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PetsWarehouse Lawsuit Defense Fund
A group of aquarium hobbyists who frequent the Internet Aquatic Plant
Digest have been sued in Federal court for $15,000,000 by Robert Novak
d/b/a petswarehouse.com. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court
for the Eastern District of New York. All of the defendants reside
outside of New York. The lawsuit involves allegations of defamation for
certain messages that were posted to the Aquatic Plant Digest.
A number of the named defendants have no liability insurance which will
cover this lawsuit. As New York is one of the most expensive
jurisdictions for handling litigation, a special defense fund has been
set up to help defray the legal expenses involved in the lawsuit. It is
estimated that preliminary legal expenses will run about $15,000 for the
group. If the case proceeds to trial attorney's fees and expenses will
run upwards of $50,000.
To date a number of fellow aquarists who are also attorneys have
volunteered their time on a pro bono basis. The defendants will still
need to retain local counsel to defend them in the lawsuit.
This is a special request for financial assistance to aid in the defense
of this lawsuit. All contributions are important no matter how large or
small. If you would like to contribute to the defense fund please send
your monetary contribution (check, money order or bank draft), payable
to John Benn, Trust Account, to the law offices of John R. Benn &
Associates, 104 West Third Street, Sheffield, AL 35660. All contributions
will be acknowledged. A special web page listing all contributors by
name or initials will be established shortly. Your contribution may
remain anonymous; if that is your choice, please note it along with your
contribution.
If you wish to contribute by credit card or PayPal please visit the web
site at http://www.paypal.com The email ID for contributions is
jbenn at jblaw_org
In the event that contributions exceed the legal expenses (everyone hopes
for an early dismissal of the lawsuit) any unused funds will be submitted
as a donation to the World Wildlife Fund.
If you are interested in learning more about this lawsuit, the individual
aquarists who have been sued, or the latest litigation news, please visit
CompuServe's Aquaria/Fish Forum at URL
<http://go.compuserve.com/fishnet>. If you are interested in contributing
any professional services to the defense effort, please contact John Benn
at JBenn at jblaw_org.
Please feel free to distribute this notice to other aquarists,
hobbyists, pet lovers and all those you think feel strongly about
defending the issues at stake. On behalf of the defendants in this
lawsuit, I will express our collective appreciation for your contributions.
John Benn
JBenn at jblaw_org