clap." A true and correct copy ofthis post is attached hereto as Exhibit 8 (see p. 18).

Rock-n-Rollah" falsely claimed that I engaged in "whoring." A true and correct copy ofthis post is attached hereto as Exhibit 9 (see p. 2).
"The Ayatollah of

"who is" stated falsely that I had checked into a rehabilitation program for heroin use. A true and correct copy of this post is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.

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· A defendant using the pseudonym "Dean_Harold _ Koh" falsely alleged that I performed fellatio on the dean of Yale Law School for a passing grade. A true and correct copy of this post is attached hereto as Exhibit 11.

· "playboytroll" falsely claimed that I posed in Playboy. A true and correct copy of this post is attached hereto as Exhibit 12.
· Two posters attempted to star ruors that I had died or committed suicide:

"r(fygold" posted a message falsely stating "(DOE II) found dead in apartment!," and "azn, azn, azn" falsely stated "HOLY SHIT: (DOE II) dead; suicide suspected." True and correct copies of these posts are attached hereto as Exhibit 13 and Exhibit 14, respectively.
· "reminderdood" falsely accused me of

"bashing gay people." A true and correct copy of this post is attached hereto as Exhibit 15.

· In a thread entitled, "DOE II, YLS lL, you're a fucking cunt," defendant ":D" gleefully encouraged fuher attacks on me and used anti-Semitic language to do so: "I'm doing cartwheels knowing this stupid Jew bitch is getting her self esteem raped." A true and correct copy of this post is attached hereto as Exhibit 16 (see p. 8).
4. Other AutoAdmit users joined in the free-for-all to har me by posting, for
example, messages that commented crudely on my breasts, explicitly described the poster's
desire to have sexual relations with me, falsely stated that I engaged in certain sexual activities,

and encouraged others to continue to harass me. True and correct copies of these additional

posts are attached hereto as Exhibit 1 (see p. 8), Exhibit 6, (see p. 2), Exhibit 8 (see pp. 2-3),

Exhibit 17 (see pp. 2, 5), Exhibit 18 (see pp. 7, 8), Exhibits 19 through 21, and Exhibit 22 (see
pp. 2-3).
5. A few weeks later, various AutoAdmit posters stared a website devoted to

"rating" female law students from schools around the country, "114talent-The 'Most
Appealing' Women (f Top Law Schools," located at htt://114talent.googlepages.com. ("114"
refers to some people's idea of the country's top 14

law schools.) A true and correct copy this

website's homepage is attached hereto as Exhibit 23.
6. A poster using the names "Todd Christopher" and "pauliewalnuts" was one of

the

principal organzers of the 114 site. True and correct copies of posts identifying this individual as
the 114 site organizer are attached hereto as Exhibits 24 and 25.

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7. The 114 contest also was featured on a web log located at
http://topI4girls.blogspot.com. A true and correct copy of

this web log's home page is attached

hereto as Exhibit 26.
8. This web log was created and maintained by defendant "kibitzer." True and

correct copies of posts identifying this individual as the web log creator are attached hereto as

Exhibits 18 (see p. 12),27 (see p. 19) and 28 (see p. 2).
9. Posters "pauliewalnuts," "kibitzer," and/or the other contest organizers copied,

and then linked to, certain photographs of me without my consent or permission. True and
correct copies of these 114 sites are attached hereto as Exhibits 23 and 26.
1 o. Certain anonymous defendants copied these photographs and published them by

uploading them to the website located at http://ww.hidebehind.com and linked to them through
the 114 sites and the AutoAdmit message board. True and correct copies of these posts are

attached hereto as Exhibits 17,21, and 29. My pictues were also posted on other websites such
as imagevenue.com.
11. I own the copyrights to five of

those photographs and have registered those
United States

copyrights with the United States Copyright Office. True and correct copies of

Copyright Office Certificates of

Registration are attached

hereto as Exhibit 30.

12. Defendant "pauliewalnuts" first posted the URL to my image on the 114 webpage

on February 20,2007, in a thread entitled "YLS lL CGWBT." A true and correct copy this post
is attached hereto as Exhibit 31 (see p. 2).2 On the 114 web log, links were posted to webpages

containing pictues of me alongside pornographic or otherwise unflattering advertisements. See
Exhibit 26.
13. I did not consent to the use of

my likeness on the 114 website or web log.

14. On March 7, 2007, defendant "Joel Schellhamer" posted a message titled "YLS

lL CGWBT (DOE II) HAS A FELON FOR A FATHER!! ! YALE LAW" on AutoAdmit.com,

2 "CGWBT" is an acronym for "cheerful girl with big tits." See Exhibit 32, which is a true and the entry for "CWBT" from the on-line Urban Dictionary. correct copy of

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which discussed a private and upsetting story about my father. A true and correct copy of

this

post is attached hereto as Exhibit 33.
15. The next day, "hitlerhitlerhitler" re-posted "Joel Schellhamer"'s message on

AutoAdmit.com with additional private information about my father. A true and correct copy of

this post is attached hereto as Exhibit 34.
16. On March 9,2007, "Patrick Bateman" emailed multiple members of

the Yale Law

School faculty the following message:

From: Patrick Bateman ..batemanls08(fhotmaii.com~ Date: Mar 9, 2007 2:08 PM
To: (Member of

Subject: Yale Law School faculty: Notice the Yale Law School Faculty)

Cc: (DOE II)
Dear Yale Law faculty, I write to you now about a very important issue that affects a non-trivial number of you. Although you undoubtedly deal with self-entitled, spoiled students on a regular basis, there's one person in paricular whose history I feel you must be made aware of before problems arise. (DOE II), a student in your 09 class, has a felon as a father who stole
money (at her behest) . . .. One could make the argument that her character at ten is not
representative of her values as an adult, if it wasn't for the recent evidence to the contrary. She spent in excess of$150 to remove material that was in the public domain, simply because she found it offensive that it emphasized her good looks. If such reckless use of money in the name of free speech suppression is not indicative of a damaged character, I don't know what it is. Best of luck to you in managing this liability, it is regretful that the admissions process can't encapsulate the entire person. XOXO HTH Patrick Bateman (Harard Law School 08) References: (Hyperlinks to aricles about me and my father).

A true and correct copy of this email is attached hereto as Exhibit 35.
17. Defendant "lonelyvirgin" then posted "Patrick Bateman"'s message on
AutoAdmit.com. A true and correct copy of

that post is attached hereto as Exhibit 36 (see p. 3).

18. "Patrick Bateman'" s email to the YLS faculty contained false and exaggerated

information. The moniker "Patrick Bateman" is a reference to the fictional serial kiler in the
novel and film, American Psycho. I believe the poster used this moniker to cause me to feel

physically threatened. After I found out that this email had been sent to the Yale Law School

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faculty, I felt humiliated. But more importantly I was scared for my safety. It was increasingly
difficult for me to sleep at night, and I often stayed with friends or had friends escort me home

because I did not feel comfortable being alone in my aparment.
19. In April

2007, a poster using the pseudonym "114 guner" posted the following

message-which he claimed to have sent to my former employer-on AutoAdmit.com:
Date: April 28th, 2007 11 :55 PM Author: 114 gunner ((DOE II) works at a fourh tier toilet)
Just sent this using the feedback part of

their site.

Greetings, I want to bring your attention to some information potentially harmful to your firm's reputation. Obviously your clients do not want to be represented by someone who is not of the highest character value, which is why I believe you should know a bit more about an employee of yours. I've recently discovered (DOE II) of Yale Law School is one of your sumer hires. It is true that she does have a fine academic pedigree, but there is some distressing information about her readily available online. Some of what is written about her is of dubious value. Regardless, there is good reason to believe some of your clients may not be so careful in how they interpret what has been written~specially as to how it relates to the quality of your firm. Included below is a sample, but a simple
Google search wil retu an even more extensive record.

A true and correct copy of

this post is attched hereto as Exhibit 37.

20. After I found out that this email had been posted on AutoAdmit and possibly sent

to my former employer, I felt embarrassed and feared that my former employers would question
my character.
21. Outraged and upset by the messages posted on AutoAdmit, in early 2007 I wrote

to the site administrators multiple times through the contact information listed on the website,

asking them to permanently remove the offensive messages about me. In my requests, I told
them explicitly of the har I was experiencing because of

the harassing, threatening and

defamatory postings, including the fact that I had been forced to seek therapy. A true and correct

copy of this email correspondence is attached hereto as Exhibit 38. The only response that I
received was a link to a message posted on AutoAdmit.com, which threatened to post my request

on the AutoAdmit site. A true and correct copy of this message, which was authored by "Great

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Teacher Onizuka," is attached hereto as Exhibit 39 (see p. 2).

.22. The numerous threats, false statements, and sexually explicit comments about me
that were posted by the defendants on AutoAdmit.com have caused me physical ilness and
severe emotional distress, interfered with my educational progress, damaged my reputation, and
caused me pecuniary har.
23. The night the material about my father was posted on AutoAdmit, I had to go to

emergency mental health services and was given sedatives to sleep. At one point later in the
semester, after reading some egregious material on the site, I fainted in the hallway of

the law

school and had to be escorted to student health services by a classmate-the administrators
wanted to call an ambulance to take me to the hospital but I insisted on going on my own to
minimize attention from my classmates.
24. The extreme emotional distress that I suffered and continue to suffer includes

depression, stress, fearful feelings, and aniety. In addition, I also experienced and continue to
experience frequent insomnia, loss of appetite, and stomach problems.

25. The severe emotional distress that I experienced forced me to seek psychological
counseling. In late February 2007, I stared seeing a therapist once a week. In September 2007,
I started taking medication to treat aniety and depression directly arising

Jrom the

aforementioned events. Presently, I still see a therapist and take medication to help with the
emotional distress from which I continue to suffer.
26. The emotional distress that I suffered caused my performance in school to
deteriorate. For example, I was unable to complete the coursework for two of

my classes by the

end of last semester because of my aniety, depression, and inability to concentrate. Because of
the impact of these events on my academic affairs, I also was unable to apply for the Yale Law
Joural last spring, as well as several other academic and extracurcular activities and positions.
This harful attack on my character and reputation robbed me of a normal and productive

experience during my first year of law schooL.
27. The stress and aniety that I experienced as a result of

the defendants' conduct

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affected my relationships with my family, friends, classmates, and colleagues. For example,
long ago my paternal aunt set up a "Google alert" for my name, so that she would receive an

email each time a new thread appeared about me on that search engine. When she discovered
that negative content about me from AutoAdmit was accruing on Google, she experienced
aniety and depression. She also began to question my sexual behavior because of the nature of

much of the content, and this created significant tension and conflict between my father and me.

Because my father and aunt are Muslim, false statements made about my sexual behavior, as
well as other sexually harassing comments about my body and the desire to assault me, are
paricularly damaging to my relationship with them. Since the onset of the po

stings, my father

and aunt do not speak to me as often as they used to, and our relationship is distant and strained.
28. The depression and aniety that I experienced as a result of

the defendants'

defamatory attacks also have affected my other inter-personal relationships. I have become
largely withdrawn from the social activity ofthe law schooL. I no longer regularly attend my
classmates' social functions because I feel uncomfortable with the possibility that other attendees
may be or know the identities of anonymous P. osters. I am no longer social and enthusiastic upon

~-

meeting new people because of the fear that they wil do an Internet search of my name and read
the horrible things that have been written about me. As a result, I avoid giving my full name and email address to people that do not already have it, which makes it paricularly difficult to make
new friends.
29. Similarly, I have had difficulty dating and becoming involved in romantic

relationships since the negative threads began to appear about me on AutoAdmit. I feel
suspicious of men in general now, and have even ended some of my platonic relationships with male friends because of my newfound discomfort around most members of the opposite sex.
30. The defendants' defamatory attacks have also affected my professional

relationships. For example, in the sumer of2007, while interning at the U.S. Attorney's Office
for the Southern District of

New York, one of my male supervisors informed me that he was

aware of the things that had been published about me on the Internet. After learing this, I

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became withdrawn and found it difficult to interact with him as well as other supervisors,
colleagues and interns.
31. During the fall 2007 intervew process at Yale, I feared that potential employers

would read disparaging comments about me on AutoAdmit. In three interviews, I found it
necessar to disclose the fact that I had been targeted by pseudonymous posters online, and I
only received a call-back for fuer interviews from one of

those firms.

32. I was deeply offended, mentally distressed and frightened by the invasion of

my

privacy and the publication of personal information about me on the AutoAdmit website. I was
equally offended and distressed by the appropriation of my name and image without my
permission and the publication of information that I believe placed me in a false light.
33. As a result of

the defendants' threatening, defamatory and offensive conduct, I

suffered daages, including but not limited to cost of

medical treatment and other costs and

expenses.

I declare under oenaltv of oeriur that the fore£!oin£! is true and correct. Executed in New
Haven, Connecticut on Janua .a, 2008.

- - - --- - -- - - .i J .l J ." _ _

DOE II

;loe $

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