The Internet is a dangerous place.

A friend and potential client contacted me this week regarding an internet site that was posting her phone number and telling young men to call her for a good time.  The website is www.dirtyphonebook.com it allows users to post phone numbers and comments from anonymous usernames.  The client contacted me regarding my ability to take down her phone number from the website.

A cease and desist email was submitted to both the owner of the website, the company that maintains the website, and the developer of the website, all of which has gone unanswered.  A formal cease and desist letter was sent certified mail to the owner of the company to remove the phone number from the website.  This too went unanswered. 

My next option was to contact the FTC and the NYS Attorney General Office.  The problem here is the speed at which action would occur next.  The FTC first has to gather information as to how many people are complaining about this company and face the same problems as my client.  I did a quick search on Google and this company is facing multiple complaints from people around the country.  Some of the complaints are from parents whose children (under 18) have been contacted for phone sex.  Which tells me this is actually a good case for the FTC to run with but again how long will it take?

The NYS Attorney General is looking into this case as well.  I haven't dealt with the AG's office so again I am not sure what might come of this.  In the meantime my client is still receive phone calls.

I also contacted an attorney friend of mine that has handled class actions in the past.  It would seem possible with the amount of people already complaining about this website and how scattered the victims are around the country that this case may be handled as a class action. 

Anyone who has faced a similar problem with a website or is interested in joining in a class action feel free to contact my firm.

New NYS Gun Regulations

"New York lawmakers agreed to pass the toughest gun control law in the nation and the first since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, calling for a stricter assault weapons ban and provisions to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill who make threats."

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/NATL-NY-Assembly-Expected-to-Pass-Gun-Bill--186917571.html

Most of the parts of this law are pretty basic for what people have been calling for to protect against gun violence.  The interesting section of the law covers mental health. 

"In another provision, a therapist who believes a mental health patient made a credible threat to use a gun illegally would be required to report it to a mental health director who would have to notify the state. A patient's gun could be taken from him or her."

It will be interesting to see how this would actually play out in reality.  Does this now put liability on the therapist for not reporting a credible threat?  Does the therapist have to know that the patient has a gun to act on the threats the patient makes in order to report to the mental health director?  What if the patient lives with someone who owns a gun?  Will the owners gun be taken away because of the patient? 

Hate to see the first case for this to play out.

What is in a name? (email)

Steve Anderson wrote an interesting article about what your email domain name says about you and could an outdated service like AOL be costing you clients.  According to his article he doesn't take any emails serious unless they are from a hosted email account with your own domain name. 

As an attorney I come across different email addresses all the time.  Never once did I stop to think this person doesn't know what he or she is talking about because he is sending me an email from an AOL address.  I personally use Gmail for my business and personal emails.  It is simple to use, and easy to navigate.  I think Mr. Anderson might do better to concentrate on how a person addresses his subject in an email and the quality of information he is receiving in an email as oppossed to the domain name of the email. 

Domain Names

You are the father...?

I came across this Reuter's article:

A Kansas man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple so they could have a child said on Wednesday he is shocked the state is now trying to make him pay child support.

According to the article:

"William Marotta, 46, donated sperm to Jennifer Schreiner and Angela Bauer under a written agreement that he would not be considered the father of the child nor liable for child support. A daughter, now 3, was born to Schreiner. But in October, the state of Kansas filed a petition seeking to have Marotta declared the father of the child and financially responsible for her after the couple encountered money difficulties."
Child Support claim against sperm donor

While this may sound like an odd case, odder things have happened in NYC and NY courts have an even stricter approach to dealing with "donations."

In New York: Contracts regarding sperm donation between a couple and a donor are generally unenforceable, and the court will only look at the best interests of the child in determining the rights and duties of the donor.

As the old saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished... so when the child support bill arrives at your door, don’t be surprised if you have to pay it.