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Superior Court of NJ
Essex County
50 West Market Street, Room
Newark, NJ 07102
(973) 693-5700
Isaac Mendez
9 Brighton Terrace Apt. 5
Irvington, NJ 07111
Tel. (917) 369 - 0097
ESX- L9(115 -II
ISAAC MENDEZ,
Plaintiff, : CIVIL ACTION NO.
v.
BARSTOOLSPORTS.COM,
--- SUPERIOR CO\J~l ~;.~.:. .J_'
JOHN DOE 1-25, COM
,AINT Lfl.W (j- _.- -.~
JANE DOE 1-25,
r-----_..
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~~rv \I;~,' t"~j,:":'t
,.) ,.., [~r\ ~ n --,,"'~ ----1
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ENTITY A through Z,
CORPORATION A through Z,
\ DEC - 5 20n :
Defendants, : L _ 1
fINfl.NCE. OIVISION
NATURE OF THE COMPLAINTL RE.CEl'Jf.O/fiLED 4f:28~
1. By his complaint, Isaac Mendez, seeks relief, as
set forth below, against the above captioned defendant/s, for
defamation of his character by libel per se, published on the
internet, on December 6, 2010 @ 2:15pm, on the domain named
barstoolsports.com. The domain published the plaintiff's name and
picture, under the defamatory headline, Jersey City Pedophile Loses
His $4 Million Lotto Ticket, Sues the Whole World. The defamatory
internet publication indicates domain NJ.COM, a website that posts
New Jersey news stories, is the source of these defamatory and
highly offensive statements. NJ.com did not post the defamatory
headline or article, but had actually posted the Jersey Journal
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..
Newspaper article headlined in the front page of the December 6,
2010 edition, Lotto Suits, and headlined on Page 5 in the Local
Section, Filing A Whole Lotto Lawsuits. The plaintiff's picture
used on the domain barstoolsports.com was plagiarized from
NJ.com on December 6, 2010. The article published on the domain
barstoolsports.com states the plaintiff is a pedophile, a rapist,
a kid toucher, and a pederass. The defamatory statements published
on barstoolsports.com have subjected the plaintiff to harm by
damaging his reputation, subjecting him to public humiliation,
exposing the plaintiff to hatred, ridicule, and contempt. These
statements were published without any applicable priviledges.
DEMAND FOR JUDGMENT
2. Plaintiff makes a demand for judgment against the
defendant/s,
(A) Barstoolsports.com in the sum of $100 million;
(B) John Doe 1-25 individually and separately in the sum
of $10 million;
(C) Jane Doe 1-25 individually and separately in the sum
of $10 million;
(D) Entity A through Z individually and separately in the
sum of $100 million;
(E) Corporation A through Z individually and separately in
the sum of $100 million;
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...
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Plaintiff Isaac Mendez makes a demand for judgment
against the defendants for:
A. Monetary losses;
B. Compensatory damages;
C. Statutory damages;
D. Punitive damages;
E. Liquidated damages where permitted by law;
F. Lawful Interest - including pre-judgment
interest on monetary losses;
G. Damages for humiliation, mental and emotional
distress;
H. Such further and different relief as the Court
deems fitting, just and proper;
Plaintiff hereby reserves the right to amend this
complaint to supplement or modify the factual obligations and
claims contained herein, based upon information received from the
defendants, witnesses, experts, and others in the course of
discovery in this manner.
PARTIES
PLAINTIFF
4. Isaac Mendez resides at 9 Brighton Terrace,
Apt. 5, Irvington, New Jersey 07111;
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•
J
I
DEFENDANT
4. Upon infor.mation and belief, barstoolsports.com,
is located at Rua Dr. Brito Camara, n 20, 1 Funcha1, Madeira
9000-039, PT (Portugal) Phone: 1-902-7495331
Email: b548e7490a161233626c8254de90edad@domaindiscreet.com
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
5. On December 6, 2010, the Jersey Journal Newspaper
published a story about the plaintiff, Isaac Mendez. The story
publicized the plaintiff's controversy with the State of New
Jersey involving Superior Court of New Jersey, trial docket no.
HUD-L-7987-02, in which the State was a defendant. The State
has failed to file a timely answer to the lawsuit filed by the
plaintiff in 2009, for tortious injury to his rights during the
civil proceedings in case docket no. HUD-L-7987-02. During the
trial, the State withheld State witnesses, withheld evidence,
and rehearsed the State Investigators to commit perjury to
portray to the jury that the State was never a defendant in the
matter. In support of his claim, the plaintiff has filed court
documentation proving the State filed an answer and that it
filed a motion to be dismissed in the case just twenty (20) days
before the trial, in support of his claim.
6. The non-State defendants in Superior Court of
New Jersey case docket no. HUD-L-7987-02, were Maribel Torres
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and Reynaldo Torres. They were represented by Louis David Balk,
Esq.
7. The Jersey Journal Newspaper interviewed
Maribel Torres, Reynaldo Torres and Louis David Balk, Esq. and
published their responses to the plaintiff's lawsuit, case
docket no. MER-L-2931-09, in which all three are named as
defendants. In the article, Maribel Torres acknowledged she was
aware that the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against her and her
brother Reynaldo Torres, and stated that Louis David Balk, Esq.,
their attorney, had advised them not to take action.
(A copy of the Jersey Journal Newspaper article published on
Monday, December 6, 2010 is hereto attached as exhibit A)
8. The Jersey Journal reporter placed calls to
Marc Krefetz, Deputy Attorney General for comments from the
defendant the State of New Jersey, and he never returned the calls.
9. Before December 6, 2010, the only persons, outside
Jersey Journal Staff Writers, aware of the fact the plaintiff
had taken his story to the Jersey Journal newspaper, and were aware
the Jersey Journal newspaper was going to publish the plaintiff's
story were Maribel Torres, Reynaldo Torres, Louis David Balk, Esq.
10. The Jersey Journal article titled Former Jersey
City resident says lottery winnings belong to him, not Union City
brother and sister, was published on NJ.com on December 6, 2010 @
1:35pm.
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11. The defamatory article titled, Jersey City
Pedophile Loses His $4 Million Lotto Ticket, Sues the Whole World
was published on nyc.barstoo1sports.com on December 6, 2010 @
2:15pm.
(A copy of the Barstoolsports.com internet article published on
Monday, December 6, 2010 is hereto attached as exhibit B)
12. It is evident that the person/s who authored
the libelous article, with the plaintiff's name and picture, were
expecting the Jersey Journal to publish this story, and responded
immediately to the publication of the plaintiff's story by
specifically defaming the plaintiff's character.
13. The nyc.barstoolsports.com article is false and
subjects the plaintiff to public humiliation, and exposes the
plaintiff to hatred, ridicule, and contempt. The article used
vulgar language and explicit references to child rape to slander
the character of the plaintiff.
14. The plaintiff is clearly the target of a highly
offensive publication. The tone of the article is of one written
with personal hostility and/or spite, and with the actual desire to
hurt the plaintiff without a reasonable ground to believe in the
truth of the defamatory statements.
15. The plaintiff is a private person, and not a
public figure. This case is a private concern defamation case.
16. N.J.S.A. 2A:14-3 - statute of limitations for
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defamation is the applicable statute of limitation for filing a
complaint in this matter. The domain barstoolsports.com published
the defamatory title and article with the plaintiff's picture on
December 6, 2010, therefore the plaintiff has complied with the
governing statute of limitations.
COUNT 1 - DEFAMATION
Plaintiff Isaac Mendez herein incorporates the
aforementioned and alleges; the foregoing facts and circumstances
demonstrate the following defendants defamed the plaintiff, by
libel per se on the internet;
17. On December 6, 2010, Barstoolsports.com published
an online article with a headline, imputing criminal conduct on the
the plaintiff, making a statement as a matter of fact, calling the
plaintiff a pedophile. The article is accessible to all users
of the internet in New Jersey, the plaintiff's State of residence,
as well as to internet users residing outside New Jersey, and
internet users outside the United States, the plaintiff's country
of citizenship;
18. On December 6, 2010, Barstoolsports.com published
the plaintiff's picture on the internet, under the headline calling
the plaintiff a pedophile. Clearly, the defendant/s committed libel
per se against the plaintiff, on the world wide web, which is
accessible to all users of the internet worldwide, in New Jersey,
in the United States and territories outside the United States;
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19. On December 6, 2010, Barstoolsports.com published
an article that states the plaintiff is a pedophile, a kid toucher,
a child rapist and a pederass. The plaintiff's picture is attached
to the article. This is libel per se.
20. On December 6, 2010, Barstoolsports.com published
an article that states the plaintiff is a pedophile, a kid toucher,
a child rapist and a pederass. Internet bloggers posted comments
in response to the defamatory article, proving the defamatory
statements were read by third parties and defamed the plaintiff,
21. Defendants John Doe (1-25), Jane Doe (1-25),
Entity A through Z, Corporations A through Z, defamed the plaintiff
by libel per se, by posting defamatory statements about the
plaintiff, and the posting the plaintiff's picture on the internet,
on domain Barstoolsports.com, with reckless disregard for the truth
and for the plaintiff's reputation,
22. As a direct and proximate result of the actions of
the aforementioned defendants, plaintiff Isaac Mendez has suffered
severe emotional distress, suffered mental anguish, physical
discomfort, pain and suffering, shame and embarassment. Further
more, the defendant/s subjected the plaintiff to harm by damaging
his reputation, subjecting him to public humiliation, exposing the
plaintiff to hatred, ridicule, and contempt. Plaintiff damages have
been experienced in the past, and they will continue into the
future.
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COUNT 2 - NEGLIGENCE
Plaintiff Isaac Mendez herein incorporates the
aforementioned and alleges; the foregoing facts and circumstances
demonstrate the following defendants failed to exercise a
reasonable amount of due care under the circumstances.
23. Defendant Barstoolsports.com published defamatory
and offensive false statements about the plaintiff, Isaac Mendez,
on its website, www.nyc.barstoolsports.com. The article attributes
the defamation to NJ.com, thus the person/s responsible for the
website www.nyc.barstoolsports.com had the opportunity to check
NJ.com to verify if the article posted on their website was
authentic in content, but the defendants Barstoolsports.com
published the defamatory article with reckless disregard for the
truth of the statement/s and the plaintiff's reputation, violating
DeAngelis v. Hill, 847 A.2d 1261, 1267-68 (N.J. 2004)
24. Defendant Barstoolsports.com published defamatory
and offensive statements about the plaintiff, with a picture of
the plaintiff directly under a headline calling the plaintiff a
pedophile, with reckless disregard for the truth of the statement/s
and for the plaintiff's reputation,
25. Defendants John Doe (1-25), Jane Doe (1-25),
Entity A through Z, Corporations A through Z, defamed the plaintiff
by libel per se, by posting defamatory statements with the
plaintiff's picture, on the internet, on domain Barstoolsports.com,
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with reckless disregard for the truth of the statements and for the
plaintiff's reputation,
26. As a direct and proximate result of the actions of
the aforementioned defendants, plaintiff Isaac Mendez has suffered
severe emotional distress, suffered mental anguish, physical
discomfort, pain and suffering, shame and embarrassment. Further
more, the defendant/s subjected the plaintiff to harm by damaging
his reputation, subjecting him to public humiliation, exposing the
plaintiff to hatred, ridicule, and contempt. Plaintiff damages have
been experienced in the past, and they will continue into the
future.
COUNT 3 - INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
Plaintiff Isaac Mendez herein incorporates the
aforementioned and alleges; the foregoing facts and circumstances
demonstrate all the defendants deliberately caused the plaintiff
severe emotional distress, mental anguish, pain and suffering,
shame and embarrassment and exposed the plaintiff to public
humiliation, exposing the plaintiff to hatred, ridicule, and
contempt;
27. Defendant Barstoolsports.com published defamatory
and offensive false statements about the plaintiff, Isaac Mendez,
along with the plaintiff's picture on its website, www.nyc.bar
stoolsports.com. Publication of the highly offensive statements
about the plaintiff, who is a private citizen, should be reviewed
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by the domain owner/s before or upon publication. The domain
Barstoo1sports.com decided to keep the defamatory article posted on
their website, sanctioning the defamation of a private citizen,
even when the b10ggers comments implied that the article posted by
John Doe (1-25), Jane Doe (1-25), Entity A through Z, and/or
Corporation A through Z, was an act of retaliation against the
plaintiff in connection with Case Docket No. HUD-L-7987-02, and
Case Docket No. MER-L-2931-09. The defamatory article was published
on the internet just forty (40) minutes after NJ.com published on
the internet, the Jersey Journal news story published on December
6, 2010. The Barstoo1sports.com article is false, vicious, vile,
offensive, and is clearly intended to assassinate the plaintiff's
character in the view of the public.
28. Defendants John Doe (1-25), Jane Doe (1-25),
Entity A through Z, and/or Corporation A through Z, posted the
libelous statements about the plaintiff just forty (40) minutes
after NJ.com published on the internet, the Jersey Journal news
story published on December 6, 2010. The Barstoo1sports.com article
is false, vicious, offensive, and is clearly intended to
assassinate the plaintiff's character in the view of the public,
thus intentionally defaming towards the plaintiff.
29. As a direct and proximate result of the actions
of the aforementioned defendants, plaintiff Isaac Mendez has
suffered severe emotional distress, has suffered mental anguish,
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physical discomfort, pain and suffering, shame and embarrassment.
Furthermore, the defendant/s subjected the plaintiff to harm by
damaging his reputation, subjecting him to public humiliation,
exposing the plaintiff to hatred, ridicule, and contempt. Plaintiff
damages have been experienced in the past, and they will continue
into the future.
WHEREFORE, as to each and every count, plaintiff demands
judgment on each and all of these counts against the defendant/s
jointly and severally, as follows;
A. Damages to the plaintiff's reputation in the sum
of $100 million against defendant/s Barstoolsports.com,
in the sum of $10 million against defendant/s John Doe (1-25),
in the sum of $10 million against defendant/s Jane Doe (1-25),
in the sum of $100 million against defendant/s Entity A through Z,
in the sum of $100 million against defendant/s Corporations A
through Z,
B. Compensatory damages;
C. Statutory damages;
D. Punitive damages;
E. Liquidated damages where permitted by law;
F. Lawful interest - including pre-judgment interest on
monetary losses;
G. Damages for humiliation, mental and emotional distress.
H. Such other, further and different relief as the Court
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deems fitting, just and proper.
Plaintiff hereby reserves the right to amend this
Complaint to supplement or modify the factual obligations and
claims contained herein, based upon information received from the
defendants, witnesses, experts, and others in the course of
discovery in this matter.
DEMAND FOR TRIAL BY JURY
Pursuant to Rule 4:35-1(a) and (b), plaintiff
respectfully demands a trial by jury on all issues in the within
action triable.
DESIGNATION OF TRIAL COUNSEL
Plaintiff Isaac Mendez is filing this civil action and
is proceeding as a pro-se litigant.
DEMAND FOR PRODUCTION OF INSURANCE AGREEMENTS
Pursuant to R. 4:10-2(b), demand is hereby made that you
disclose to the all or part of a judgment undersigned whether there
are any insurance agreements or policies under which any person of
firm carrying on an insurance business may be liable to satisfy all
or part of a judgment which may be entered in the action or to
indemnify or reimburse for payment made to satisfy the judgment.
If so, please attach a copy of each, or in the
alternative state, under oath and certification: (a) policy number;
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(b) name and address of insurer; (c) inception and expiration date;
(d) names and addresses of all persons insured there under;
(e) personal injury limits; (f) property damage limits; and
(g) medical payment limits.
DATE: November 29 , 2011 BY:
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 4:5-1
Puruant to Rule 4:5-1 , the undersigned certifies that to the
best of his knowledge 1 the within matter in controversy is not the
subject of any other action pending in any other Court or of a
pending arbitration proceeding.
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