DISCUSSION :
The promise of the internet was such that it would amplify the voice of "Everyman", that no longer would the "little man" be silenced by not having the money and resources to spread his message of injustice throughout the land. With a computer, the knowledge of HTML coding, access to the Net, and an account with a web server, your average person could have the ability to have his or her voice heard. This gave hope to those people who feel wronged, but until now, they were unable to have others share in their feeling of angst. There is an unpleasant trend nationwide to try to silence those who would speak out against what they perceive as evil or wrong. One of the weapons in the armament of those who would care to silence the little man or woman, is the use of the threat of litigation against page authors. One great example involves the case of http://www.gwbush.com.   A copy of the threatening letter Zack got is here. The attorneys also complained to the FEC (federal election committee) is found here. The site owner eloquently answered complaints, his answer is found here.

Another case of litigation trying to stop a private individual from exposing and complaining about wrongs done them involves
Judy's site at http://www.smalltownjustice.com. Another case of an attempt to interfere with an individual's freedom of expression on the net is Robin Gage's site found here.
The point is that as we head into the year 2000, companies and individuals are using the legal system to try to choke off serious freedom of speech on the Net. One of the founding principles of the USA was SUPPOSED to be the right to peacefully protest. The placard carrying of the 60s has become the banner on the website of the 90s and 2000s and I for one, find the trend to try to shut up the "little man" (or woman) extremely upsetting and concerning.

History :
             I had a page located at http://selectiveinsurance.homepage.com (which is no longer online) which gave certain information about this company. One of the agents of this company contacted my mother who was injured on the premises of the Comfort Inn in Toledo Ohio and took a recorded statement from her while she was on medication and without benefit of counsel, after she had expressed that she did not want to make a recorded statement and after I had personally spoken with this "adjuster" before she called my mother and had advised her that my mother might want her attorney to respond to any questions the adjuster might ask. After hearing from my mother what happened, I later filed complaints with the Department of Insurance in New Jersey and in Ohio, filing the complaint against the adjuster and the company in Ohio and against just the company in New Jersey. My page was online for some time and regularly visited by various companies and persons.

Then on  December 3,1999, I got a bullying letter from the law firm of Pitney, Hardin, Kipp & Szuch, alleging I had made "...false,misleading, and defamatory statements"   about an insurance company identified as "Selective Insurance"
and also, saying that they had been authorized by this "Selective Insurance" to "institute an action in the United States District Court seeking an injunction,money damages, and attorney fees and costs against you personally as well as against Homepage.com" [note-Homepage.com was the hosting company of the page I had the site complained of, hosted on].

First off, let's see what other folks are saying relative to this law firm. Please CLICK HERE for the 1998 review of their web site when the firm was still listed in the top 250 firms in 1998.

A little bit more about the law firm that wrote me what I characterize as a "bullying letter" threatening to initiate a law suit against me on behalf of an insurance company based in Branchville New Jersey. The letter may be viewed by clicking here You may read my response by clicking here.

The letter was written by Ronald D. Coleman. You can read more about him by visiting this website. After reading what he has there about being an author and Princeton graduate, you can read my   addendum  advising him about "dilution of trademark" by clicking here.

There is an article in the National Law Journal which talks about the law firm identified as "Pitney,Hardin,Kipp & Szuch" . The article speaks of the attrition rate, i.e. the number of associates leaving law firms.

To quote the National Law Journal :

" The state with the highest attrition rate is New Jersey. Two Garden State firms dropped off the 250 list this year, and the remaining three--McCarter & English, Pitney, Hardin, Kipp & Szuch, and Sills Cummis Radin Tischman Epstein & Gross P.A.--together averaged about 25% attrition. Experts blame the allure of New York's big money and of New Jersey's myriad new national branch offices of out-of-state firms. "
Another link about this firm is available at :
http://www.nlj.com/1998/1998_top_250/247.html. This link reveals the following facts  for 1998 :

247 - Pitney, Hardin, Kipp & Szuch ( note 247 out of 250 ; note it was ranked 231 the year before )
RANK LAST YEAR: 231

What can YOU do to halt this trend?
One thing is to write letters of protest to companies who try to bully others into closing down their sites because the site owner is saying something they don't like. Also,  do not patronize  businesses who conduct themselves in this fashion. I personally would NEVER advocate any person or business would become a customer of Selective Insurace Company of America, nor would I invest in the stock of the Selective Insurance Group,Inc. Also, judicial systems that are trying to stop people from freely express their opinions and complaints should be complained of to higher authorities. Free web page sites that fold under any complaints about a page, should have letters of complaint by the netizens who oppose this draconian and cowardly conduct. Also, let your congresspersons know how you feel about this issue. The ACLU has an action alert list that you can join that helps you contact your representatives and let them know what you feel with regard to various issues (including this one). To join, please click here.

This page will be addressing these and other issues on an ongoing basis. Thank you for visiting.