September
20, 2000
Mr. Ronald J. Riley
1323 west Cook Road
Grand Blanc, MI 48439
Dear Mr. Riley:
Both on your web site, and on the
InventNet Forum, you have recently published
false and defamatory comments about Friedman and
Friedman, P.C., as well as Edward B. Friedman,
Esquire. This letter will serve as notice
of our demand that you cease and desist from
making such false and defamatory statements,
remove the existing defamatory statements, and
offer a public retraction of your statements.
Among other false and defamatory statements and
innuendo, you have published the following
statements:
1. That Friedman and Friedman and
Edward B. Friedman are "legal thugs";
2. That Friedman and Friedman and Edward B.
Friedman are "some of the nastiest pit bull
types you have ever seen";
3. That Friedman and Friedman abuse the process
of law,
4. That Friedman and Friedman and engage in
racketeering activity;
5. That Friedman and Friedman and Edward B.
Friedman initiate lawsuits for the purpose of
infringing on constitutional rights;
6. That Friedman and Friedman have exceeded the
bounds of their attorney-client relationship and
have become active participants in an alleged
illegal enterprise;
7. That your statements are sanctioned by the
ACLU and Reporters' Committee for Free Press.
The facts upon which you rely to
make these malicious attacks are completely
without basis and are known by you to be false.
As you are surely aware, the lawsuit at Civil
Action No. 99-4087 in the United States District
Court for the District of South Dakota to which
you refer was settled and has been dismissed by
the Court.
Ronald
J.
Riley
Page
2
September 20, 2000
You do not have a right to
republish defamatory statements contained in
court documents. In the case you refer to,
the National Invention Fraud Center and other
plaintiffs agreed that "having found no ethical or professional
violations nor any fraudulent business practices,
the parties to the lawsuits have satisfactorily
resolved their differences." As
such, the allegations made during the course of
that proceeding regarding Friedman and Friedman's
participation in an alleged enterprise are false,
and you have no right to repeat them.
Furthermore, when the case was dismissed, Mr.
Neustel apologized to Mr. Edward B. Friedman and
Friedman and Friedman in a letter in which he
states:
| |
The averments
and statements referring or relating to
Friedman and Friedman and you personally,
which were set forth in the plaintiffs'
documents in this action were based on
incorrect information and assumptions
therefrom which were formed in error.
As a result, I regret that unfounded and
meritless allegations against you and
your law firm were included in the
plaintiffs' documents. I now
understand that you and your law firm
have a strong reputation for honesty and
a high degree of integrity. I
apologize for any difficulty or
embarrassment that the incorrect and
unfounded averments and statements in the
plaintiffs' documents in this case may
have caused you or your law firm.
|
|
A copy of Mr. Neustel's letter is
attached hereto for your review.
While you have stated that you
have had the we site reviewed by counsel to
ensure that it contains no defamatory material,
we would advise you to review your current
statements against Friedman and Friedman and
Edward B. Friedman with your counsel. The
statements are defamatory and must be removed
from your web site immediately or Friedman and
Friedman will have few options other than to seek
legal recourse, which we do not wish to do.
Regardless of your opinion of Invention
Submission Corporation (ISC) and the services ISC
provides, they, like every other entity, are
entitled to legal representation, which Friedman
and Friedman has provided and will continue to
provide in the future so long as ISC wishes to
retain us as counsel. Our representation of
ISC does not give you the right to attack
Friedman and Friedman or me personally for
providing such legal representation, particularly
through the use of false and defamatory
accusations.
In light of these facts, we
demand that you immediately remove all current
references on your web site to Edward B. Friedman
and Friedman and Friedman, and publish a
retraction, both on your web site and on the
InventNet forum stating that your statements were
unfounded and meritless, as the plaintiffs in the
South Dakota action acknowledged that Edward B.
Friedman and Friedman and Friedman have a strong
reputation for honesty and integrity. I
would hope that after reviewing these facts, that
you decide to immediately remove the statements
concerning Friedman and Friedman, Edward B.
Friedman, and the South Dakota lawsuit and offer
Ronald
J.
Riley
Page
3
September 20, 2000
a retraction. Your comments
are false and are known to you to be false and
are causing harm to Friedman and Friedman and
Edward B. Friedman. Please immediately take
appropriate steps in accordance with this letter.
Very truly yours,
Signed by GAP
EDWARD B. FRIEDMAN
EBF/jam
Enclosure
Via Ove
|
Links: 
