News And Notes For April 15
UPDATED 2 P.M. EDT (U.S.A)
Here is a summary of items in the news:
Filings expected in AdSurfDaily civil forfeiture case. Judge Rosemary Collyer earlier gave prosecutors until April 24 to respond to some of ASD President Andy Bowdoin’s pro se pleadings. Prosecutors have responded to some of them, but not all of them.
Collyer may have to issue additional orders on matters concerning Bowdoin’s representation. His paid counsel, Akerman and Senterfitt, asked the court to withdraw. Collyer, to date, has not granted the request. (Updated 2 P.M. EDT (USA) Judge Collyer has granted the request.)
Meanwhile, attorney Charles A. Murray has filed an appearance notice on Bowdoin’s behalf.
In a separate lawsuit by former ASD members against Bowdoin, ASD attorney Robert Garner and Golden Panda Ad Builder President Clarence Busby, Collyer has not issued an order in response to a motion by the plaintiffs to extend the deadline for class-action certification. The motion was filed April 8. The lawsuit accuses Bowdoin, Garner and Busby of racketeering, and the plaintiffs say they have not been able to serve the lawsuit on the trio. The lawsuit has been pending since January 15.
Also in limbo is a second forfeiture case filed in December by prosecutors against assets tied to ASD. The property named in the forfeiture complaint includes the Tallahassee home of Bowdoin’s stepson, George Harris, a trustee in AdViewGlobal (AVG). Three automobiles, marine equipment and computer equipment also were named in the complaint.
How the December case will proceed is unclear. No attorney has entered an appearance notice on behalf of Bowdoin, a Bowdoin family member or any person who could make a claim to the property. Bowdoin filed a pro se pleading that referenced the December case, but the filing was entered into the record of the August case.
Larry Friedman lawsuit against Jack Arons. Dallas attorney Friedman is suing Florida resident Arons for slander and libel. Friedman has sought an order to gag Arons; Arons continues to post on the Internet about the case, saying Friedman is burying him in an avalanche of paperwork.
The case sprouted from the affairs of the ASD Members Business Association (ASDMBA) Trust. Friedman is the attorney for the Trust. He is seeking information on the identities of posters at the ASD-Biz forum through ning.com, the forum hosting company. Some of the posters appear to have changed their forum identities to protest Friedman’s move.
Yesterday a new website appeared. It is called, “Drop the Lawsuit, Larry: How can you sue the entire internet and violate Free Speech?” Friedman also is getting bad press on other forums.
Bob Guenther harassment case. Guenther, de facto head of the ASDMBA Trust, was scheduled to make a court appearance yesterday in Arizona on felony charges of continuing to harass an Arizona company after being warned not to do so. A docket entry in the case now says the appearance has been rescheduled for May 12. Guenther has two more court appearances scheduled in Arizona this month for other cases: April 27 and April 29.
One of the Arizona cases is a photo-radar traffic case. Guenther, in a Blog Comment here, said he was not behind the wheel and would handle the matter by writing a letter. The second case was a misdemeanor case.
Guenther, in a Comment here, described it as “a duplucate filing of the other two ‘bogus’ filings scheduled to be heard on April 14.. All will be tossed, just like the one before..”
