By Dan Mitchell, MLM Blog Correspondent
Methinks they protest too much…
From Phoenix New Times:
Here's a letter from Liberty League lawyers:
Ray,
Liberty League has forwarded me your message requesting a response for your June 16 article regarding the Arizona lawsuit filed last week. Liberty League has retained our firm to represent it in this new lawsuit, which is nearly identical to a lawsuit we're already handling for them in Southern California. As we do in most cases, we've advised Liberty League not to comment on pending litigation. That advice is particularly vital in cases like this, where a few disgruntled individuals are obviously intent on damaging Liberty League's business through their inflammatory internet postings (including posting a comment to your article of mostly irrelevant and outdated traffic violations for one of Liberty League's managers).
While you are certainly entitled to print your opinions, however, we would advise you against rushing to judgment on Liberty League's business practices. For example, you clearly reviewed the October 2006 Revised Consent Judgment between the AG's office and Liberty League in preparing your story. Based on the allegations raised in the new Arizona lawsuit, you conclude that "Chances seem low, at this point, that the company adhered to these rules [laid out in the consent decree]." But your timing is way off, since each of the plaintiffs in this new lawsuit purchased products and services from Liberty League long before the company reached its deal with the AG's office in 2006 (after which Liberty League implemented several new measures to ensure compliance with the settlement's terms).
We are hopeful that interest in this story dies down since it really is old news. But should you be interested in reviewing more federal court records, you'd see that these lawsuits are driven mostly by plaintiffs' lawyers who, to date, have had no success parlaying the earlier Arizona settlement into civil liability. In 2007, for example, an Ohio federal judge threw out similar civil RICO and pyramid scheme claims against Liberty League before the case got rolling. A few months ago, a California federal judge dismissed similar class action claims and ordered that the former associate pursue her remaining claim in a private arbitration setting. Unhappy with these results, the lawyers are no doubt hoping for more favorable treatment from the new judge in Arizona. Forum shopping 101.
Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions on the pending litigation.
Regards,
DRB
David R. Burtt
RAO ONGARO BURTT & TILIAKOS LLP
595 Market Street, Suite 610
San Francisco, CA 94105
Direct: 415-433-3902
Fax: 415-433-3950
dburtt@rao-ongaro.com
www.rao-ongaro.com
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