My post was relevant to KMAG because MMG sued Ih
Post# of 14350
Investorshub.com, Inc., et al., vs. Mina Mar Group, Inc., et. al. (January 2011) (United States)
United States District Court, Northern District of FloridaCase No. 4:11-CV-00009-RH-WCS
Summary: This lawsuit was brought by iHub in U.S. Federal Court, requesting the court to grant iHub declaratory relief by invalidating a default judgment Mina Mar obtained in a Canadian lawsuit which iHub did not defend.
Outcome: Final Judgment in favor of iHub on 6/20/2011 in the first U.S. judgment ever issued under The SPEECH Act. The court found that:
Canadian law does not provide as much protection of speech as the First Amendement, federal law, and Florida law; and
Canadian law does not provide the protections provided by the Communications Decency Act
Key excerpt from the judgment:
22. The Court hereby declares that the Foreign Defamation Judgment in the matter of Mina Mar Group, Inc., et al. v. Investorshub.com, et al., Court File No. CV-08-364413-0000, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, is not enforceable in the United States pursuant to the SPEECH Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 4101-4105, and any orders entered in connection therewith are invalid and unenforceable in the United States.
Comments: iHub had previously sought a similar order in January, 2009, prior to enactment of both the Florida libel tourism law and the federal SPEECH Act. The U.S. Federal court declined to assume jurisdiction over the foreign parties and dismissed the case without prejudice - meaning the court did not rule on the merits of the case. It was scenarios such as this that prompted legislation of anti-libel tourism statutes in several states including Florida (July 2009), followed by the federal SPEECH Act (August 2010). After the enactment of these important laws, iHub was successful in having the Canadian judgment and all related orders declared unenforceable in the United States. The plaintiffs subsequently waived enforcement worldwide and all Canadian proceedings were withdrawn.