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

[Spectre_06]

I had a random thought which I may have thought before and had explained here but can't remember. Putting aside whether Chupp would get mad at him for bringing it up or not if Ron gets shot back to trial court, could they argue that they never actually confirmed his tweets were made by him? I remember that Casey Erick just said "He said they seemed like his tweets" or something, but never outright said "Yes" when Chupp asked if he wanted to confirm that those tweets were Ron's. And given how weasely lawyers are, and Lemonhead speccifically, I would assume that hed try to get the evidence struck under the claim that nobody can confirm if Ron tweeted them out.

I know they confirmed some indirectly through their motions and petitions, but there were hundreds of tweets and maybe only a dozen were confirmed indirectly.

To quote Casey Erick in that hearing, "He did authenticate them." Casey is also on the record confirming authentication, and said he would not object to hearsay or a 902, whatever that is. So for the record and the courts, the tweets are authenticated as his.

 

[DragoonSierra]

Nick said something a couple streams ago. He said it would be hard to get an affidavit from cons saying they broke contract. In fact he said it would be next to impossible. Is that how discovery is going to go with the conventions that cancelled and every other third party? He also said they could file a tcpa.

 

[Garm]

Nick said something a couple streams ago. He said it would be hard to get an affidavit from cons saying they broke contract. In fact he said it would be next to impossible. Is that how discovery is going to go with the conventions that cancelled and every other third party? He also said they could file a tcpa.

Discovery has more weight behind it because you can subpeona people. Essentially they have to respond or they get punished.

Hence the problem with the TCPA. You can't gather the evidence to help your case until you prove their actions caused damages.

 

[5t3n0g0ph3r]

Nick said something a couple streams ago. He said it would be hard to get an affidavit from cons saying they broke contract. In fact he said it would be next to impossible. Is that how discovery is going to go with the conventions that cancelled and every other third party? He also said they could file a tcpa.

Those conventions are hostile and are not necessarily going to cooperate for one reason or another.
I also question if they could file a TCPA due to jurisdiction (not to mention the recent TCPA ruling regarding lawsuits at the Federal level).
Maybe their respective states' anti-SLAPP?

 

[Fox Fucker]

Those conventions are hostile and are not necessarily going to cooperate for one reason or another.
I also question if they could file a TCPA due to jurisdiction (not to mention the recent TCPA ruling regarding lawsuits at the Federal level).
Maybe their respective states' anti-SLAPP?

If I remember correctly, anything Nick planned to do when they filed an intention to depose him, those convention owners can use against Vic. So they can file their state's version of an anti-SLAPP, and definitely waste his time and money by arguing that the Texas courts don't have authority over their states'. And if any of them do actually go that route (and they all might, unless Vic can give them some guarantee that they won't be sued for breach of contract), then unless Vic's waiting to wait even longer for those affidavits, then they'll likely never happen, since I doubt the courts will wait for a jurisdicitonal fight to be resolved before continuing on with the case.

 

[WarJams]

a 902, whatever that is

Rule 902 is the Texas Rules of Evidence guideline governing which forms of evidence are "self-authenticating."

 

[DragoonSierra]

So they can file their state's version of an anti-SLAPP, and definitely waste his time and money by arguing that the Texas courts don't have authority over their states'.

If thier state has one and if it applies to subpoenas. They could fight jurisdiction but theyd have to do it in Texas. That sounds like a losing argument and would only delay the inevitable. BHBC could also threaten to go forward with a breach of contract suit. Remember that all of this would cost them money especially if they are out of state. But with many of these conventions being sponsored by Funimation, losing that support might be even costlier.

 

[Allanon]

There's a difference between "Give me an affidavit." "No." and "Give me your records by force of the law" "I will waste money and fall on my own sword to stop you, even though I will ultimately lose!"

 

[Gehenna]

There's a difference between "Give me an affidavit." "No." and "Give me your records by force of the law" "I will waste money and fall on my own sword to stop you, even though I will ultimately lose!"

The question becomes "How much is it worth it". This goes for both sides.

It costs basically nothing to get the request for the plaintiff. It also costs very little to give light to medium resistance to said request for the requested party.

It costs a lot for either to take a strong stance.

If either side takes a strong stance, the cost for that side increases significantly. If both do... the costs rises for both parties exponentially.

 

[DragoonSierra]

The question becomes "How much is it worth it". This goes for both sides.

It costs basically nothing to get the request for the plaintiff. It also costs very little to give light to medium resistance to said request for the requested party.

It costs a lot for either to take a strong stance.

If either side takes a strong stance, the cost for that side increases significantly. If both do... the costs rises for both parties exponentially.

And how many conventions cancelled Vic? 20 something? What are the odds they all resist to the limit they can? Does Funi have leverage over all those conventions? That last question is proabably the real indication of how this will go.

 

[Gehenna]

And how many conventions cancelled Vic? 20 something? What are the odds they all resist to the limit they can? Does Funi have leverage over all those conventions? That last question is proabably the real indication of how this will go.

I don't think funi -needs- leverage. The entire industry is incestuous and Mignona is accused of some nasty things. "Listen and Believe" will suffice for some, pandering to the woke crowd will suffice for some others, and Funi leaning might suffice for a few. Unfortunately, I think that the ones that outright cancelled are likely to be in those three categories. Those that aren't would likely have waited to cancel him.

 

[Allanon]

And how many conventions cancelled Vic? 20 something? What are the odds they all resist to the limit they can? Does Funi have leverage over all those conventions? That last question is proabably the real indication of how this will go.

Meh, I think most will hand over the stuff easily - or with the promise of not suing them in exchange - and use the excuse that they can't resist a court order to shut Funi up. At that stage, Funi will have spent $200k already with no way to recoup that loss, and will have the costs continuing to skyrocket. They won't have time to lean on much. Only the cons with something personally against Vic, like Faisal's con, will bother to resist.

A post-appeals world, if the appeals go Vic's way, will look different from anything up until this point. Even pre-TCPA ruling when people expected things to go Vic's way is different from what happens when Vic gets past the possibility of TCPA. I imagine if he gets past summary judgment it'll be even more different.

 

[I can't imagine]

Meh, I think most will hand over the stuff easily - or with the promise of not suing them in exchange - and use the excuse that they can't resist a court order to shut Funi up. At that stage, Funi will have spent $200k already with no way to recoup that loss, and will have the costs continuing to skyrocket. They won't have time to lean on much. Only the cons with something personally against Vic, like Faisal's con, will bother to resist.

A post-appeals world, if the appeals go Vic's way, will look different from anything up until this point. Even pre-TCPA ruling when people expected things to go Vic's way is different from what happens when Vic gets past the possibility of TCPA. I imagine if he gets past summary judgment it'll be even more different.

Pretty much. They aren't going to spend a bunch of money fighting a subpoena with the knowledge that, at best, it would really only delay having to comply with it anyway. Or, perhaps more importantly, they really can't afford to do so. I think it's important to remember that your average anime con, while it might bring in a decent chunk of revenue, generally isn't terribly profitable. An unexpected cost of tens of thousands of dollars is frequently enough to bankrupt a con.

Granted, Funimation does have leverage over the conventions, so that could be another factor. But, again, all they could realistically do is delay the subpoena, so it's questionable if it would really have value. It also would kinda make look Funi bad if they were pressuring cons to withhold evidence against them, and, by the time we get to discovery, we're probably on the way to a jury trial or settlement, and neither of those would benefit from Funi strong-arming people.

Of course, all that is contingent on the TI-EC going through against Funimation, which I'd say is still not necessarily a guarantee.

 

[Allanon]

Pretty much. They aren't going to spend a bunch of money fighting a subpoena with the knowledge that, at best, it would really only delay having to comply with it anyway. Or, perhaps more importantly, they really can't afford to do so. I think it's important to remember that your average anime con, while it might bring in a decent chunk of revenue, generally isn't terribly profitable. An unexpected cost of tens of thousands of dollars is frequently enough to bankrupt a con.

Granted, Funimation does have leverage over the conventions, so that could be another factor. But, again, all they could realistically do is delay the subpoena, so it's questionable if it would really have value. It also would kinda make look Funi bad if they were pressuring cons to withhold evidence against them, and, by the time we get to discovery, we're probably on the way to a jury trial or settlement, and neither of those would benefit from Funi strong-arming people.

Of course, all that is contingent on the TI-EC going through against Funimation, which I'd say is still not necessarily a guarantee.

If Slatosch's affidavit is considered, then TI-EC gets slapped on Monica and Ron, along with conspiracy. If Monica fails to prove she's not an independent contractor, then I'm pretty sure Funimation gets looped into TI-EC alongside Monica because of her acting as an agent for Funimation while committing TI-EC on Kamehacon. I think it's mostly down to whether they consider the affidavits/declarations.

Where were Monica's emails to Funimation? If those are in, that should pretty well solidify her position as an employee - and infer Marchi as one as well.

 

[I can't imagine]

If Slatosch's affidavit is considered, then TI-EC gets slapped on Monica and Ron, along with conspiracy. If Monica fails to prove she's not an independent contractor, then I'm pretty sure Funimation gets looped into TI-EC alongside Monica because of her acting as an agent for Funimation while committing TI-EC on Kamehacon. I think it's mostly down to whether they consider the affidavits/declarations.

Where were Monica's emails to Funimation? If those are in, that should pretty well solidify her position as an employee - and infer Marchi as one as well.

If there's one way to guarantee you'll be disappointed in a courtroom setting, it's to expect the outcome you want the most to occur. It's a viable argument that Vic's counsel have made, but that doesn't mean that the courts will agree that it meets the threshold. I think even Nick was kinda 50/50 on it's likelihood of working, though that was quite a few months ago so I might be wrong.

 

[Allanon]

If there's one way to guarantee you'll be disappointed in a courtroom setting, it's to expect the outcome you want the most to occur. It's a viable argument that Vic's counsel have made, but that doesn't mean that the courts will agree that it meets the threshold. I think even Nick was kinda 50/50 on it's likelihood of working, though that was quite a few months ago so I might be wrong.

Oh, I'm not certain they'll consider it. I'm just heavily doubting that it won't count if they do consider it, given that Chupp had to pretend he didn't consider it just to rule against it.

 

[774]

If I remember correctly, anything Nick planned to do when they filed an intention to depose him, those convention owners can use against Vic.

Nick was talking about using Minnesota's shield law, since he has been acting as a journalist, which is not the same as an anti-SLAPP.

 

[Allanon]

Nick was talking about using Minnesota's shield law, since he has been acting as a journalist, which is not the same as an anti-SLAPP.

He did say he'd "[anti-]SLAPP the shit out of you" too, but the shield laws are a big reason why.

 

[Markorian]

I don't see conventions having too much money to burn on frivolously defying court orders with the Commie Cough going on. Even when things get better, they're still looking at a couple years most likely of reduced attendance for all events across the board.

 

[Doctor Professor Timon]

I, personally, foresee three appeals judges taking turns pinning Lemoine down and beating his ass for that filing.