Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Plaintiff,
OCTOBER TERM, 2010
V.
NO. 03053
OVERLAWYERD.COM, et al.
Defendants. EQUITY
Plaintiff, Arthur Alan Wolk ("Wolk"), by and through undersigned counsel, Bochetto &
Lentz, P.C., hereby files the following Petition for Preliminary Injunctive Relief and Expedited
I. NATURE OF PETITION
1. Wolk is a prominent aviation lawyer and has been a member of the Bar of this Court
for over forty years. Through this Petition, he seeks equitable relief in the nature of a
remove a false, malicious and defamatory blog from the internet initially posted on April 8,
2007.1
2. The blog falsely and maliciously accused Wolk of violating his ethical
and fiduciary responsibilities to his clients -- virtually the worst sins a lawyer can be accused of
Specifically, the blog alleged that Wolk sold out his clients by compromising the settlement
value of a case in order to benefit Wolk's (instead of his client's) personal interests.
Defendants performed no fact checking, interviewed no witnesses, and never contacted any
individual directly involved in the matter, not even Wolk himself, any of whom would have
easily provided irrefutable proof that the defamatory statements in the blog were absolutely false.
and irrefutable witness statements that the blog's defamatory accusations were completely false
and that Wolk did not sell out his clients to achieve his personal goals in a case.2
5. In this regard, Wolk has repeatedly demanded that the Overlawyered Defendants
remove the false and defamatory blog, but despite being placed on actual notice that the blog's
accusations are completely false, the Overlawyered Defendants have neither removed the
defamatory blog from their website nor issued any sort of retraction.
6. Wolk seeks to invoke this Court's equitable remedies to compel the removal of the
defamatory blog because he has no alternative legal remedy. Recently, on August 2, 2010, the
United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in Wolk v. Olson, et al., Civ
' The false and defamatory April 8, 2007 Overlawyered blog is attached as Exhibit A to the Verified
Complaint, which is attached to this Petition as Exhibit "1."
2
See, e.g., Letters from Attorneys Griffm and Schneider attached to the Complaint as Exhibits "C" and "D,"
respectively.
2
Action No. No. 2:09-CV-4001, held the discovery rule did not apply to toll the statute of
limitations for Wolk's legal claim for defamation, despite the fact that Wolk filed suit a few
weeks after he discovered the defamatory blog. Refusing to apply the discovery rule, the District
Court dismissed Wolk's legal claims under Pennsylvania's one year statute of limitations.3
Thus, in light of the District Court's ruling, Wolk is left without any legal recourse to recover the
7. While Wolk has appealed the District Court's decision, in the meantime, the
false and defamatory blog continues to exist on Overlawyered's website, continues to have
prominence in the cyber-world through search engine rankings and other related defamatory blog
irreparable -- harm.
8. In fact, after Wolk filed his lawsuit in the District Court, the Overlawyered
Defendants appear to have manipulated their blog such that whenever someone performs a
"Google" search on "Arthur Wolk," the first thing that appears is Overlawyered's defamatory
blog -- which was not the case prior to the inception of Wolk's lawsuit in the District Court.4
9. Even worse, since the District Court rendered its decision, another blog website,
Overlawyered's April 8, 2007 blog and posted new defamatory blogs concerning Wolk, inciting
3 A copy of the District Court's August 2, 2010 Memorandum is attached as Exhibit "E" to Plaintiff's
Verified Complaint.
4 A copy of a page from a "Google" search on "Arthur Wolk," reflecting the Overlawyered blog number one
ranking is attached hereto as Exhibit "2."
what can only be described as a blogging feeding frenzy where anonymous bloggers on
10. In sum, the removal of the Overlawyered blog from the internet is the only
way Wolk can protect himself from the ongoing irreparable harm to his reputation. The limited
injunctive relief Wolk is seeking is necessary and appropriate. Wolk has no adequate legal
remedy in light of the District Court's decision, and the evidence overwhelmingly shows that
Overlawyered, despite having actual knowledge that the defamatory blog is false, refuses to
11. Accordingly, through this Petition, Wolk invokes this Court's equitable
jurisdiction requesting the Court enter preliminary injunctive relief ordering the Overlawyered
12. Wolk is 67 years old, and he has been a prominent member of the Bar of this
Court for forty-one years, the majority of which time Wolk has dedicated his professional career
13. As Wolk's age might suggest, while he can send and receive emails and use
5 True and correct copies of the "blogging" comments on www.reason.com , a blog site affiliated with
Overlawyered, are filed under seal with the Complaint as Exhibit "J." Due to the egregious nature of the
accusations, Wolk feels it necessary to file the comments under seal in order to protect what is left of his reputation.
While Reason has complied with Wolk's demands and removed such despicable blogging comments from its
website, Reason has refused to remove other, additional defamatory blogs and has not complied with Plaintiff's
demands to provide the necessary identifying information for the anonymous bloggers who accused Wolk of
committing criminal conduct. As part of this Petition, Wolk is also seeking expedited discovery, forcing Reason
and its affiliated organizations and foundations to produce identifying information for the anonymous bloggers who
accused Wolk of committing these heinous crimes.
0
computer for limited purposes, he is far from a sophisticated computer user and until recently
was not knowledgeable about the internet and the use of search engines like Google, Yahoo, or
14. None of Wolk's computers had "Google" as its default search engine. See Id. at ¶
21.
15. In April 2009, however, Wolk attended a CLE given by judges of the Court of
16. In that CLE, the judges suggested to lawyers in attendance that they should
"Google" themselves since it was likely that jurors and judges do. See Id. at ¶ 23.
17. That night, Wolk went home, "Googled" himself and found -- for the first time --
a blog on a website called www.overlawyered.com related to Taylor v. Teldyne, No. Civ. Action
1:00-CV-1741-J (N.D. Ga.), a federal case where Wolk's law firm represented victims of an
airplane crash. The blog falsely accused Wolk of selling out his clients in the Taylor case by
compromising the value of a settlement in exchange for having the court vacate a prior discovery
18. Once he saw the blog, Wolk immediately notified the Overlawyered Defendants
that it was completely false, and demanded that it be removed from the internet. Despite Wolk's
demands, Overlawyered refused to remove the blog or issue a retraction. See Complaint at ¶¶
19. As Wolk informed the Overlawyered Defendants, the blog was rife with absolute
20. First, Wolk did not even personally handle the discovery in the Taylor case, and
thus the order critical of Wolk's conduct during discovery in the Taylor case was issued in error.
21. Moreover, the Taylor case was settled with no involvement from Wolk, and the
plaintiffs in the Taylor case had additional counsel other than Wolk, who independently
reviewed all aspects of the settlement making sure the plaintiffs in Taylor were well served,
received full value in the settlement and were completely satisfied with the result. Indeed, the
plaintiffs in Taylor received a settlement that far exceeded the value previously placed on the
22. Most importantly, the Taylor case was settled before Wolk even requested the
Court vacate the mistaken discovery order, which the Court in Taylor eventually did. See
Complaint at ¶ 30.
Gel
23. Aside from Wolk himself informing Overlawyered as to the falsity of its blog,
two independent lawyers directly involved in the Taylor case, Jason T. Schneider, Esquire and
John Kevin Griffin, Esquire, wrote separate letters to Overlawyered's counsel, confirming the
blog was false. See Complaint at ¶ 31, Exhibit "C," Griffin Letter, Exhibit "D," Schneider
Letter.
24. In this regard, Attorney Griffin, who was counsel for one of the two plaintiffs in
Taylor, informed Overlawyered that the blog's statements that the settlement was somehow
"compromised" in exchange for vacating the critical discovery order was "entirely false" as there
was "never consideration given or a quid pro quo offered for vacating the order." Indeed, as
Griffin explained, the settlement was already reached before the Court vacated the discovery
25. Likewise, Attorney Schneider, who was also counsel in the Taylor case, also
informed Overlawyered that the settlement had been reached before the Court vacated the
discovery order, and that the settlement amount actually exceeded independent valuations of the
26. Thus, Wolk provided the Overlawyered Defendants with all of the foregoing facts
and information, which conclusively proved that: (a) he did not sell out his clients; (b) he never
had a "conflict of interest"; (c) he fully disclosed all aspects of the case and settlement to his
clients and other plaintiffs' counsel, all of whom independently reviewed and approved of the
7
settlement, which was well in excess of an independent mediator's recommended settlement
value; and (d) he absolutely did not compromise the client's interest in the settlement in
exchange for vacating the court's discovery order since the case was settled before the Court
27. Although the Overlawyered Defendants never bothered to check the facts before
posting the blog, once Wolk provided Overlawyered with the actual, true facts, the Overlawyered
Defendants knew what was contained in their April 8, 2007 blog was false. See Id. ¶ 35.
28. The Overlawyered Defendants nevertheless refused to remove the false blog,
thereby continuing to publish the blog with actual knowledge of its falsehoods. See Id. ¶ 36.
29. Since the Overlawyered Defendants refused to remove the lies they posted, Wolk
was forced to file an action at law in this Court, which the Overlawyered Defendants removed to
30. On August 2, 2010, the District Court granted the Overlawyered Defendants'
Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss, ruling that, despite Wolk having no reason to discover the
defamatory blog until April 2009, Pennsylvania's "discovery rule" did not apply to toll the one-
year statute of limitations. See Id. at ¶ 38, Exhibit "E," 8/2/10 District Court Memo. Opinion.
31. Although the District Court's decision is currently on appeal in the Third Circuit,
in the meantime, Wolk has been forced out of court, without an adequate remedy at law, and the
Overlawyered Defendants continue to allow the false blog to remain on their website even
though they know the allegations are categorically false. See Id. at ¶ 39.
32. After the District Court dismissed Wolk's damages claim on statute of limitations
33. Each of these websites appear to monitor and promote the other, forming a type of
co- partnering relationship, whereby blogs and comments published on one website trigger the
others to re-publish the same comments and make other comments, thereby creating a swell of
defamatory statements compounding the impact of the initial defamation. See Id. at ¶ 41.
34. In this regard, on August 6, 2010, a few days after the District Court's decision,
Frank, the author of the initial April 8, 2007 Overlawyered blog, posted another defamatory blog
35. Frank's PointofLaw blog addressed the decision in Wolk v. Olson as a victory for
"bloggers everywhere," and summarized Wolk's arguments in the District Court, stating Wolk
"argued that the statute shouldn't start to run until the plaintiff reads (or, de facto, claims to have
36. By characterizing Wolk's allegations in the District Court as "de facto claims,"
Frank was once again defaming Wolk by directly implying that Wolk lied in his court filings as
to the timing of when he read the first defamatory Overlawyered blog. See Id. at ¶ 44.
37. In an effort to further incite even more defamatory internet blogging, Frank, on
his PointofLaw blog, referred to other co-partnership blog websites such as www.reason.com
and www.popehat.com, which contained additional false and defamatory statements about Wolk.
b
To their credit, Popehat.com and Law.com removed their republications and comments when the same
information Wolk supplied to Overlawyered was supplied to them.
6
See Id. at ¶ 45, Exhibit "F," PointofLaw blog (referring to "Extensive must-read analysis by
38. For example, the blog on www.reason.com to which Frank referred was posted by
Defendant Sullum on August 6, 2010, and it was entitled "Lawyer trying to protect his reputation
as an Effective Advocate Misses Deadline for His Libel Suit." See Id. at ¶ 46, Exhibit "G,"
39. The title of the August 6, 2010 Reason blog was clearly defamatory in that it
intended to and did falsely imply that Wolk was an incompetent lawyer because he missed the
40. Further, in his August 6, 2010 Reason blog, Sullum also implied that Wolk was
lying in the District Court about not Googling himself until April 2009, and further implied that
Wolk was guilty of filing a previous frivolous lawsuit by "bully[ing] an aviation news website
41. Most significantly, Sullum's August 6, 2010 Reason blog republished almost the
entirety of the utterly false and defamatory April 8, 2007 Overlawyered blog, and thus again
accused Wolk of breaching his ethical and fiduciary duties by selling out his client's interest in
42. Not to be outdone, on August 9, 2010, three days after the defamatory PointofLaw
and Reason blogs, Overlawyered, through Defendant Olson, published its own blog concerning
the District Court's decision in Wolk v. Olson, which again touted the decision as a victory for
free speech. Significantly, Olson's blog referred readers back to Frank's defamatory August 6,
2010 blog posted on PointofLaw.com. See Id. at ¶ 50, Exhibit "H," 8/9/10 Overlawyered Blog.
43. When Wolk was alerted of the defamatory August 6, 2010 Reason blog, he
immediately sent notice to the Reason Defendants, demanding that they remove the defamatory
blog since it re-published the initial April 8, 2007 Overlawyered blog as well as completely new
44. The Reason Defendants, predictably, refused to remove their blog. Instead, to
further impugn Wolk, on September 16, 2010, Reason, through Sullum, published a second blog
entitled "Who You Calling Touchy?," in which Reason published a portion of Wolk's demand
letter for the sole purpose of inciting additional defamatory comments from Reason's bloggers.
creating a feeding frenzy of outrageously defamatory statements, which included accusations that
Wolk has committed the most heinous of crimes. See Id. at ¶ 53, Exhibit "J," 9/16/10 Reason
46. The Reason Defendants knew exactly what they were inciting in publishing their
blog "Who You Calling Touchy?," and intended to incite the defamatory feeding frenzy that
ensued, knowing that it would be picked up by Google and other internet search engines. See Id.
at¶54.
47. As a result, Wolk, a respected lawyer, father of two and grandfather has been
shamelessly and falsely accused of the most heinous crimes imaginable. See Id. at ¶ 55.
48. Wolk immediately demanded that the Reason Defendants remove the defamatory
blog and its comments, and produce the identifying information of the anonymous bloggers who
11
49. While the Reason Defendants eventually removed the bloggers' hideous
comments, they still refused to remove the blog articles themselves, and further ignored Wolk's
request for the information identifying the anonymous bloggers. See Id. at ¶ 57.
50. Further, although the Reason Defendants "removed" the bloggers' comments
from its sites, because search engines like Google "cache" or store historical information from
blogs and websites, to this day one can still find the "cached" comments through Google and
other search engines. See Id. at ¶ 58, Exhibit "K," Google search of Wolk (filed under seal);
Milicic v. Basketball Mktg. Co., 857 A.2d 689 (Pa. Super. 2004). All of these elements are
clearly satisfied here.
52. To be clear, Wolk is not asking the Court to preliminarily enjoin future conduct of
the Overlaweryed Defendants such that the requested injunctive relief would be a "prior
restraint" on their right to free speech. Rather, Wolk is merely seeking a preliminary injunction
which applies to past, illegal conduct by ordering the removal of the defamatory blog that was
posted over two years ago in April 2007. Thus, as more fully explained herein, Wolk's
12
requested relief does not run afoul of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision in Willing v.
53. In Willing, a disgruntled client of a law firm picketed outside the firm's offices
carrying a "sandwich-board" sign stating the firm "stole money from me" and "sold me out to
54. The trial court, sitting in equity, permanently enjoined the client from "further
unlawful demonstration .... [such as] carrying placards which contain defamatory and libelous
statements." Id. The Superior Court narrowed the injunction to only prohibit future
demonstrations concerning the specific defamatory statements at issue, but it otherwise affirmed
55. The Supreme Court, however, reversed. The Court based its ruling on two key
findings. First, the Court found that because the injunction enjoined future conduct it was a
"classic example of a prior restraint on speech," which the Pennsylvania Constitution would not
permit. Id. at 1159. Second, the Court also noted that equity should not intervene because, even
though the client was indigent, the law firm had an adequate remedy at law in that it could sue
for money damages. As Justice Roberts noted in his concurring opinion, "[m]oney damages are
adequate to recompense the plaintiffs for any losses they have suffered as a consequence of the
defendant's defamatory publication. Thus, it was improper to grant equitable relief based on
56. Clearly, the equitable relief requested by Wolk is not of the same type precluded
by the Supreme Court in Willing. Unlike Willing, Wolk is not asking the Court to enjoin future
conduct. The law firm in Willing sought to enjoin its former client from continuing her
defamatory protest in the future, whereas Wolk is merely asking the Court to order the
13
Overlawyered Defendants to remove a defamatory posting that was published over two years
ago.
remove its defamatory blog, the injunction would not prohibit future conduct, even the re-
publishing of the blog. 7 Thus, Wolk's narrowly tailored requested relief is not the type of "prior
58. Moreover, unlike in Willing, Wolk has no adequate remedy at law since the
District Court has precluded his claim for money damages under the statute of limitations. In
light of the District Court's ruling, Wolk is left without any legal recourse to recover the
traditional monetary award for Overlawyered's malicious defamation. Thus, unlike the plaintiff
in Willing, Wolk does not have money damages available to him with respect to Overlawyered's
April 8, 2007 defamatory blog. It is therefore appropriate — indeed absolutely necessary — for
equity to intervene in this case to provide Wolk with some remedy to protect his reputation,
59. As set forth above, the April 8, 2007 Overlawyered Blog is part of an intentional
and malicious smear campaign, and thus it is absolutely appropriate and necessary for the Court
to enter injunctive relief ordering the removal of the false and defamatory Blog.
60. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution does not preclude the requested
injunctive relief.
Of course, if the Overlawyered Defendants chose to republish the blog, they would be subjecting
themselves to an action at law since such a republishing would likely trigger a new cause of action and new statute
of limitations. See Dominiak v. Nat'l Enquirer, 266 A.2d 626, 629 (Pa. 1970)("the plaintiff may choose any
publication as the single publication which represents his single cause of action.")
14
61. While generally courts proceed cautiously when asked to enjoin speech, it is also
well settled that not all speech is afforded the same protection under the First Amendment.
Specifically, there is "no constitutional value in false statements of fact." Gertz v. Robert Welch,
Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 338 (1974); see also Air Lines Pilots Assn, Intern. v. Dept. ofAviation of City
of Chicago, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15863, 1993 WL 462834 (N.D. Ill. 1993) ("That defamatory
speech is entitled to only limited protection under the First Amendment is well-known hornbook
law.")
robust, and wide-open" debate on public issues. See New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S.
254, 265 (1964). Rather, falsehoods belong to that category of utterances that "are no essential
part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any
benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and
morality." Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568, 572 (1942); Ashcroft v. Free Speech
Coalition, 535 U.S. 234, 245-46 (2002)("The freedom of speech has its limits; it does not
63. Indeed, the United States Supreme Court recently provided some insight on the
availability of injunctions against a defendant's defamatory speech in Tory v. Cochran, 544 U.S.
734 (2005), where the famous lawyer Johnnie Cochran obtained a permanent injunction against a
64. Although the Court in Cochran dissolved the injunction on the limited basis that
the injunction lost its "underlying rationale" since Cochran died while the case was on appeal,
the Court nevertheless remanded to the District Court so Cochran's estate could be substituted as
a party. In so doing, the Court noted that "[i]f, as the Cochran supplemental brief suggests,
15
injunctive relief may still be warranted, any appropriate party remains free to ask for such relief."
Id. at 739. Thus, while the Court in Cochran did not ultimately address the merits, its statements
certainly did not foreclose the availability of injunctive relief, and indeed appears to specifically
sanction it.
65. Under the above framework, several courts have held that, where, as here, a
publications, injunctive relief is proper." Eppley v. lacovelli, 2009 U.S. Dist. Lexis 33473, * 13
(S.D. Ind. 2009); International Profit Associates, Inc. v. Paisola, 461 F.Supp.2d 672, 679
(N.D.Il1. 2006) ("[I]t does not violate the principles of the First Amendment to enjoin defendants
from continuing to include certain information on their website that is, on the record before the
Court, demonstrably false and defamatory, and that [Plaintiff] has shown will cause it irreparable
harm and against which it has no adequate remedy at law. "); Blockowicz v. Williams, 675 F. Supp.2d
912 (N.D. Ill. 2009)("After finding Defendants default, the court entered a permanent injunction requiring
them to, among other things, remove their defamatory postings from the websites.")
66. Similarly, here, Wolk has demonstrated that the April 8, 2007 Overlawyered
Blog is totally false. Most importantly, the Overlawyered Defendants now have actual
knowledge that the Blog is false, but they continue to allow the Blog to appear on their website
intentional falsehood, placing their "speech" in a category that is undeserving of the First
Amendment's protections. Thus, Wolk clearly has more than a reasonable likelihood of
IR
68. Moreover, there is no question that Wolk's harm is irreparable, which by
definition, means the "harm that cannot be compensated by money damages." Milicic, 857 A.2d
69. As set forth above, unless the District Court's decision is reversed, Wolk does not
have the ability to be compensated by money damages because his action at law against the
70. Further, like the defendants in the above internet defamation cases, the
Overlawyered Defendants should be ordered to remove their false and defamatory Blog from the
internet in order to prevent the irreparable harm being caused to Wolk's reputation.
71. The harm to Wolk's reputation has been truly monumental. He has been accused
of "selling out his clients" — the worst sin a lawyer can commit. Worse, such false allegations
have been spread over the internet, and now even a "Googling" of Wolk's name by a client, juror
or judge reveals these accusations. The harm from such accusations may never be fully
ascertained.
72. In light of the tremendous irreparable harm to Wolf's reputation, it is clear that
"greater injury will result if the preliminary injunctive relief is denied than if such injunctive
relief is granted." Indeed, granting the injunctive relief by forcing the Overlawyered Defendants
to remove their blog will result in minimal, if any harm, to Defendants since the blog has been
73. Finally, ordering the removal of the Overlayered Blog will also restore the
parties to the status quo that existed immediately before it was posted.
17
D. Expedited Discovery
74. Aside from the injunctive relief concerning the April 8, 2007 Overlawyered Blog,
Wolk is also requesting the Court allow expedited discovery by entering an Order: (1) requiring
the Reason Defendants to disclose all identifying information about the bloggers who have
accused Wolk of the heinous crimes set forth in Exhibit "J" to the Complaint (filed under seal);
and (2) allowing Wolk to propound document requests on defendants and directing the
75. As to the disclosure of the identifying information about the bloggers who
accused Wolk of committing heinous crimes, there is no doubt that Wolk is entitled to such
information. See, e.g., Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg & Ellers, LLP v. JPA Development,
Inc., No. 0425 March Term 2004, 2006 WL 37020 (Pa.C.C.P. Jan. 4, 2006)(ordering the
76. Moreover, this Court routinely grants requests for expedited discovery when
made for the purpose of advancing a petition for preliminary injunction, particularly, where, as
here, the issues are factual and the discovery will aid the parties in presenting the factual issues
to the Court at a preliminary injunction hearing. Sorbee Intl Ltd. v. PNC Bank, N.A., 2002 Phila.
Ct. Corn. Pl. LEXIS 35 (Pa. C.P. 2002)(granting request for expedited discovery for preliminary
injunction motion); In re Portec Rail Prods., 2010 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 157 (Pa.
Memorandum of Law, Plaintiff respectfully requests the Court grant this Petition and enter an
Order as follows:
18
(a) Directing the Reason Defendants to disclose all identifying information of the
anonymous bloggers who accused Plaintiff of committing the heinous crimes set forth
in Exhibit "J" (filed under seal) to the Complaint, which shall include, but not be
email addresses;
(c) Directing the Overlawyered Defendants to immediately remove their April 8, 2007
defamatory blog and to take all necessary steps to remove all "caches" of said blog
from internet search engines, including, but not limited to Google, Yahoo, Bing and
any others.
Respectfully submitted,
By:
George Bochetto, Esquire (27783)
David P. Heim, Esquire (84323)
Tricia Desmarais Clark, Esquire (206004)
19
BOCHETTO & LENTZ, P.C.
By: George Bochetto, Esquire
David P. Heim, Esquire
Tricia Desmarais Clark, Esquire
Attorney I.D. Nos.: 27783, 84323, 206004
1524 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102 Attorneys for Plaintiff,
Ph: (215) 735-3900 Arthur Alan Wolk
Plaintiff,
OCTOBER TERM, 2010
V.
NO. 03053
OVERLAWYERD.COM, et al.
Defendants. EQUITY
Plaintiff, Arthur Alan Wolk ("Wolk"), by and through undersigned counsel, Bochetto &
Lentz, P.C., hereby submits the following memorandum of law in support of his Petition for
Wolk is a prominent aviation lawyer and has been a member of the Bar of this Court
Through this Petition, he seeks equitable relief in the nature of a preliminary injunction,
and Theodore H. Frank, Esquire ("Overlawyered Defendants") to remove a false, malicious and
defamatory blog from the internet initially posted on April 8, 2007. 8 The blog falsely and
maliciously accused Wolk of violating his ethical and fiduciary responsibilities to his clients --
virtually the worst sins a lawyer can be accused of. Specifically, the blog alleged that Wolk sold
out his clients by compromising the settlement value of a case in order to benefit Wolk's (instead
It is undisputed that, prior to posting their defamatory blog, the Overlawyered Defendants
performed no fact checking, interviewed no witnesses, and never contacted any individual
directly involved in the matter, not even Wolk himself, any of whom would have easily provided
irrefutable proof that the defamatory statements in the blog were absolutely false. Indeed,
irrefutable witness statements that the blog's defamatory accusations were completely false and
that Wolk did not sell out his clients to achieve his personal goals in a case. In this regard, Wolk
has repeatedly demanded that the Overlawyered Defendants remove the false and defamatory
blog, but despite being placed on actual notice that the blog's accusations are completely false,
the Overlawyered Defendants have neither removed the defamatory blog from their website nor
Now, Wolk seeks to invoke this Court's equitable remedies to compel the removal of the
defamatory blog because he has no alternative legal remedy. Recently, on August 2, 2010, the
United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in Wolk v. Olson, et al., Civ.
Action No. No. 2:09-CV-4001, held the discovery rule did not apply to toll the statute of
6
The false and defamatory April 8, 2007 Overlawyered blog is attached as Exhibit A to the
Verified Complaint, which is attached to this Petition as Exhibit "l."
2
limitations for Wolk's legal claim for defamation, despite the fact that Wolk filed suit a few
weeks after he discovered the defamatory blog. Refusing to apply the discovery rule, the District
Court dismissed Wolk's legal claims under Pennsylvania's one year statute of limitations.9
Thus, in light of the District Court's ruling, Wolk is left without any legal recourse to recover the
While Wolk has appealed the District Court's decision, in the meantime, the false and
the cyber-world through search engine rankings and other related defamatory blog "chatter," and
fact, after Wolk filed his lawsuit in the District Court, the Overlawyered Defendants appear to
have manipulated their blog such that whenever someone performs a "Google" search on
"Arthur Wolk," the first thing that appears is Overlawyered's defamatory blog -- which was not
the case prior to the inception of Wolk's lawsuit in the District Court. 10 Even worse, since the
District Court rendered its decision, another blog website, www.reason.com , which is a co-
partner with the Overlawyered site, re-published Overlawyered's April 8, 2007 blog and posted
new defamatory blogs concerning Wolk, inciting what can only be described as a blogging
feeding frenzy where anonymous bloggers on www.reason.com have accused Wolk of the most
A copy of the District Court's August 2, 2010 Memorandum is attached as Exhibit "E" to
Plaintiff's Verified Complaint.
10
A copy of a page from a "Google" search on "Arthur Wolk," reflecting the Overlawyered
blog number one ranking is attached hereto as Exhibit "2."
11
True and correct copies of the "blogging" comments on www.reason.com , a blog site
affiliated with Overlawyered, are filed under seal with the Complaint as Exhibit "J." Due to the
egregious nature of the accusations, Wolk feels it necessary to file the comments under seal in
3
In sum, the removal of the Overlawyered blog from the internet is the only way Wolk can
protect himself from the ongoing irreparable harm to his reputation. The limited injunctive relief
Wolk is seeking is necessary and appropriate. Wolk has no adequate legal remedy in light of the
District Court's decision, and the evidence overwhelmingly shows that Overlawyered, despite
having actual knowledge that the defamatory blog is false, refuses to remove the blog from its
website. Accordingly, through this Petition, Wolk invokes this Court's equitable jurisdiction
requesting the Court enter preliminary injunctive relief ordering the Overlawyered Defendants to
Whether greater injury will result from refusing the injunction than from granting
it?
order to protect what is left of his reputation. While Reason has complied with Wolk's demands
and removed such despicable blogging comments from its website, Reason has refused to
remove other, additional defamatory blogs and has not complied with Plaintiff's demands to
provide the necessary identifying information for the anonymous bloggers who accused Wolk of
committing criminal conduct. As part of this Petition, Wolk is also seeking expedited discovery,
forcing Reason and its affiliated organizations and foundations to produce identifying
information for the anonymous bloggers who accused Wolk of committing these heinous crimes.
2
4. Whether the preliminary injunction will properly restore the parties to the status
quo?
5. Whether expedited discovery is necessary to aid the parties in preparing for and
Wolk is 67 years old, and he has been a prominent member of the Bar of this Court for
forty-one years, the majority of which time Wolk has dedicated his professional career to
As Wolk's age might suggest, while he can send and receive emails and use computers
for limited purposes, he is far from a sophisticated computer user and, until recently, was not
knowledgeable about the internet and the use of search engines like Google, Yahoo, or any
others. See Id. at ¶ 20. None of Wolk's computers had "Google" as its default search engine.
In April 2009, however, Wolk attended a CLE given by judges of the Court of Common
Pleas of Philadelphia. See Id. at ¶ 22. In that CLE, the judges suggested to lawyers in
attendance that they should "Google" themselves since it was likely that jurors and judges do.
See Id. at ¶ 23. That night, Wolk went home, "Googled" himself and found -- for the first time --
a blog on a website called www.overlawyered.com related to Taylor v. Teldyne, No. Civ. Action
1:00-CV-1741-J (N.D. Ga.), a federal case where Wolk's law firm represented victims of an
airplane crash. The blog falsely accused Wolk of selling out his clients in the Taylor case by
5
compromising the value of a settlement in exchange for having the court vacate a prior discovery
Once he saw the blog, Wolk immediately notified the Overlawyered Defendants that it
was completely false, and demanded that it be removed from the internet. Despite Wolk's
demands, Overlawyered refused to remove the blog or issue a retraction. See Complaint at ¶¶
As Wolk informed the Overlawyered Defendants, the blog was rife with absolute
n
First, Wolk did not even personally handle the discovery in the Taylor case, and thus the
order critical of Wolk's conduct during discovery in the Taylor case was issued in error. See Id.
at ¶ 28. Moreover, the Taylor case was settled with no involvement from Wolk, and the
plaintiffs in the Taylor case had additional counsel other than Wolk, who independently
reviewed all aspects of the settlement making sure the plaintiffs in Taylor were well served,
received full value in the settlement and were completely satisfied with the result. Indeed, the
plaintiffs in Taylor received a settlement that far exceeded the value previously placed on the
case by an independent mediator. See Complaint at ¶ 28. Most importantly, the Taylor case
was settled before Wolk even requested the Court vacate the mistaken discovery order, which
Aside from Wolk himself informing Overlawyered as to the falsity of its blog, two
independent lawyers directly involved in the Taylor case, Jason T. Schneider, Esquire and John
Kevin Griffin, Esquire, wrote separate letters to Overlawyered's counsel, confirming the blog
was false. See Complaint at ¶ 31, Exhibit "C," Griffin Letter, Exhibit "D," Schneider Letter.
In this regard, Attorney Griffin, who was counsel for one of the two plaintiffs in Taylor,
informed Overlawyered that the blog's statements that the settlement was somehow
"compromised" in exchange for vacating the critical discovery order was "entirely false" as there
was "never consideration given or a quid pro quo offered for vacating the order." Indeed, as
Griffin explained, the settlement was already reached before the Court vacated the discovery
Likewise, Attorney Schneider, who was also counsel in the Taylor case, also informed
Overlawyered that the settlement had been reached before the Court vacated the discovery order,
7
and that the settlement amount actually exceeded independent valuations of the case. As Mr.
Schneider explained,
Thus, Wolk provided the Overlawyered Defendants with all of the foregoing facts and
information, which conclusively proved that: (a) he did not sell out his clients; (b) he never had
a "conflict of interest"; (c) he fully disclosed all aspects of the case and settlement to his clients
and other plaintiffs' counsel, all of whom independently reviewed and approved of the
value; and (d) he absolutely did not compromise the client's interest in the settlement in
exchange for vacating the court's discovery order since the case was settled before the Court
Although the Overlawyered Defendants never bothered to check the facts before posting
the blog, once Wolk provided Overlawyered with the actual, true facts, the Overlawyered
Defendants knew what was contained in their April 8, 2007 blog was false. See Id. ¶ 35. The
Overlawyered Defendants nevertheless refused to remove the false blog, thereby continuing to
publish the blog with actual knowledge of its falsehoods. See Id. ¶ 36.
Since the Overlawyered Defendants refused to remove the lies they posted, Wolk was
forced to file an action at law in this Court, which the Overlawyered Defendants removed to the
Federal District Court on diversity grounds. On August 2, 2010, the District Court granted the
Overlawyered Defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss, ruling that, despite Wolk having no
8
reason to discover the defamatory blog until April 2009, Pennsylvania's "discovery rule" did not
apply to toll the one-year statute of limitations. See Id at ¶ 38, Exhibit "E," 8/2/10 District Court
Memo. Opinion.
Although the District Court's decision is currently on appeal in the Third Circuit, in the
meantime, Wolk has been forced out of court, without an adequate remedy at law, and the
Overlawyered Defendants continue to allow the false blog to remain on their website even
though they know the allegations are categorically false. See Id. at ¶ 39.
After the District Court dismissed Wolk's damages claim on statute of limitations
blogging chatter further defaming Wolk, which included enlisting the participation of various
Each of these websites appear to monitor and promote the other, forming a type of co-
partnering relationship, whereby blogs and comments published on one website trigger the others
to re-publish the same comments and make other comments, thereby creating a swell of
defamatory statements compounding the impact of the initial defamation. See Id. at ¶ 41.
In this regard, on August 6, 2010, a few days after the District Court's decision, Frank,
the author of the initial April 8, 2007 Overlawyered blog, posted another defamatory blog on
12
To their credit, Popehat.com and Law.com removed their republications and comments
when the same information Wolk supplied to Overlawyered was supplied to them.
E
42, Exhibit "F," 8/6/06 Frank www.PointofLaw.com blog. Frank's PointofLaw blog addressed
the decision in Wolk v. Olson as a victory for "bloggers everywhere," and summarized Wolk's
arguments in the District Court, stating Wolk "argued that the statute shouldn't start to run until
the plaintiff reads (or, de facto, claims to have read) the blog post." See Id. By characterizing
Wolk's allegations in the District Court as "de facto claims," Frank was once again defaming
Wolk by directly implying that Wolk lied in his court filings as to the timing of when he read the
In an effort to further incite even more defamatory internet blogging, Frank, on his
PointofLaw blog, referred to other co-partnership blog websites such as www.reason.com and
www.popehat.com, which contained additional false and defamatory statements about Wolk.
See Id. at ¶ 45, Exhibit "F," PointofLaw blog (referring to "Extensive must-read analysis by
Jacob Sullum at Reason."). For example, the blog on www.reason.com to which Frank referred
was posted by Defendant Sullum on August 6, 2010, and it was entitled "Lawyer trying to
protect his reputation as an Effective Advocate Misses Deadline for His Libel Suit." See Id. at ¶
46, Exhibit "G," Reason 8/6/10 blog. The title of the August 6, 2010 Reason blog was clearly
defamatory in that it intended to and did falsely imply that Wolk was an incompetent lawyer
because he missed the deadline for his own lawsuit. See Id. at ¶ 47.
Further, in his August 6, 2010 Reason blog, Sullum also implied that Wolk was lying in
the District Court about not Googling himself until April 2009, and further implied that Wolk
was guilty of filing a previous frivolous lawsuit by "bully[ing] an aviation news website into a
Most significantly, Sullum's August 6, 2010 Reason blog republished almost the entirety
of the utterly false and defamatory April 8, 2007 Overlawyered blog, and thus again accused
10
Wolk of breaching his ethical and fiduciary duties by selling out his client's interest in the Taylor
Not to be outdone, on August 9, 2010, three days after the defamatory PointofLaw and
Reason blogs, Overlawyered, through Defendant Olson, published its own blog concerning the
District Court's decision in Wolk v. Olson, which again touted the decision as a victory for free
speech. Significantly, Olson's blog referred readers back to Frank's defamatory August 6, 2010
blog posted on PointofLaw.com. See Id. at ¶ 50, Exhibit "H," 8/9/10 Overlawyered Blog.
When Wolk was alerted of the defamatory August 6, 2010 Reason blog, he immediately
sent notice to the Reason Defendants, demanding that they remove the defamatory blog since it
re-published the initial April 8, 2007 Overlawyered blog as well as completely new false and
defamatory statements. See Id. at ¶ 51. The Reason Defendants, predictably, refused to remove
their blog. Instead, to further impugn Wolk, on September 16, 2010, Reason, through Sullum,
published a second blog entitled "Who You Calling Touchy?," in which Reason published a
portion of Wolk's demand letter for the sole purpose of inciting additional defamatory comments
from Reason's bloggers. See Id. at ¶ 52, Exhibit "I," 9/16/10 Reason Blog. As a result, a thread
outrageously defamatory statements, which included accusations that Wolk has committed the
most heinous of crimes. See id at ¶ 53, Exhibit "J," 9/16/10 Reason Blog with reader comments
(filed under seal). The Reason Defendants knew exactly what they were inciting in publishing
their blog "Who You Calling Touchy?," and intended to incite the defamatory feeding frenzy
that ensued, knowing that it would be picked up by Google and other internet search engines.
11
As a result, Wolk, a respected lawyer, father of two and grandfather has been shamelessly
and falsely accused of the most heinous crimes imaginable. See Id. at ¶ 55.
Wolk immediately demanded that the Reason Defendants remove the defamatory blog
and its comments, and produce the identifying information of the anonymous bloggers who
hideously libeled Wolk on their site. See Id. at ¶ 56. While the Reason Defendants eventually
removed the bloggers' hideous comments, they still refused to remove the blog articles
themselves, and further ignored Wolk's request for the information identifying the anonymous
Further, although the Reason Defendants "removed" the bloggers' comments from its
sites, because search engines like Google "cache" or store historical information from blogs and
websites, to this day one can still find the "cached" comments through Google and other search
engines. See Id. at ¶ 58, Exhibit "K," Google search of Wolk (filed under seal); Exhibit "L,"
IV. ARGUMENT
Milicic v. Basketball Mktg. Co., 857 A.2d 689 (Pa. Super. 2004). All of these elements are clearly
satisfied here.
12
B. Wolk's Requested Preliminary Injunction Is Not a "Prior Restraint"
To be clear, Wolk is not asking the Court to preliminarily enjoin future conduct of
the Overlaweryed Defendants such that the requested injunctive relief would be a "prior
restraint" on their right to free speech. Rather, Wolk is merely seeking a preliminary injunction
which applies to past, illegal conduct by ordering the removal of the defamatory blog that was
posted over three years ago in April 2007. Thus, as more fully explained herein, Wolk's
requested relief does not run afoul of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision in Willing v.
In Willing, a disgruntled client of a law firm picketed outside the firm's offices carrying a
"sandwich-board" sign stating the firm "stole money from me" and "sold me out to the insurance
company." 393 A.2d at 156. The trial court, sitting in equity, permanently enjoined the client
from "further unlawful demonstration .... [such as] carrying placards which contain defamatory
and libelous statements." Id. The Superior Court narrowed the injunction to only prohibit
future demonstrations concerning the specific defamatory statements at issue, but it otherwise
The Supreme Court, however, reversed. The Court based its ruling on two key findings.
First, the Court found that because the injunction enjoined future conduct it was a "classic
example of a prior restraint on speech," which the Pennsylvania Constitution would not permit.
Id. at 1159. Second, the Court also noted that equity should not intervene because, even though
the client was indigent, the law firm had an adequate remedy at law in that it could sue for
money damages. As Justice Roberts noted in his concurring opinion, "[m]oney damages are
adequate to recompense the plaintiffs for any losses they have suffered as a consequence of the
13
defendant's defamatory publication. Thus, it was improper to grant equitable relief based on
Clearly, the equitable relief requested by Wolk is not of the same type precluded by the
Supreme Court in Willing. Unlike Willing, Wolk is not asking the Court to enjoin future
conduct. The law firm in Willing sought to enjoin its former client from continuing her
defamatory protest in the future, whereas Wolk is merely asking the Court to order the
Overlawyered Defendants to remove a defamatory posting that was published over two years
ago. In other words, if an injunction issues ordering the Overlawyered Defendants to remove its
defamatory blog, the injunction would not prohibit future conduct, even the re-publishing of the
blog. 13 Thus, Wolk's narrowly tailored requested relief is not the type of "prior restraint"
addressed in Willing.
Moreover, unlike Willing, Wolk has no adequate remedy at law since the District Court
has precluded his claim for money damages under the statute of limitations. In light of the
District Court's ruling, Wolk is left without any legal recourse to recover the traditional
monetary award for Overlawyered's malicious defamation. Thus, unlike the plaintiff in Willing,
Wolk does not have money damages available to him with respect to Overlawyered's April 8,
2007 defamatory blog. It is therefore appropriate — indeed absolutely necessary — for equity to
intervene in this case to provide Wolk with some remedy to protect his reputation, which is being
completely destroyed.
13
Of course, if the Overlawyered Defendants chose to republish the blog, they would be
subjecting themselves to an action at law since such a republishing would likely trigger a new
cause of action and new statute of limitations. See Dominiak v. Nat'l Enquirer, 266 A.2d 626,
629 (Pa. 1970)("the plaintiff may choose any publication as the single publication which
represents his single cause of action.")
14
C. Wolk Satisfies All Elements of Injunctive Relief
As set forth above, the April 8, 2007 Overlawyered Blog is part of an intentional and
malicious smear campaign, and thus it is absolutely appropriate and necessary for the Court to
enter injunctive relief ordering the removal of the false and defamatory Blog.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution does not preclude the requested injunctive
relief. While generally courts proceed cautiously when asked to enjoin speech, it is also well
settled that not all speech is afforded the same protection under the First Amendment.
Specifically, there is "no constitutional value in false statements of fact." Gertz v. Robert
Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 338 (1974); see also Air Lines Pilots Assn, Intern. v. Dept. of
Aviation of City of Chicago, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15863, 1993 WL 462834 (N.D. Ill. 1993)
("That defamatory speech is entitled to only limited protection under the First Amendment is
well-known hornbook law.") Intentional lies do not materially advance society's interest in
"uninhibited, robust, and wide-open" debate on public issues. See New York Times Co. v.
Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 265 (1964). Rather, falsehoods belong to that category of utterances that
"are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to
truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest
in order and morality." Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568, 572 (1942); Ashcroft v.
Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234, 245-46 (2002) ("The freedom of speech has its limits; it
Indeed, the United States Supreme Court recently provided some insight on the
availability of injunctions against a defendant's defamatory speech in Tory v. Cochran, 544 U.S.
734 (2005), where the famous lawyer Johnnie Cochran obtained a permanent injunction against a
former client, prohibiting the client from continuing to defame him. Although the Court in
15
Cochran dissolved the injunction on the limited basis that the injunction lost its "underlying
rationale" since Cochran died while the case was on appeal, the Court nevertheless remanded to
the District Court so Cochran's estate could be substituted as a party. In so doing, the Court
noted that "[i]f, as the Cochran supplemental brief suggests, injunctive relief may still be
warranted, any appropriate party remains free to ask for such relief." Id. at 739. Thus, while the
Court in Cochran did not ultimately address the merits, its statements certainly did not foreclose
the availability of injunctive relief, and indeed appears to specifically sanction it.
Under the above framework, several courts have held that, where, as here, a defendant
injunctive relief is proper." Eppley v. lacovelli, 2009 U.S. Dist. Lexis 33473, * 13 (S.D. Ind.
2009); International Profit Associates, Inc. v. Paisola, 461 F.Supp.2d 672, 679 (N.D.Ill. 2006)
("[I]t does not violate the principles of the First Amendment to enjoin defendants from
continuing to include certain information on their website that is, on the record before the Court,
demonstrably false and defamatory, and that [Plaintiff] has shown will cause it irreparable harm
and against which it has no adequate remedy at law."); Blockowicz v. Williams, 675 F. Supp.2d 912
(N.D. I11.2009) ("After finding Defendants default, the court entered a permanent injunction requiring
them to, among other things, remove their defamatory postings from the websites.")
Similarly, here, Wolk has demonstrated that the April 8, 2007 Overlawyered Blog is
totally false. Most importantly, the Overlawyered Defendants now have actual knowledge that
the Blog is false, but they continue to allow the Blog to appear on their website and have refused
Wolk's repeated demands to remove it. Accordingly, the Overlawyered Defendants' conduct in
this regard amounts to an intentional falsehood, placing their "speech" in a category that is
16
undeserving of the First Amendment's protections. Thus, Wolk clearly has more than a
means the "harm that cannot be compensated by money damages." Milicic, 857 A.2d 689 (Pa.
Super. 2004). As set forth above, unless the District Court's decision is reversed, Wolk does not
have the ability to be compensated by money damages because his action at law against the
Further, like the defendants in the above internet defamation cases, the Overlawyered
Defendants should be ordered to remove their false and defamatory Blog from the internet in
order to prevent the irreparable harm being caused to Wolk's reputation. The harm to Wolk's
reputation has been truly monumental. He has been accused of "selling out his clients" — the
worst sin a lawyer can commit. Worse, such false allegations have been spread over the internet,
and now even a "Googling" of Wolk's name by a client, juror or judge reveals these accusations.
In light of the tremendous irreparable harm to Wolf's reputation, it is clear that "greater
injury will result if the preliminary injunctive relief is denied than if such injunctive relief is
granted." Indeed, granting the injunctive relief by forcing the Overlawyered Defendants to
remove their blog will result in minimal, if any harm, to Defendants since the blog has been
Finally, ordering the removal of the Overlayered Blog will also restore the parties to the
17
D. Expedited Discovery
Aside from the injunctive relief concerning the April 8, 2007 Overlawyered Blog, Wolk
is also requesting the Court allow expedited discovery by entering an Order: (1) requiring the
Reason Defendants to disclose all identifying information about the bloggers who have accused
Wolk of heinous crimes; and (2) allowing Wolk to propound document requests on defendants
and directing the defendants to appear depositions within fifteen (15) days.
As to the disclosure of the identifying information about the bloggers who accused Wolk
of committing heinous crimes, there is no doubt that Wolk is entitled to such information. See,
e.g., Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg & Ellers, LLP v. JPA Development, Inc., No. 0425
March Term 2004, 2006 WL 37020 (Pa.C.C.P. Jan. 4, 2006)(ordering the production of
Moreover, this Court routinely grants requests for expedited discovery when made for the
purpose of advancing a petition for preliminary injunction, particularly, where, as here, the issues
are factual and the discovery will aid the parties in presenting the factual issues to the Court at a
preliminary injunction hearing. Sorbee Intl Ltd. v. PNC Bank, N.A., 2002 Phila. Ct. Corn. Pl.
LEXIS 35 (Pa. C.P. 2002)(granting request for expedited discovery for preliminary injunction
motion); In re Portec Rail Prods., 2010 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 157 (Pa. County Ct.
201 0)(same).
For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff respectfully requests the Court grant this Petition
(d) Directing the Reason Defendants to disclose all identifying information of the
18
identified in the Exhibit "J" to the Complaint filed under seal, which shall include, but
(f) Directing the Overlawyered Defendants to immediately remove their April 8, 2007
defamatory blog and to take all necessary steps to remove all "caches" of said blog
from internet search engines, including, but not limited to Google, Yahoo, Bing and
any others.
Respectfully submitted,
By:
George Bochetto, Esquire
David P. Heim, Esquire
Tricia Desmarais Clark, Esquire
19
VERIFICATION
I, Arthur Alan Wolk, Esquire, verify that the statements made in the Petition for
Preliminary Injunction and Expedited Discovery are, to the best of my knowledge, true and
correct. I understand that false statements made herein are subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.
Date Arthur Alan Wolk, Esquire
^ ^
EXHIBIT
Page 1 of 6
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Overlawyered
Chronicling the high cost of our legal system
Related posts
Mr. Frank:
I have just seen the false and disparaging statements made about on your web site or better said the
web said managed, supervised and promoted by those who would deny consumers all rights to sue
companies that manufacture defective products, the American Enterprise Institute, a web site run by
and for defense lawyers and manufacturers and which by your lead at least made absolutely no effort to
investigate the facts.
You don't mention the fact that for example you worked for at least two defense firms against which I
have been extremely successful thus your pique over me appears to be related more to my beating your
clients backsides than any umbrage over some undefined legal transgression. Absent from your bio is
any description of any success anywhere on any subject and with any law firm of substance so it
therefore must be easy for you to tear down someone who has a had a forty year success record against
the likes of you. Absent from your tirade is my forty years of success and my hundreds and hundreds of
cases with not a critical word by a lawyer or a judge.
But more important to me is your false commentary on the Taylor case and your outright libelous
statements that make me look like I sold out my clients in that case for a retraction of a false discovery
order. Had you investigated the facts you would have seen that it was my firm that made complete
discovery and the defense none. In fact it was because the court looked so foolish with nothing to back
up her vitriol that she vacated that order and for no other reason.
I have never sold out my clients ever and never will but I will fight to protect my name against people
like you who hide behind some phony title like "scholar" bestowed upon yourself. What did the Taylor
case settle for? Who were the heirs and what were their damages? What was the liability defense and
what were the facts against Teledyne. How many plaintiffs' death verdicts had ever been allowed out of
that judge's courtroom? What were the damages recoverable under Georgia law? What considerations
as to liability and damages did I make before recommending settlement. What potential for proofs of
contributory conduct or even sole causation by immune persons such as the pilots' employer were there
as in bad maintenance? What steps did I take to ensure that the settlement was fair and reasonable and
like other settlements or even better for similar circumstances in Georgia? Did I contact other Georgia
lawyers for their views?
The IIt`' circuit affirmed the trial court's decision not to hold be in contempt, not to award counsel fees,
and not to reinstate the false discovery order. That affirmance had nothing to do with the underlying
Taylor case at all so you even got that wrong.
Kindly provide full and complete answers to these questions in writing within twenty-four hours and yes
I will sue you for defamation. I know you never contacted me to get answers to these questions so let's
learn whom you spoke to.
I will check to see if your late firms represented Teledyne in anything. I know Kirtland and Ellis
represented Pratt and Whitney unsuccessfully against me at least once and maybe more. I am
attempting to see if you were involved in that debacle.
You see Mr. Frank, if you are going to libel someone you need to understand the facts first and the law
and also understand the person you are libeling. This was a big mistake.
By copy of this e-mail I am requesting my counsel, Paul Rosen to immediately institute a lawsuit against
you and your organization. When we learn who your contributors are we will sue each and every one of
them against whom I have had cases or who motivated you to continue the defense generated effort to
damage my reputation.
Also by copy of this e-mail I am requesting counsel for Teledyne to set you straight because if I find they
had anything to do with these lies I'll sue them too.
I demand that you immediately remove this and every other article about me from your website. What
you wrote is false, shows a complete disregard for the facts and malice, an intent to harm me when you
couldn't beat me in court and an effort to destroy the perception of potential clients who would read
this and fail to hire me. You have accused me of unethical conduct, fraud and the commission of a crime
none of which is true. This is clearly the reason I have found it extremely difficult to gain new business.
You will soon find the same.
Re: Defamation
Dear Mr. Onufrak:
I was just sent the article that your clients published about my client's settlement implying
that her interest was compromised in order for Arthur Wolk to get a discovery order vacated.
(Wolk settled the underlying case, Taylor v. Teledyne, No. CIV.A.1 :00-CV-1741-J (N.D. Ga.), on
the condition that the order criticizing him be vacated).
I was asked by Mr. Wolk to send you a letter so you could inform your clients of the
continuing falsity of this statement in their article, which I understand still appears on the
internet. That statement is entirely false. My name and contact information can be found on
the case docket but your clients didn't attempt to contact me although they could have easily
reached me for a comment or verification before publishing this false statement.
There was no selling out or compromising the interests of my client or the Taylors, and any
contrary suggestion is not true. To suggest that Mr. Wolk did so is to suggest that I let it happen. I
would urge your clients to be very careful about publishing such a false accusation by implication
against me and directly against Mr Wolk.
I represented Ann Mauvais in the case of Taylor, et al vs. Teledyne, et al. My law firm in
Pensacola, Florida was the original firm representing her. The firm of Wolk and Genter assumed
the representation of Ms. Mauvais during the Taylor proceedings, which I monitored. The
discovery in the case was handled by Philip Ford and Catherine Slavin, not Mr. Wolk. I was aware
of the discovery order critical of Mr. Wolk individually by name.
Settlement negotiations in the case were handled for us by Richard Genter, not Arthur Wolk,
and since the defendants' recommended a settlement figure that was too low Richard Genter
rejected it for us and pushed for and obtained a settlement figure hundreds of thousands of
dollars more than the settlement number originally recommended. My client was totally satisfied
with the settlement figure obtained by Richard Genter and the overall pursuit of her claim against
Teledyne et al.
There was a delay in receiving the settlement funds because Teledyne delayed in furnishing us a
proposed release for signature. In the mean time Mr. Wolk contacted us and requested a few days
to address vacating the discovery order identifying him individually. I conferred with my client and
she agreed to the brief extension of time. So the point I'm conveyingto you is the very satisfactory
settlement figure obtained by Richard Genter for my client had already been agreed upon and the
delay in receiving the actual funds was the result of a delay in receiving the proposed release from
the Teledyne defendants.
In the interim, between the negotiated settlement where the settlement figure had already
been reached and the time for receiving the proposed release from Teledyne for review and
signature, the Court agreed to vacate its discovery order. There was never consideration given
or a quid pro quo, as implied in your clients' article, offered for vacating the order. Had your
clients contacted me before publishing I would have told them what I am telling you, I would
not have allowed such a thing to occur as they have stated and implied in the article. I would
have warned them not to publish it because it was false.
1 hn Kevin Grif
My name is Jason Schneider. I am an attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. I acted as local counsel for the
law firm of Wolk and Genter in the case of Taylor vs. Teledyne.
Arthur Wolk sent me your clients' article claiming that the Taylor clients' claims were compromised
so Mr. Wolk could get a critical discovery order vacated. That article and its implications are entirely false.
I attended the mediation along with Richard Genter. Mr. Wolk was not present or consulted by
phone during the mediation. Nor was he involved in discovery in that case to my knowledge except for a
conference call with the court regarding a discovery dispute between the parties.
A settlement was reached and concluded with a release and the clients never indicated to me they
were dissatisfied with the outcome. It was only after the settlement had been agreed to, that Mr. Wolk
asked for a one week delay to ask the court to vacate the order. There is no question in my mind that the
settlements reached were completely separate from any request to vacate the discovery order. The
settlements reached were also well in excess of any sums offered at the mediation. Therefore, to say "it
appears" that the clients' interests were somehow compromised to get the discovery order vacated is wrong.
Arthur asked me to write this letter to put you and your clients on notice that what they said is false
and it continues to be false on the Overlawyered website. What your clients' article means is I allowed this
to happen, and I can assure you and your clients that they are wrong.
My name was on that docket and all they had to do was call me and I could have dispelled their
notion before it ever made it to print. They, to this day, have never contacted me to get the facts straight.
MEMORANDUM
Supreme Court would apply the discovery rule to toll the statute
ground that the case was not brought within the statute of
limitations grounds.
Case 2:09-cv-04001-MAM Document 36 Filed 08/02/10 Page 2 of 8
I. The Complaint
Compl. 5 38.
9[ 49.
11. Analysis
Fishbein, Sedran & Berman, 38 F.3d 1380, 1385 n.1 (3d Cir. 1994);
n.2 (3d Cir. 1993). The statute began to run from the time of
injured and by what cause." Fine v. Checcio, 870 A.2d 850, 858
(Pa. 2005). The plaintiff claims that the discovery rule should
defamation.
cases •to support his position. The plaintiff reads these cases
injury and its cause at the time his right to institute suit
r]
Case 2:09-cv-04001-MAM Document 36 Filed 08/02/10 Page 5 of 8
this that the discovery rule should apply to "any case," the
at 860.
action accrues. 964 A.2d 354, 363 (Pa. 2009). Because the
accrual occurs and the statute begins to run. 42 Pa. Cons. Stat.
v. Brown, 701 A.2d 164, 167 (Pa. 1997). Taken in their totality,
Fine and Wilson agree that not all cases are worthy of the
discovery rule. Worthy cases are those pertaining to hard-to-
discern injuries.
readers.
or ancient the injury may be, then the discovery rule will have
(E.D. Pa. 1995) (holding that the discovery rule could not apply
6
Case 2:09-cv-04001-MAM Document 36 Filed 08/02/10 Page 7 of 8
Rinsley v. Brandt, 446 F. Supp. 850, 852-53 (D. Kan. 1977) ("We
would not apply the discovery rule where the defamation is made a
Weekly, Inc., 785 A.2d 296, 299 (D.C. 2001) ("[E]very other court
7
Case 2:09-cv-04001-MAM Document 36 Filed 08/02/10 Page 8 of 8
Assoc'd Press, 519 N.E.2d 1304, 1307 (Ma. 1988) ("The discovery
v. AiResearch Mfg. Co. of Ariz. Inc., 673 P.2d 984, 986-87 (Az.
Inc. v. Dun & Bradstreet, Inc., 334 N.E.2d 160, 164 (Ii. 1975)
law, the discovery rule does not apply to toll the statute of
8
CaseC&@662M-crD A^0,1eldtAQ1)3D.@2 aZU37 PEded'D8/02Mi H31ede018lf39V2010
ORDER
held on June 24, 2010, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that, for the reasons
Dismiss is GRANTED.
BY THE COURT:
FORUM FEATURED DISCUSSIONS POL COLUMNS LEGAL EXPERTS ARTICLES BOOKS PODCASTS LINKS MASTHEAD ADVANCED SEARCH
FORUM CATEGORIES:
Miscellaneous
« ANTI-PROP 8. ANTI-PERRY. SOCIAL SCIENCE AND THE CONSTITUTION >> I
..................................................................................................................................................... .. .......................................................................................... ............. ......................................
LA.u ..^_u s t6.c_ 10 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Update, 5:05 PM August 6: Extensive must-read analysis by Jacob Sullum at Reason; further
commentary and coverage at Popehat; DBKP; Instapundit; and Phil. Bus. J..
POSTED BY TED FRANK AT 8:53 AM I TRACKBACK (0)
Tags:blogs , First Amendment , libel , Pennsylvania , statute of limitations , watch what you say about lawyers
CJLJP
http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/2010/08/arthur-alan-wol.php 8/12/2010
EXHIBIT
• .: to Protect His Reputation. As an. E.cth
'.iflg
Advocate Misses Deadline for this Libel Suit
iaoh. S.üilum igus.t 6, zoi
Qnpril 8 ;7;Overtq,.. ve red wiiter . Frankjog.abaut:an
aviation attorney named Arthur Alan Woik, prompted by an item
on another legal blog about the dsmssal of a richculous lawsuit
Wolk had flIed Frank's summary of Wolks case "Judge wntes
scathing opinion about attoiney opponent attorney mails opinion
to client, losing attorney suesother attorney for defamation "Frank
noted that when Wolk settled th,e otiglnal case (the one that gave
rise to the judicial iebuke), one condition was suppression of that
embairassing opinion Frank suggested this demand created a
conflict of Interest
This was irotWçik's atappearanceajt Q1ye,!. A 2002 pt' note . heha ised a
defamation suit to bully an aviation news website into a 9a thoroughly abject capitulation and
apology" for eritkizi.ng a $480 million verdict he had won from Cessna The appeasenient
unluded an atonishing promise not to "charitcterlze matters in such a way as to bring appal ent
dicrebt upon anyone,"lest auth cliaracterizationa instigate other people to commit libel M
Overlawyered put it, "The consequences of such a formula for the futare of bard-hittmg
journalism can be unagrnecL" The post concluded.. "Among the Iesons many observers will dtaw,
thidU betbe c:ld l: tb
IJ District Judge Mary McLauglihn did not question the plausibibty of this stoly, which
egests that notoriously sensitive lawyei. who had sued over oihne cilticism back in 2001 did
not thinl of Gçogftng his own name until he learned about this esoteric technique in 2009, But in
a decision (PDF) issued the week, she dismissed Wolk's suit, ruhng that under Pennsylvania law
plaintiffs can escape the one-year limit only f the alleged defamation was chfftcult to discover—
e g, because it occurred in a credit report or a confidential memorandum McLauhlm said that
exeptiqn 4" .0s not apply if the offending statement was published in a "mass medium" such as a
websit thati well-known among attorneys and. that "attracts more than 9000 unique daily
. jntei ôfthouand fiars and ether professionals."
vis.j1jr, :'(tlij.d
In a seflse, then, Frank, Olson, and Niepotent were savedby the consplcuousness of the forum ir
which they dissed Wolk Even if Wolk hdnotxnised thedeadline, it seems likely hewould have
lost the case, since the comments to which he objected are a constitutionally protected
combination of fact and opinion But before losing, he would have succeeded in punisjnng Ids
O.A.tics by mflicnng the anxiety, inconvenience, and cost of litigation on them One really wishes
courts would do amore to protect the First Amendment rights of writers who offend rich people
thtInfl J{iU.
Law corn reports that "Wolk has already filed a notice of appeal to challenge McLaughlin's
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Overlawyered
While I was away in recent days, a news story about this site drew wide coverage in the press. U.S.
District Judge Mary McLaughlin last week dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Philadelphia
aviation lawyer Arthur Alan Wolk against me, Overlawyered, and co-bloggers Ted Frank and David
Nieporent over a blog post that Ted published on this site in 2007. Judge McLaughlin ruled (PDF) that
the claim was time-barred, notwithstanding Wolk's argument that the operation of the statute of
limitations should have been stayed based on his claim that he was unaware of the post until 2009, when
he says he first performed a Google search on his own name.
The judge's dismissal of the suit was covered in Law.com/The Legal Intelligencer, the ABA Journal,
Legal_Ethics Forum, and many other blogs and publications well known to our readers. All of us are
grateful to attorneys Michael N. Onufrak and Siobhan K. Cole of White and Williams in Philadelphia,
who representedus. Had the judge not ruled in our favor on the threshold statute of limitations issue, we
are confident that we would have prevailed based on the post's protected status under the First
Amendment. Wolk has filed a notice of appeal in the action.
For readers' protection as well as our own, we are obliged to discourage discussion in our comments
section about these developments. We regret the curtailment of free controversy. More: Ted._at Point_of
Law.
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September 16, 2010
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Hit B,Ran-Biog Last month l wrote a t;,, — criticizing a lawyer Art ur Alan Work, who has been known to sue
people fm-criticizing him online. Guess what happened? Wolk recently emailed tile, threatening to
Daily Brickbats
site inc and Reason unless I delete the post:
Podcasts
RSS Feeds Remove it because it is false and you get a flee pass. 1f yell don't 1 will sue you because you
like your buds at Overlmvyered did clothing to fact check anything before you wroteyour
Advertise
blog. In fact had you read my lawsuit you would have known that what you were about to
SubscrlberServices publish and republish was false but instead you recklessly failed to do anything to verify if
Donate what coo were writing about had any merit or tnith whatsoever. Guess what, you need to
check the statute of limitations because it won't apply to yon. i am giving von the
Reason Stuff
oppaltnnih' you didn't give me, and set the record straight and to do the right thing.
Events Please remove your lies from the intcrnet.
Submissions
Gus false and defamatory publication jeopardizes Reason.com's foundation status and I
Contact ha
have al r eady retained tax counsel to challenge the tax exempt status of all these public
interest organizations who are nothing more than lobbyists for tort reform, a violation of
the to exempt status they claim. If you think for even a n foment that my forty-one years
of practice will he defined by lies on the interletyou need to do a little more research.
Please do not niche me cause you and your officers to join your friends in Philadelphia. I
just want lies about Inc off the web.
Although Wolk's traction to my post reinforces the point I was trying to make, he reasonably
complains that I did not include his response to the 0uerlmwgered that was tbesubjeet of one of
his defamation suits. He says lie avoided any conflict of interest in Tay/or U. 'l-eledyne by not
participating in the .settlement negotiations and by not asking the judge to vacate at discovery order
that.criticized him until after an agreement had been reached. He cites letters from hvo other
plaintiffs' attorneys who were involved in the case, who confirm this account. Wolkt also says the
judge's criticism was unfair; in part because other lawye rs at his ficin handled discovery in that case.
Cannon's award•wlnning print odtlion 1050yl Your nrst issue Is FREE If you ore not compietaly setisnnd.
http://reasoii.com/blog/2010/09/16/who-you-calling-touchy 9/19/2010
ITh I) U
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I, David P. Heim, Esquire, hereby certify that I caused to be served a true and correct
copy of the foregoing Petition for Preliminary Injunction and Expedited Discovery on the
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