Frivolous litigation can seriously cost you. Lawyers and clients alike should be careful not to sue when a case really has no merit. Cases intended to harass or bully may well cost the plaintiff. Here , the plaintiff didn't like what was being said online. However, given that the online complaints may have had credibility, the law suit was intended to be abusive and no intended for any meritorious purpose. Final chapter, a big cost to the Plaintiff.
Sanctions Issued in 'Puppy Mill' Online Defamation lawsuit
Mary Pat Gallagher, New Jersey Law Journal
A man sued over his online accusations that the people who sold him his dog were "grifters" running a "puppy mill" is entitled to frivolous litigation sanctions, a New Jersey judge has ruled.
Burlington County Superior Court Judge M. Patricia Richmond awarded $25,000 in legal fees on Oct. 16 to Clifford Mintz, of East Windsor, N.J.—about half of the $49,732 requested.
She ordered the money paid by plaintiffs Donna Roberts and Dawn Abrams and their lawyer, Mark Molz, a Hainesport, N.J. solo.
The fee decision comes four years after Richmond granted summary judgment dismissing Roberts' and Abrams' claims against Mintz.
Roberts and Abrams, who are mother and daughter, sued Mintz in 2010 over a series of blog postings about a nine-month old Havanese puppy he bought for $400 and named "'Moose,'" according to court documents.
According to Mintz, Moose was not only sickly, but was not even a puppy or even truly Havanese, court documents said.
