Another Anti-Spammer Sued for Defamation

(Caution: Mildly rough language ahead.)

A blogger who published the home phone number of a man he claimed was a spammer has found himself on the receiving end of a defamation lawsuit.

The man whose home phone number was published on the blog, Ralph Penton, claims he received a torrent of harassing phone calls, including death threats, as the result of a blog post by Jerry Baker, of Monrovia, CA.

“I will not stop until I bankrupt this guy,” said Penton. “Guys like this are as dangerous as spammers.”

Penton and his online pharmaceuticals marketing company, Health Solutions Network, are suing Baker, alleging defamation, tortious interference with contracts, restraint of trade, trademark infringement and trademark dilution, fraud and harassment by phone.

Just before Christmas, someone writing under the name Jerry Baker published a post on a blog titled Miscellaneous Debris headlined: “Tracking Down a Spammer.” In the post, the writer claimed his investigation into who was behind some spam he claimed he received from RXCart.org led him to Penton, CEO of Health Solutions Network.

“I call the prick up and tell him that I am receiving a lot of spam advertising his Web site and he hangs up,” said the blog post.

According to Penton, as a result of the post, he was harassed for days and even received death threats.

“He ruined my family’s Christmas,” Penton said.

“His first phone call to me was a foul, vulgar oration,” he added. Penton said Baker called him repeatedly “well into the morning.”

In response to the post, Penton’s lawyer published a comment on the blog claiming Health Solutions Network never was affiliated with RXCart.org.

“In the case you cite in your BLOG, you have found HSN because the clever spammer wanted you to,” wrote Loius Petriello, Health Solutions Network’s lawyer. “While your steps to ‘track down a spammer’ may seem clever and diligent, you have been duped into believing that a legal, US based company is behind the spam.”

The blogger has since removed Penton’s home telephone number from the post, but added the following: “I changed this post to remove direct references to the actual individual on the advice of counsel. The information remains accessible via the methods described.”

According to Penton, the change didn’t help.

“His second blog was just as damaging as his first blog,” said Penton. “I started getting phone calls from people threatening my life.”

Penton said he does not spam, nor does he condone it. “Our affiliates are not allowed to spam,” he said. “If they spam, we cut them right off.”

A search of WhitePages.com returned one listing for Jerry Baker in Monrovia, CA. A message left with voicemail was not returned. Petriello said late last week that he didn’t know if Baker had been served with court papers yet.

The news comes amid coverage of a more high-profile defamation suit in which Omega World Travel is suing anti-spammer Mark Mumma of Oklahoma for $3.8 million for allegedly calling Omega’s principals spammers on his Web site.

Mumma and Omega are reportedly in settlement talks.