Tech Company Brings Suit Against CMP Unit's Message Board Users

By Dylan Stableford

Juniper Networks
, a Sunnyvale, California-based telecom technology and security company, is suing 10 message board users of CMP's newly-acquired Light Reading
, an integrated business media and online publisher serving the telecom industry.

The suit
, filed in Superior Court of California in Santa Clara County last month, claims that up to 10 of Light Reading's message board users;"Does 1-10" including "infranet_rulz" and "exJuniper981" according to court filings;posted libelous statements defaming Juniper, and that the statements "could lead to a material decline" in the company's profits. Juniper is seeking undisclosed compensatory damages.

According to court documents
, Juniper alleges that the users;whose true identities, the suit states, are uncertain and therefore are being pursued under fictitious names;posted false statements intending to "injure" the company.

On April 20, 2005, the suit alleges that in a post regarding the article Juniper's first quarter performance, "Doe 1" wrote "the man at the helm [of Juniper] seems to be paying (off) attorneys all over the bay area to cover up the scandal which resulted in the terminations of many at the top including ﾅ 1) Board of Director 2) CFO 3) GM 4) VP of engineering 5) VP of HR and more." On July 22, 2005, the suit alleges, "Doe 1" wrote in a post that Juniper's law firm uses "spyware on employees' and ex-employees' home computers to log activity." On September 2, "Doe 2" wrote in a post regarding an article about a departing Juniper executive that the company had "tapped the phones and sent PIs to follow and intimidate him."

Light Reading, the self-proclaimed "largest telecom publication in the world," boasts a global audience of 400,000 users of its Web site, e-newsletters and related products. In its complaint, Juniper describes Light Reading as a "popular source of information to individuals who are employed in the computer networking and security industry in which Juniper operates."

On December 21, Light Reading published
a story about the suit that, not surprisingly, has drawn 80 posts
on its message board.

See Related Court Documents: Juniper Networks, Inc. v. DOES 1-10

Post Comment / Discuss This Story - Info/Rules