Huon v. Breaking Media et al

Filing 153

STATUS Report of Reassignment by Plaintiff (with A Corrected View of Exhibit A) by Meanith Huon (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A)(Huon, Meanith)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION MEANITH HUON, Plaintiff, v. ABOVETHELAW.COM, et. al. Defendants ) ) ) ) CIVIL ACTION NO.: 1: 11-cv-3054 ) ) ) ) ) ) PLAINTIFF’S REASSIGNMENT STATUS REPORT PREFATORY NOTE On August 3, the Court ordered that the parties “prepare and file a joint status report, not to exceed five pages, no later than August 17, 2012”. (Docket No. 150.) On August 7, 2012, Plaintiff, Meanith Huon, emailed all counsel of record that he would circulate a proposed draft for comments and changes. Group Exhibit “A”. On August 13, 2012, Monday, Mr. Huon circulated the proposed Joint Reassignment Status Report to all counsel for comments or changes. Group Exhibit “A” and asked for dates for a FRCP 26(f) conference. None of the counsel for Defendants have responded. Mr. Huon submits Plaintiff’s Reassignment Status Report: I. Nature of the Case A. Identify all attorneys of record for each party, and indicate their roles (e.g., lead trial counsel, of counsel, local counsel, etc.). (i) For Plaintiff, Meanith Huon: Meanith Huon Huon Law Firm P.O. Box 441 Chicago, IL 60690 (312) 405-2789 huon.meanith@gmail.com (ii) For Defendants, Breaking Media, Breakingmedia.com, David Lat, David Minkin, Elie Mystal, John Lerner (“the Above the Law” Defendants): Steven L. Baron Steven P. Mandell Mandell Menkes LLC One North Franklin Suite 3600 Chicago, IL 60606 (312) 251-1000 sbaron@mandellmenkes.com smandell@mandellmenkes.com (iii) For the Defendants, Gawker Media, Jezebel.com, Gabby Darbyshire Irin Carmon, Nick Denton (“ the Jezebel Defendants”): David L. Feige Oren S. Giskan Giskan, Solotartoff Anderson & Stewart 11 Broadway Suite 2150 New York, NY 10004 (212) 847-8315 gslaw@davidfeige.com ogiskan@gslawny.com Amy J. Hansen Daniel Francis Lynch Lynch and Stern 150 S. Wacker Suite 2600 Chicago, IL 60606 312-445-4622 312-896-5883 (fax) ahansen@lynchandstern.com dan@lynchandstern.com B. State the basis for federal jurisdiction and indicate whether any party disputes federal jurisdiction. This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action pursuant to 28U.S.C. Section 1332, as a result of the diversity of the parties, and pursuant to the Court's supplemental jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. Section 1367(a). The matter in controversy exceeds $75,000, exclusive of costs and interest. Venue is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1391 (b). A substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred within the district. On information and belief, none of the defendants have raised the issue of jurisdiction in their motions to dismiss. On August 14, 2012, the Court ordered: “Plaintiff Meanith Huon’s Second Amended Complaint [22] is dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The plaintiff is granted leave to re-file a Third Amended Complaint on or before 9/12/12, addressing the jurisdictional issues noted in the [Court’s] Statement . . .” (Docket No. 151.) C. Generally describe complaint and any counterclaims. the nature of the claims asserted m the Plaintiff, Meanith Huon, filed a complaint against the Defendants alleging False Light, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, Defamation, Defamation Per Se, Cyberstalking, Civil Conspiracy arising out of alleged defamatory statements published by the Defendants on the Internet. D. Describe the relief sought by the plaintiff(s). Plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages in excess of 75,000.00 and the transfer of the Defendants’ domain names to Plaintiff. E. Identify any parties that have not been served. Plaintiff has not served Defendants, newnation.org, John Does No. 1 to 100 (registered users, writers, or editors of Abovethelaw.com who posted defamatory comments), 201 (owner of Lawyergossip.com), 401, 402, 403 (John Doe No. 401 a/k/a White Sail, John Doe No. 402 a/k/a Vorlos, and John Doe No. 403 a/k/a Tricknologist, are registered users of Newnation.tv) 100 to 200 (registered users, writers, editors of Jezebel.com who posted defamatory comments), Lawyergossip.com. 2. Pending Motions and Case Plan A. Briefly describe all pending motions, including the date the motion and associated briefs were filed (or the briefing schedule, if briefing has not yet been completed). On or about September 21, 2011, the Above the Law Defendants filed its Motion to Dismiss (Docket No. 35). On or about September 27, 2011, the Jezebel Defendants filed its Motion to Dismiss (Docket No. 57). The motions have been fully briefed and the parties are waiting for the Court’s ruling. B. Briefly describe the discovery that has been taken (if any), the discovery that remains to be taken (if any), and any operative schedule governing discovery. Also indicate whether the discovery schedule has previously been extended and, if so, how many times and by what period(s) of time. The parties have not conferred pursuant to FRCP 26(f) and 16(b) and have not made any FRCP 26(a) disclosures. Plaintiff has requested dates for counsels for all parties to have a 26(f) conference. On or about August 24, 2011, Plaintiff had a discovery conference with the Above the Law Defendants’ counsel. The Above the Law Defendants took the position that “The Above The Law Defendants understand from the Court’s August 23 [2011] order extending their deadline to respond to the complaint and rescheduling the status conference to October 13, 2011, that no discovery plan is required at this time.” C. Briefly describe any substantive rulings that have been entered. No substantive rulings have been entered. D. Identify any substantive or significant procedural motions that any party anticipates filing prior to trial. E. With respect to a trial: (1) Indicate whether there is a jury demand; Plaintiff demands trial by jury of 12 persons. (2) Estimate the length of the trial; and 7 days. (3) Provide the earliest date as to which the parties agree that the case will be ready for trial. Plaintiff has requested dates for a 26(f) conference with Defendants but has not received a response. Plaintiff anticipates he will need at least 9 months to complete fact discovery and anticipates the case will be ready for trial by September 1, 2013. 3. Referrals and Settlement A. Identify the assigned Magistrate Judge and state whether the case has been referred for discovery supervision, a settlement conference, and/or any other purpose. Honorable Jeffrey T. Gilbert. The case was referred for ruling on matters related to the Defendants’ motions to dismiss, such as adjusting page limitations, setting briefing scheduled, striking or producing exhibits attached to Defendants’ motion. Judge Gilbert has not entered any orders related to discovery. B. State whether any settlement discussions have occurred and the status of any settlement discussions. No settlement discussions have been initiated. C. Indicate whether the parties jointly believe that a settlement conference would be productive at this time. The parties does not wish to initiate settlement discussions at this time. D. Advise whether counsel have informed their respective clients about the possibility of consenting to proceed before the assigned Magistrate Judge. Plaintiff cannot consent to proceeding before the Magistrate Judge at this time. 4. Other Information A. Provide any other information that the parties believe is pertinent to the Court's understanding of the status of the case. B. hearing. Please advise whether any party requests that the Court set a status Plaintiff has requested dates for a 26(f) conference from counsel for all Defendants but have not received a response. A status conference in this case is set for August 23, 2012. Mr. Huon requests a conference to obtain dates from counsel for all Defendants for a 26(f) conference. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Meanith Huon Meanith Huon PO Box 441 Chicago, Illinois 60690 Phone: (312) 405-2789 E-mail: huon.meanith@gmail.com IL ARDC. No.: 6230996 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on the 16th day of August, 2012, I caused to be served a true and correct copy of the foregoing PLAINTIFF’S REASSIGNMENT STATUS REPORT, by causing copies of same to be served electronically on all counsel of record on or before August 16, 2012. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Meanith Huon Meanith Huon PO Box 441 Chicago, Illinois 60690 Phone: (312) 405-2789 E-mail: huon.meanith@gmail.com

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