Thursday, February 12, 2009

Blockshopper Scumbags Settle Lawsuit with Jones Day

From "The Plain Dealer" with our comments added.

Jones Day settles lawsuit against small Internet site, defendants say

February 11, 2009 17:19PM
A small Internet site says it has settled a lawsuit filed by the Jones Day law firm - a suit that ignited criticism from bloggers and free speech advocates across the country.

Jones Day wanted to stop Blockshopper.com, a real estate site, from linking to the law firm's Web site. Jones Day also claimed that Blockshopper's use of the firm's name without permission constituted trademark infringement.

Under the settlement, Blockshopper can continue to link to Jones Day's site, but it must use the firm's Web address as the link.

Blockshopper says it spent more than $100,000 defending itself against the lawsuit.

"They had no shot at winning, but they were going to bleed us dry," said co-founder [and complete piece of human filth] Brian Timpone, who described the settlement Wednesday.
Jones Day did not return calls requesting comment.

BlockShopper posts information from public records on residential sales in 11 U.S. markets. It adds to that brief articles about transactions involving lawyers, doctors and other buyers and sellers whose names show up in Google searches.

[I.e. Blockshopper scumbag pieces of crap Brian Timpone and Edward Edward Weinhaus mine pubic data and post it for their personal profit, with a complete and total disregard for personal privacy and the well being of others. Their "brief articles" are nothing more than a cheesy search engine optimization ploy that mines Linked-in and other personal profile information and posts it on their site to increase their internet traffic through key words.

This isn't a free speech issue, you morons — it's about privacy and not having your address show up in Google and having every jackass, stalker, and nutcase know where you and your family live. While it is true that the information may be posted on assessor's pages, these pages are not indexed by Google.

Furthermore, people concerned about their privacy spend thousands on trusts and LLC's to get their names off of assessor's sites - all a wasted effort thanks to these two f-ing punks. These a-holes don't give a crap about "free speech" - what they care about is making money at other people's expense, regardless of the consequences.

When someone gets raped, a kid gets abducted, or home gets burglarized because some criminal found their address through Blockshopper, LET'S MAKE SURE THESE TWO PIECES OF SHIT GET HELD PERSONALLY LIABLE FOR MAKING THIS PERSONAL INFORMATION APPEAR ON GOOGLE SEARCHES.]


Jones Day sued BlockShopper in August after it posted articles about Dan Malone Jr. and Jacob Tiedt, lawyers at its Chicago office who had recently bought condos. The articles linked to the lawyers' profile pages on the firm's 2,300-attorney site.

Jones Day asserted that the links could give viewers the mistaken impression that it endorsed BlockShopper or was affiliated with it.

Critics scoffed, saying that Jones Day's position was an attack on Blockshopper's First Amendment rights and jeopardized the common practice of linking from one Internet site to another.

The two sides talked about a settlement almost before the ink was dry on Jones Day's suit. Jones Day offered to drop its claim if BlockShopper stopped writing about its lawyers and paid $10,000, Timpone said. BlockShopper refused -- agreeing would have gutted its business model by laying it open to anyone who didn't like a BlockShopper link, he said.

BlockShopper in September offered to "make the link more literal" by including the law firm's Web address -- the terms agreed to this week, Timpone said. At the time, BlockShopper had incurred $10,000 in legal fees.

Jones Day rejected the plan. About four months later, a few weeks before the case was set for trial in Illinois, the two sides agreed to settle, Timpone said. By then BlockShopper had rung up $110,000 in legal fees.

[Piece of shit] Timpone said his 15-employee company made a business decision that it couldn't continue the fight.

"It's harrowing," he said. "I hope nobody has to go through what we went through."

[We'll do whatever we can to make sure that you'll be going through it again and again you F-ing prick.]

Under the settlement, provided to The Plain Dealer by BlockShopper attorney James Klenk, BlockShopper can publish links to Jones Day but they can't be "embedded links." Those are defined as hyperlinks that are placed on a word or name.

Instead, BlockShopper will have to place the Web address next to references to the firm. In other words, instead of writing Daniel P. Malone Jr. is an associate in the Chicago office of Jones Day," BlockShopper must write "Malone (www.jonesday.com/dpmalone) is an associate . . ." BlockShopper is permitted to use "deep links" to any Jones Day site. Those are links that directly access a specific page beyond the home page, such as attorneys' biographical pages. While the settlement may seem like a fig leaf, it still rankles digital rights proponents who say BlockShopper did nothing illegal.

Links are "one of the accepted methods of dissemination of information on the Internet," Klenk said.

Paul Levy [another complete moron who can't distinguish between free speech and privacy rights], a lawyer with the consumer group Public Citizen, encouraged people to "replicate the lesson to Jones Day" by posting hyperlinks to the firm "as a way of daring, 'Big boy, try it again.'" While the case was pending, BlockShopper agreed to remove links to the condo-buying associates in Chicago.

Now those postings will go back up, along with listings of property transactions by other Jones Day lawyers, [pathetic loser] Timpone said.

BlockShopper also will have a new link for visitors curious about why Jones Day references come in a different format than all the other tie-ins appearing on the BlockShopper site. "We're going to link to a page that describes what happened in the lawsuit," Timpone said.

[We are deeply disappointed that Jones Day has decided to settle this case. Someone else please sue this piece of shit company out of existence... We need to get a class-action law suit going by everyone who feels their rights to privacy have been comprised by these selfish greedy scumbags. In the meantime please feel free to post any additional info you can find on Blockshopper scumbags Brian Timpone and Edward Weinhaus... what their personal problems are, who they or their wives are having affairs with, where their kids go to school, etc.]

22 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. and now

    LIFELOCK - the company that aims to protect
    your identity - is advertising on

    Blockshopper.com

    are you kidding me?

    email Lifelock and tell Todd Davis that
    he is advertising in the wrong place...
    for sure

    ReplyDelete
  3. I wonder if those are being served up through some 3rd party service like Google Ad Sense. I highly doubt they have formed relationships with all of those companies. Still going after their ad sponsors is a good idea.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Blockshopper.com has NO idea who they are
    dealing with...
    refuse to take my address off their site?
    no problem-o...
    just as they GLEENed my info off another site,
    so will I gleen all negative pr about blockshopper.com and send it to all their advertisers, realtors, etc...
    not to mention....calls to the FTC, BBB
    and on and on and on...
    how does it feel, boyz ????

    Timothy Landon, Brian Timpone and Ed Weinhaus?
    that Jones law firm spent way too much money
    on you punks .....MY way is the way to go...
    hit 'em where it hurts !!
    in your wallets and bank accounts !!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. PS.

    Realtors, get REAL, and put your dollars
    with someone legit...like Realtor.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well, Boyz, I guess Public Domain is only
    Public Domain when you're making $$$$$$....

    I asked you politely to remove my address
    and you did NOT..

    so, take the consequences like MEN, instead
    of [the] 'little' boyz that you are !

    ReplyDelete
  7. Is there anyone out there that is taking real, organized efforts toward getting these people to remove our names from this site? I don't care about my address being posted as real estate info- but not if my name is attached to it, as it currently is. I REALLY want to get involved in stopping these people and am interested in any leads to helping/organizing this effort.

    I have spent many years avoiding a stalker who over time tracked me to 3 previous residences and even broke into one of them. These people have allowed him to find me again with about 1 minute of internet research. I can't even begin to describe how that could devastate my life. Similarly to "the apprentice" post above- they asked for the legal records of this case. Which are 10 years old but doesn't stop this guy from being crazy; and I agree- no way I'm going to send them that info. Which, actually, is a matter of public record as well. If they were an ethical company they would cross-reference information in order to prevent harm to others. But they've made it clear they have no ethics at all.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Set up an anonymous e-mail address and post it here. I will get in touch with you, then we can get everyone else on board. Someone needs to spearhead this effort, find a lawyer willing to take the case, and then we can pool our resources. I can add some new posts and try to get some media attention. We should be able to get quite a number of people involved.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Paul-

    You can email me at sharletrd@aol.com I am very interested in some activism on this.

    I was on the phone w/ the Attny General's office in my state yesterday & I'm afraid the news wasn't good. They suggested our best plan of action is to contact all of our legislature. They said this is one of many "Data Brokers" operating at this point in time, data mining all kinds of personal information. And currently there aren't any laws in place preventing them from what their doing.

    Blockshopper has just managed to make it extra simple to find someone in just a few clicks.

    Look forward to hearing from you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Public Domain is what this website is all
    about...so, use the public domain to their
    dis-advantage.

    I'm in for getting something going....will
    email you.

    the media can be television stations in the
    towns where blockshopper.com is located...
    and find the stations that have consumer
    help shows....the more the public hears about
    this site...the less likely companies will
    advertise...and the sooner less advertisers
    spend their money with them, the faster
    Blockshopper.com hits the pavement.and
    the sooner
    everyone's name and address gets off the web !

    Now, Blockshopper.com COULD do what other
    sites do (including google and whitepages.com)
    do and delete peoples' information upon
    request.

    Obviously, Brian Timpone thinks he can
    do whatever he wants without regard for
    fellow human beings?

    So, be it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. WOW ! It's difficult to figure out why
    Brian Timpone and Timothy Landon from
    Blockshopper.com won't just let you people
    off their site?

    Are they just that arrogant ?

    Or, maybe they're just that ignorant?

    Or, maybe they just don't GIVE A CRAP !

    I mean that's obvious from reading about
    their law suit with Jones Day.


    Well, keep blogging and mentioning their names
    because the more they're on the web, the
    more often they'll pop up when googled...and
    THAT can't help their biz...


    Public Domain.....what's good for the geese
    is good for the bloggers !

    (the geese, being....

    Brian Timpone and
    Timothy Landon

    Brian Timpone and
    Timothy Landon

    Brian Timpone and
    Timothy Landon

    Brian Timpone and
    Timothy Landon

    Brian Timpone and
    Timothy Landon )


    Keep mentioning their names....until that's
    all that pops up when they're googled.

    I LOVE public domain....

    ReplyDelete
  12. I do not understand their absolute disregard either. They are truly puting people in danger. I've read complaints from mental healther counselors, law enforcement officers, victims of various crimes, etc- that have all had problems with this site. Why they do not have the ethics to remove our personal names upon request is mind boggling to me. The fact that they do not care about the personal safety of others is beyond my understanding. It's ironic to me that one of their partners is a graduate of "Texas Christian University"!! Of course his home address isn't up there...........

    I've drafted a letter to all my state's legislative representatives & sent it out to everyone from the county level on up to the Governor. It will be interesting to see what kind of response I get. And anyone that would like to use this letter is welcome to- it should work in pretty much every state with some minor edits.

    I'm somewhat hesitant to start broadcasting through media. That brings the availability of this info much more to the forefront for every scumbag, stalker, rapist, abusive spouse etc. that's sitting around on their couch watching t.v. Then all they have to do is hop on their computer or pop in and use one at the public library and voila- they're back on the trail of their victims.

    Let's continue the dialogue- I know I'm not going to let up on this. I spent too many years fighting a nightmare to let these people harm me, my family, or anyone else if I can help it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. If you want to see the prick Brian search blockshopper on you tube. What a pussy this guy is. I can't wait to meet him. Thanks for the info on these creeps...

    ReplyDelete
  14. I would love to get in on this with blockshopper please email me at brnjohnson912@gamil.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am interested in suing. Blockshopper continues to post erroneous information about a property owned by a private trust, which is causing damage.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am interested in suing as well. I have requested my name be removed from their records as it is causing me serious discomfort about protecting my private information and the response as of today was "no", It is public information.

    Are there any class action lawsuits going on against blockshopper.com? I would sign up if I could.

    ReplyDelete
  17. FACEBOOK IS GREAT!!!
    Timothy Landon
    http://www.facebook.com//#!/profile.php?id=716935106
    Wife: Elizabeth Thebeau Landon
    http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=716935106#!/profile.php?id=1072596394
    Kids:
    Olivia Landon http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=716935106#!/profile.php?id=808044535

    Charlie Landon
    http://www.facebook.com/friends/?id=1072596394#!/profile.php?id=100001246055716

    Madeleine Eden Landon


    Brian Timpone (you can find a bunch of his family members there as well)
    http://www.facebook.com//#!/btimpone

    Edward Weinhaus
    http://www.facebook.com/friends/?id=1136827344#!/eddie.weinhaus
    Wife: Natalie Chernawsky Weinhaus
    http://www.facebook.com/eddie.weinhaus#!/profile.php?id=1078568373&ref=search

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great work Orly - thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh look what I found here. A little book that they made for their dear little daughter Madeleine Eden Landon courtesy of, stupid mom, Elizabeth Thebeau Landon who posted it on her facebook along with many others like this. The money they are making off of our names are being used for lavish family vacations. Where's my money??? They are not allowed to make money off our names without reimbursment.
    Enjoy, and fuel your anger!!!

    http://www.mypublisher.com/?e=OHm3Q8zJl3RJoHhgWnIWtU35CJFogewf&s=fb

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'm having similar trouble with blockshopper. They're posting my wife's name as associated with the sale of my mom's house BEFORE we were even married. They refuse to remove her name, claiming it somehow "compromises" the data's integrity. Complete bs.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Is anyone doing anything about this. I have spent the last 2 hours of my precious time trying to figure out how to get my private info removed, only to be enraged that no one seems to be able to do anything about it, let alone sue them.

    If you know of anyone actively pulling together a class action law suit to shut down Blockshopper, please let me know by replying with an email I can contact.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Brian Timpone and
    Timothy Landon

    Brian Timpone and
    Timothy Landon

    Brian Timpone and
    Timothy Landon

    Brian Timpone and
    Timothy Landon

    Brian Timpone and
    Timothy Landon

    ReplyDelete