Lawyers mimic defendant BuzzFeed in motion with clickbait heading and adorable kitten photo
Lawyers suing BuzzFeed for alleged defamation tried using the defendant’s clickbait tactics in a motion seeking to keep the case in Miami federal court.
The motion is entitled; “Six ways BuzzFeed has misled the court (number two will amaze you) … and a picture of a kitten.” Law.com has a story (sub req.).
There actually is a picture of the kitten, in an exhibit. It belongs to one of the lawyers suing BuzzFeed, Evan Fray-Witzer of Boston.
“We try to keep our filings with the court interesting, though this is about as interesting as we’ve gotten,” Fray-Witzer told Law.com. “We take the case very seriously, but it was hard to believe that even BuzzFeed was serious about this motion. Rather than get annoyed about it, we decided to inject a little levity. And a kitten.”
BuzzFeed was not amused. “We’re surprised by the plaintiffs’ desire to make light of this matter, and we are confident in our motion to dismiss,” said spokesman Matt Mittenthal in an email to Law.com.
The suit was filed on behalf of a Russian technology executive, Aleksej Gubarev, who claimed he was defamed by publication of a private security company’s dossier that accused him of involvement in hacking Democratic party leaders.
BuzzFeed argued in the motion to dismiss that the suit should not have been filed in Florida.
[Eugene Volokh] ‘Six Ways Buzzfeed Has Misled the Court (Number Two Will Amaze You) … and a Picture of a Kitten’ https://t.co/UkLGDRLk8K pic.twitter.com/vEoOt8KSCH
— Volokh Conspiracy (@volokhcom) March 29, 2017
