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IN
THE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTFOR
THE
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
ALABAMA
SOUTHERN DMSION
CONFEDERATE MOTORS, MC.,
)
Plaintiff,
VS
))
)
Civil Action No.
1
)
WES SILER;
GRANT
RAY;
JALOPNKCOM;
)
and
GAWKER MEDIA
LLC,
)
))
DEFENDANTS.
)
vlcRnmD COMPLAINT
parties
1. Plaintiff, Confederate Motors, Inc. (hereinafter 'CMI"), is a corporationorganized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, having itsprincipal ofice and place of business in the State of Alabama.
2.
The Defendant,
GAWKER
MEDIA,
LLC,
is a corporation organized andexisting under the laws of the State of Delaware, having its principal place ofbusiness
in
the State of New York. Defendant, WES SILER, is an individualand resident of the State of New York. Defendant, Grant Ray, is an individualand resident of the State of New York. Defendant, Jalopnik.com, is a wholly
owned
subsidiary of Defendant, Gawker Media LLC.
Jurisdiction
3.
This Honorable Court has jurisdiction of this action pursuant to
28
U.S.C.
$
1332
because the
matter
in controversy exceeds the sum or value of
$75,000,
exclusive of interest and costs, and is between citizens of different states.
FILED
2009 May-14 PM 04:02U.S. DISTRICT COURTN.D. OF ALABAMA
Case 2:09-cv-00949-JEO Document 1 Filed 05/14/09 Page 1 of 11
4.
The acts or omissions made the basis of this civil action were specificallydirected at the Plaintiff in Jefferson County, Alabama.
5.
Venue and jurisdiction are proper and la*l
in
this Honorable Court based onthe intentional actions of the Defendants which targeted the forum state and,therefore, created sufficient foresee ability of a civil action in Alabama.
Calder et a1
v.
Jones 465
US.
783, 790 (1984).
Furthermore, damagesoccurred in Alabama, the Alabama Plaintiff maintains its primary offices inAlabama, the defendant focused its activities against the plaintiffs businesslocated in Alabama, and the products and persons being defamed are inAlabama
Facts
6.
The Plaintiff, CMI is engaged
in
the business of manufacturing and selling
high
performance motorcycles.
7.
On
or about April
9",
2009
the Defendant, Wes Siler, posted an article on thewebsite known
as
Jalopnik.com., Jalopnik.com is an entity and a Defendant inthe case at bar along with its owner Gawker Media LLC. The article titled"Confederate Motorcycles: MotoTerminators Come
to
Life," a copy of whichis attached hereto as Exhibit
"U
tates that the Plaintiffs products areunreliable and specifically attacks the Plaintiff Corporation qs an Alabamabusiness
unfit
to do business
in
the State of New York.
8.
These intentionally misleading statements are the basis of the libel claimagainst Defendants, Siler, Ray, Gawker and Jalopnik.com. Two months priorto the posting of the article, Defendant Ray, who is an employee of Defendant,
Case 2:09-cv-00949-JEO Document 1 Filed 05/14/09 Page 2 of 11
Gawker Media, LLC, sent
an
e-mail to the Plaintiff Corporation which statedrevenge would be sought for Plaintiffs unwillingness to allow the Defendantthe use of a motorcycle for a trade show. (Attached as Exhibit
'73")
9.
Defendant Ray is a former employee of the Plaintiff who left after HurricaneKatrina The result of the threat was the article published on the heels of theNew York Auto Show where the Plaintiffs products were displayed. There isa concerted effort by all Defendants to disparage the Plaintiff. On April
14",
2009
the Defendants received a written demand to remove the offendingarticle
within
en days. As of May
1
",
2009
the article is still beingpublished on thewebsite. (See e-mails attached as Exhibit
"C")
10.
The offending language in the article states
"In
fact, it's surprising to see themat the New York Auto Show today since last we heard the Alabama-basedcompany was being sued
so
heavily in state
courts
by disgruntled owners thatthey were unable to do business here." The misleading implication is thatCMI
has
been repeatedly sued in many state courts by disgruntled owners.The undisputed facts are that neither CMI nor its predecessor in interestConfederate Motor Company, Inc. (hereinafter 'CMC')
has
ever been sued inthe State Court of New York by
an
owner. The only
proceeding
ever filedagainst the Plaintiff
in
the State of New York is an arbitration action forfailure to repair in a timely fashion
(ninety
days) which was the result ofHurricane Katrina and CMI's resulting loss of inventory. Furthermore, theonly civil actions filed against CMI or CMC are the ordinary suits normallyassociated
with
transacting business. The Plaintiff was required to file a
Case 2:09-cv-00949-JEO Document 1 Filed 05/14/09 Page 3 of 11
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