Victor Mignogna v. Funimation Productions, LLC, et al. (2019) - Vic's lawsuit against Funimation, VAs, and others, for over a million dollars.

[ErbBetaPatch]

Not just "every VA that worked with [Funimation]." That would affect Viz. Aniplex. Sentai. All the video game dubbing studios. All the normie cartoons. It would completely change the face of the voice acting industry.

Contracts aren't all the same. If a studio happens to do work for Funimation that doesn't make the whole studios employees also employees of Funimation.

 

[AnOminous]

If it's not ripe for decision at this stage, wouldn't it need to be assumed that he isn't if there's any dispute to prevent legitimate cases from being thrown out with a "haha, I call public figure! Can't sue me now!"

I'm not actually sure how they do it, but that would make sense. It may actually be, though, that the judge actually does decide it at this stage.

Here's a case where the court did, though: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1889382.html

It's rather relevant as it's in the Appellate District with Fort Worth in it and involves alleged Internet defamation of a minor public figure.

 

[instythot]

I'm not actually sure how they do it, but that would make sense. It may actually be, though, that the judge actually does decide it at this stage.

Here's another question.

Since there are three separate motions, is it possible that Chupp finds that Marchi and Funi did sufficiently argue that Vic is a public figure and their speech is protected (especially Marchi since that lawyer sensibly laid out "Vic is a public figure based on the following") , but that Ronnie and Monnie's copy and paste garbage dump didn't establish the same and they proceed to court?

 

[KE 521]

I'm not actually sure how they do it, but that would make sense. It may actually be, though, that the judge actually does decide it at this stage.

Here's a case where the court did, though: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1889382.html

It's rather relevant as it's in the Appellate District with Fort Worth in it and involves alleged Internet defamation of a minor public figure.

If the same standard is used, it sounds like Vic could be a limited purpose public figure. He’s arguably more recognizable than that crazy opera bitch.

 

[instythot]

If the same standard is used, it sounds like Vic could be a limited purpose public figure. He’s arguably more recognizable than that crazy opera bitch.

My view is that there's an important difference in recognizability in the two cases:

The opera singer performs and teaches in person with her face and image in front of the audience. A casual local opera fan might actually be able to recognize her. A casual anime fan would need to go through the credits and do some research to be able to recognize Vic. For people who don't watch the credits (read non-autists), Vic may as well perform anonymously

 

[General Relativity QM]

Limited purpose public figure is not about popularity. In the Nick Sandmann case, they are arguing that he is a limited purpose public figure since he "inserted himself into the controversy" by giving the Good Morning America interview, among other things. No one argues Sandmann was popular or known prior to the controversy.

 

[AnOminous]

Here's another question.

Since there are three separate motions, is it possible that Chupp finds that Marchi and Funi did sufficiently argue that Vic is a public figure and their speech is protected (especially Marchi since that lawyer sensibly laid out "Vic is a public figure based on the following") , but that Ronnie and Monnie's copy and paste garbage dump didn't establish the same and they proceed to court?

It's a shared fact between the cases. I doubt the court will make inconsistent findings even if one or more or even all of the defendants are incompetent. It's actually somewhat surprising Lane v. Phares is barely mentioned. It's a remarkably good fit for the facts of the case and the plaintiff lost in that case after being found to be a public figure. You think they'd be thumping on that case like it's the Bible.

Even fucking Douchette has mentioned it repeatedly.

 

[fat ugly sped]

Limited purpose public figure is not about popularity. In the Nick Sandmann case, they are arguing that he is a limited purpose public figure since he "inserted himself into the controversy" by giving the Good Morning America interview, among other things. No one argues Sandmann was popular or known prior to the controversy.

I believe that only matters for statements made after inserting oneself into the controversy, and for statements that are relevant to their insertion into the controversy. So if you defame someone and bait them into trying to protect their reputation, that wouldn't make them a limited public figure with respect to the controversy.

 

[General Relativity QM]

I believe that only matters for statements made after inserting oneself into the controversy, and for statements that are relevant to their insertion into the controversy. So if you defame someone and bait them into trying to protect their reputation, that wouldn't make them a limited public figure with respect to the controversy.

Very true! What's the controversy though? Is it Vic being defamed or is it Vic being a pedo/sexual assaulter? My biases are that it is the defamation. I have been a lifelong anime fan (I am much older than the average fan by virtue of being Japanese), and I had no idea who any of these voice actors were except Sabat and Schemmel. I only knew those two from youtubers talking about the dub voices and doing interviews with them.

I only heard of this controversy after the tweets by defendants, and that's when I learned who Vic was.

 

[Slamerella]

I've had this question kind of burning in my mind, which opened a few other questions.

-Do people on the KickVic side even know the case is for defamation first, and is barely about the whole accusation stuff?
-Outside of the hair thing with Marchi, has ANYTHING even been proven to be remotely true? (I've not been keeping up very well due to work)
-For a timeline, how close are we seeing the verdict?

On top of that I still don't get the psychology of, "if i'm assaulted I wont report to the police." I've genuinely NEVER thought this was a wise decision to the point that it just sounds so unbelievable. Written testimony is just that. Written testimony. If others don't add up, then we're gonna need evidence. Nowadays I've just grown tired of "he said she said" and context being removed, and if Vic is found innocent (Spoilers: he will) this is gonna be one of the greatest shitstorms in anime ever. #MeToo has gone long enough and seeing it ruin a celebrity who's now fighting back is gonna be the sweetest revenge for men who've been accused for bad things for attention and gain.

 

[Evian Les Rutabaga]

Even though it's sure to be illegal: having watched Rial's and Toye's depositions and their erratic recollections of equally erratic events (including Monica's dry mouth, extensive dental work, and the state of their finances), if I were the judge I'd consider requiring surprise urinalysis samples from these people the next time they appeared for anything.

 

[instythot]

On top of that I still don't get the psychology of, "if i'm assaulted I wont report to the police." I've genuinely NEVER thought this was a wise decision to the point that it just sounds so unbelievable.

The psychology is that the evidence gathering process, particularly the questioning, has often been from a challenging the claim point of view and very much like a hostile deposition in the past. People who have legitimately been victimized will often not want to be questioned aggressively or even yelled at when reporting a bad act. Things appear to be more victim friendly these days, but it takes time for perception to catch up I suppose

 

[Slamerella]

Very true! What's the controversy though? Is it Vic being defamed or is it Vic being a pedo/sexual assaulter? My biases are that it is the defamation. I have been a lifelong anime fan (I am much older than the average fan by virtue of being Japanese), and I had no idea who any of these voice actors were except Sabat and Schemmel. I only knew those two from youtubers talking about the dub voices and doing interviews with them.

I only heard of this controversy after the tweets by defendants, and that's when I learned who Vic was.

Vic has done other work outside of Funi including a Star Trek fan film/series, some video games such as Persona, and some minor film cameos. I'm curious how this case would affect his other work. I heard that in the mobile game, Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle, one of the new features for some characters wasn't incorporated for a specific version of Broly (Wiki page) here: https://dbz-dokkanbattle.fandom.com...per_Saiyan_Broly#Legendary Super Saiyan Broly This has been dismissed by players as the content being made months in advance and probably a bug.
Spoilers for future content in a video game getting continuous updates:

Spoiler

He voices Junpei Iori in Persona 3, and rumors thanks to files in Blazblue Crosstag Battle point to him appearing in the game.

 

[ES 195]

I've had this question kind of burning in my mind, which opened a few other questions.

-Do people on the KickVic side even know the case is for defamation first, and is barely about the whole accusation stuff?

I think most of them actually believe Vic is on trial. The others are just outraged Vic has the incredible audacity to attack these poor victims of his insatiable rape tendencies that are in no way obviously fabricated through any sort of scrutiny. Basically all they heard was "man rape me i promis" and that cemented it in their mind that Vic is pure evil. To these psychos no matter how much evidence comes out they'll always think Vic did it, even if MoRonica and friends admit to lying.
These kinds of people will be following Vic wherever he goes now just to start shit. It's why Vic has said his reputation has been permanently damaged.

 

[I can't imagine]

On top of that I still don't get the psychology of, "if i'm assaulted I wont report to the police." I've genuinely NEVER thought this was a wise decision to the point that it just sounds so unbelievable. Written testimony is just that. Written testimony. If others don't add up, then we're gonna need evidence. Nowadays I've just grown tired of "he said she said" and context being removed, and if Vic is found innocent (Spoilers: he will) this is gonna be one of the greatest shitstorms in anime ever. #MeToo has gone long enough and seeing it ruin a celebrity who's now fighting back is gonna be the sweetest revenge for men who've been accused for bad things for attention and gain.

I can only speak from my experience, but the thing about reporting an assault to the police is that it's a colossal pain in the ass. You have to fill out a report, make a statement, and, if it goes to trial, deal with all that mess as well. On top of that, there's the possibility you'll have to deal with police and lawyers all up in your business. If it's a one-time kinda thing and you aren't seriously messed up because of it, I can see a lot of people skipping out on getting the police involved.

All that being said...not reporting it to the police would be one thing. Not telling your friends at the time, however? That is extremely strange.

 

[Padoru]

Vic has done other work outside of Funi including a Star Trek fan film/series, some video games such as Persona, and some minor film cameos. I'm curious how this case would affect his other work. I heard that in the mobile game, Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle, one of the new features for some characters wasn't incorporated for a specific version of Broly (Wiki page) here: https://dbz-dokkanbattle.fandom.com/wiki/Nightmarish_Impact_Super_Saiyan_Broly#Legendary Super Saiyan Broly This has been dismissed by players as the content being made months in advance and probably a bug.
Spoilers for future content in a video game getting continuous updates:

Spoiler

He voices Junpei Iori in Persona 3, and rumors thanks to files in Blazblue Crosstag Battle point to him appearing in the game.

about the Dokkan Battle thing: the Voiced lines that references to the best of people's knowledge aren't newly recorded so we have no reason to currently assume this controversy matters to it

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

Vic has done other work outside of Funi including a Star Trek fan film/series, some video games such as Persona, and some minor film cameos.

Video game work would fall under the same heading as his anime work; Vic is behind the scenes and only a small group of voice acting enthusiasts or game fans would even be aware of it. His fan projects are just that: fan projects, and probably wouldn't count much in regards to whether or not he's public figure. Same with his film cameos, since they are almost certainly minor.

 

[KE 521]

I believe that only matters for statements made after inserting oneself into the controversy, and for statements that are relevant to their insertion into the controversy. So if you defame someone and bait them into trying to protect their reputation, that wouldn't make them a limited public figure with respect to the controversy.

This is an important point. Vic did not say anything after the accusations came out. However, he has fans and lines at conventions, so even if it’s just autists, there are people following his career. He has a fan club. The definition of a public figure appears to have evolved quite a bit from its original intention. The court originally found Lane to be a public figure, then changed to limited purpose public figure after some back and forth. I bet Vic will (unfortunately) be found to be a public figure based on a similar standard - although the defense’s lawyers are so inept, it would basically be a kindness from Judge Chupp. It’s okay though - actual malice will be easy to prove.

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

I bet Vic will (unfortunately) be found to be a public figure based on a similar standard

I think limited public figure is more likely. Though, as you said, it probably won't be hard to prove malice for any of these defendants; even Funimation isn't impossible, nor do I think difficult.

 

[Loose Handle]

With Lemonbrade's latest filing re: Rekieta, this has gone past pants on head crazy. The pants are now on the badger who is on the head of the case that's riding a neon pink unicycle through a battle between mimes and scooter-bound paraplegics.