#I never published this until now because I thought there wasn't enough tom in the fic

[lawbyrhys]

The Logan Paul v. Coffeezilla Lawsuit: Part Two

Here's a situation I never thought I'd be talking about, but here we are! Let's dive on in to Logan Paul's huge defamation suit against Coffeezilla.

Finally, the lawsuit itself! Let's get into all the details of what exactly is going on in this wild case between these two YouTube juggernauts.

By the way, I'll be referring to Coffeezilla as Findeisen in my work about this case because that's his legal last name, and I didn't pass the bar and get a BigLaw job to spend my free time dictating the word "Coffeezilla" into my iPhone as I'm stuck in LA traffic. I'm gonna do it the legit way. Sue me, or don't—you know I'll win. ;)

Check back for updates as the case goes on; I will publish them when I have time to work on them. Let's get into the lawsuit as it stands now.

Logan Paul is the plaintiff in this lawsuit, and he filed the case in the US District Court of the Western District of Texas—Federal Court. Findeisen is based in Texas, while Paul resides in Puerto Rico. The latter made an interesting choice by filing in federal court, as Findeisen can't use the anti-SLAPP laws afforded in Texas and applicable in Texas state court. A SLAPP suit—meaning Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation—essentially means you can't sue your critics into silence or otherwise use your power combined with that of the justice system to intimidate or censor them. This also means the Texas Citizens Participation Act, an act that allows defendants to file to dismiss such a suit that infringes their free speech. Both of these statutes save time and money for the defendant, especially the latter, which would halt the suit before it even enters discovery, but why would Paul want to spare Findeisen any expenses? He doesn't, so he didn't. We can thank the 5th Circuit determined these laws don't apply in federal court; Paul's counsel appears to know the law, so that's something.

Now to the actual lawsuit; like, really this time.

Paul alleges that Findeisen's comments about his CryptoZoo debacle "perpetuates a false narrative that CryptoZoo was a scam orchestrated by Paul," continuing that Findeisen, "knew he was making false statements when he published the videos." All of this started as soon as Findeisen started publishing his commentary content to YouTube in December of 2022. Paul commented at the time, "You led the charge to drive and monetize a narrative telling millions of people that I'm a fraud or I tried to scam my audience. That is patently false." At the time, Paul said Findeisen didn't reach out until December 24th for "the facts," but the latter claims he reached out in October of 2022, ultimately getting no reply. This was enough to get Paul off his back for the timing being, even prompting the would-be crypto mogul to praise the commentator for "bringing [the situation] to light." This wasn't enough of a white flag for Findeisen, though, and he told Paul he'd continue to watch the story and advised the latter that, "the right thing to do here is file refunds; that's what this has always been about."

Since Paul confirmed Findeisen was being truthful, where's the defamation? Besides, Texas has a one-year statute of limitations on libel claims; it's been nearly two years. So, what now?

Shortly thereafter, Paul announced his new "three-step plan" to fix things, and it goes as follows: he would burn his coins so he had no financial interest, offer a rewards program worth $1.5M for disappointed players so they cash in and get out, and finish and deliver the game. Some of his fans weren't happy with that, though, and so they sued him, going into arbitration and being represented by none other than AttorneyTom himself, Tom Kherkher.

Six months after all of this went down, Findeisen tweeted that Paul had blocked him, writing that "Paul is the type of dude to thank you when you expose his scam, then block you when you remind him to pay up." This tweet is the first real example of defamation given by Paul, alleging it as libel per se, or a statement so damaging on its face the plaintiff doesn't need to prove special damages; essentially, it's damaging enough as is.

Understanding what actual defamation means in a court of law—I have made a post about it as a general referential educational tool already—Paul claims that the above statement was damaging to his reputation, saying that "the accusation that Paul operated a financial scam is one that tends to harm his reputation, so as to lower him in the estimation of the community, or deter third persons from associating or dealing with him. The June 29, 2023 X post is libelous per se as it tends to affect Paul and his profession or occupation and accuses Paul of engaging in illegal conduct."

Interesting, though, as Paul's profession does not fall within the realms of development, finance or business, and rather within the social media space, the allegations of libel per se are applied narrowly at best in this situation. Regardless, though, Paul claims Findeisen knew CryptoZoo wasn't a scam, and posting otherwise would lead others to believe differently. Essentially, Paul is casting the blame onto his various business partners in the endeavor while claiming Findeisen's prior research and documentation validates the former in his role as a mere "hoodwinked" victim in all of this, too, but took it too far as the research swung out of Paul's favor and crept into territory that would "intentionally defraud people in order to increase [Findeisen's] own profile by continuing to attack a well-known celebrity."

A glaring issue with this, though, is not only would Paul have a hard time proving concrete damages as a result of Findeisen's claims, but he'd be hard-pressed to prove the latter's characterizations of him untrue, as everything stated by Findeisen was factually based in the reality Paul and his team had created. It's funny that everybody agrees CryptoZoo was a scam, and there's fault to be assumed; the question flying around is, who is actually liable to assume that fault? There's a lot of pointing fingers here.

On June 30, 2023, Findeisen released another video to YouTube, "Logan Paul's Scam Isn't Over," and Paul hit him with a libel per se allegation once again. This is essentially the same as above, with updated claims such as Findeisen's naming of CryptoZoo users as "Paul's victims," and the insinuation of Paul's guilt throughout the June 30 video expose.

Again, the plaintiff's claims here are essentially a reiteration of what is stated above, with Paul claiming Findeisen knew he was promoting false claims in his videos and the latter pointing out that despite Prime's multimillion dollar success, none of Paul's fans had been reimbursed thus far. Paul claims the beef could be squashed if Findeisen reached out to him instead of getting with his manager, while Findeisen says he tried and was met with Paul's criminal defense counsel instead.

The next post will be a continued explanation of this suit, starting with a total breakdown of what Paul's lawyer, Jeffrey Neiman, had to say in response to Findeisen's attempted contact. Important to not here, though, is Neiman "regularly defends individuals and corporations in white collar criminal litigations."

Check back for part three soon. What do you think of this case so far, though? Do you think the defamation allegations are accurate? Whose side are you on? Let me know all your thoughts!

[could-have-beens]

If By Happenstance

Because you could have loved me forever. And maybe in another universe, I let you.

One of the unfinished WIPs I unearthed recently is what was supposed to be a collection of standalone one-shot AUs, each with a different theme and centered around Tom and Ginny. I never got around to writing the whole series, but I did finish some of it, so I thought I would post it while editing TLoCC.

Fair warning, I haven’t proofread this in two years. Enjoy at your own risk!

.

.

.

"Coward," hissed Ginny. "I can't believe you! After all that talk about being polite and honouring your promises —"

"I stand by what I said," said Harry, with an unrepentant grin.

She glowered. "You're hiding."

"I'm not. You just happen to be in a room full of adoring fans."

Ginny rolled her eyes. She thought her days of humouring Slughorn and attending his get-togethers were over after graduation, but he hadn't stopped badgering her since she started playing for the Harpies. If she had known she was going to be accosted by wide-eyed teenagers and stammering old men, she wouldn't have bothered coming to the party at all.

"You should be the one being pestered by Slughorn," Ginny groused. She plopped herself down gracelessly on the empty chair next to Harry. "I'm just the plus one. You're the one with the bloody invitation."

Harry shrugged, but his eyes were dancing. "I guess Quidditch stars have more clout than us lowly, underpaid Aurors."

"What about the Minister's son?" she teased.

He grimaced, casting a shifty, alarmed look around the room to check if anyone had heard her. "Don't even go there. I'm not supposed to get into fights with old men over politics."

"You could not fight and turn the other cheek," suggested Ginny.

Harry snorted. "I'll do it when you do."

"Well, I don't think Slughorn's noticed you yet, so you're safe for the time being."

"As long as he keeps fawning over Riddle, I'm good."

"Who?"

"My boss." Harry leaned back and discreetly inclined his head toward the center of the room. "The pretty boy with dark hair."

Ginny followed his line of sight and found the man in question, and thought pretty was a massive understatement. Riddle was caught in what looked like a heated discussion with a flustered-looking Slughorn, a stout, bespectacled man, and a tall, stern-looking woman — politicians, the same people Harry had been avoiding since he and Ginny arrived. They were too far for Ginny to hear what they were saying, but she could see that the older man and woman were red with anger, talking a mile a minute, and Slughorn was trying to placate them, only to be cut off at every turn. Riddle, though, looked relaxed and even faintly amused, and he carried himself with all the grace and arrogance of a typical Slytherin. He didn't seem to falter as he spoke, calm and composed even as the man and woman grew more and more irate and Slughorn grew increasingly bemused.

"That's the Head Auror?" said Ginny, incredulous. Riddle couldn't be that much older than her, maybe around Percy's age at most. "He's a bit young, isn't he?"

"No, not the Head Auror," muttered Harry. "Head of the Department."

Her eyes widened. No wonder Slughorn wouldn't leave the guy's side.

She tried to remember if Percy had ever mentioned him. The way her brother rambled on about his job at the Ministry, she didn't doubt that he knew — or, at least, knew of — the other man, being so close in age and a Department Head himself. It wasn't exactly common, having such a high-ranking job in the Ministry at their age.

"I think I've seen him before," mused Ginny. "What did you say his name was?"

"Tom Riddle," said Harry, in a tone that reminded her of how he used to say Malfoy when they were kids — not quite sneering, but heavy with exasperation.

"Tom Riddle? The guy the Prophet keeps calling the next Minister of Magic?"

"That's the one," he grumbled. "The next Minister . . . my mum just got elected and they're already calling him the next Minister. . . ."

"Well, he is cute," she said offhandedly. "Bet that's why. You don't get a lot of handsome men in politics."

Harry stared, brows pulled together as he frowned.

"What?" Ginny raised her hands in mock defense. "I'm just saying. I do have eyes."

"He's a bit of a prat though."

"Is he? I think he seems nice."

His eyes narrowed. "Seems nice or looks nice?"

She nudged his leg with her foot. "They don't have to be mutually exclusive."

"You don't work with the guy."

"Why? What's wrong with him?"

"Well," he said, considering the matter. "He just always seems — I don't know, a bit fake, I guess? Maybe that's just me."

Ginny tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Wasn't he Head Boy? The one before — no, after Percy."

"I think so. Can't say I remember much of him from Hogwarts."

She scoffed. "I don't think you remember much of anything that doesn't involve Ron and Hermione."

"Hey, I remember plenty," Harry protested.

"Like what?"

As if on cue, a Celestina Warbeck song started playing, and there were excited murmurs and sudden exclamations as the guests recognized the music.

"Like how much you love this song," said Harry cheekily. He held out his hand. "Dance with me?"

"Of course," Ginny said, putting her hand in his.

They stood and, without caring whether anyone else was dancing or not, they swayed along to the music slowly, careful to stay along the edges of the dance floor. When the song was over, they returned to their table, off in a nice secluded corner of Slughorn's party. Unfortunately, no more than a minute after, Ginny was swept up into a dance by another guest, and for the next hour, she was approached for pictures, autographs, and more dancing.

To Harry's credit, he didn't leave their table and kept her company throughout it all. Of course, he found the whole thing amusing, and took every chance he got to rib her mercilessly.

"Oh, the price of being famous," said Harry, snickering.

Ginny threw him a withering glare. She was just able to tell him to bugger off before she heard another set of footsteps approaching. Stamping on a smile, she turned around to greet the fan, but was stunned to find herself facing Tom Riddle instead.

At once, Harry straightened. "Good evening, sir."

"Potter," Riddle said, smiling amiably. "Shouldn't you be enjoying the party?"

"I'm enjoying it just fine, sir," said Harry glancing at Ginny for a beat too long. Harry turned back to Riddle, as if suddenly remembering he was there. "Er — Gin, this is Tom Riddle, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Sir, this is —"

"Ginny Weasley," Riddle cut in smoothly, extending his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

Ginny blinked, a bit thrown by the sudden weight of his attention, and shook his hand.

"What gave it away?" she said with a wry smile.

Riddle gestured to her hair, chuckling lightly. "You must get that a lot."

"Unfortunately, yeah."

The first notes of the next song began to play, and Ginny realized that Riddle was still holding her hand.

"Would you care to dance?" said Riddle. His dark eyes seemed to glitter in the light.

Ginny cast a questioning look at Harry, who had a pinched expression on his face. For a moment, it looked like he was going to say no, but then he gave a little shrug, his mouth set in a grim line.

"If you want, Gin," he said tightly.

"All right," she said, hesitant, and suddenly Riddle was leading her to the dance floor.

A kind of ripple crossed the room as a few heads turned in their direction, but whether it was because they were looking at Ginny or at Riddle, she wasn't sure. There were more couples dancing now, blocking her view of Harry, and though she tried to look for him, her eyes were drawn to her dancing partner.

Riddle really was quite beautiful up close. Dark hair artfully coiffed, high cheekbones and a strong jaw, lips curled in a crooked smile. It almost hurt to look at him — it was like looking at the sun bouncing off snow.

And yet Ginny found that she couldn't turn away. There was something about his eyes, dark and intense, that seemed almost challenging, as though he was daring her to look away, as though waiting to see if she would bristle under the intensity of his gaze.

His eyes never left hers, even as he bowed low and lifted her hand to his lips.

"A bit forward, isn't it?" said Ginny, raising an eyebrow.

His smile didn't falter. "Is it? I thought it would be romantic."

She snorted. "Romance already? You barely know me."

"But I would like to," he said, lowering his gaze to the floor. "I admit, I've heard all about you, Miss Weasley."

Riddle couldn't quite meet her eyes, and if it had been anyone else, Ginny would have thought he was nervous.

Being coy more like, she thought, as Harry's words rose unbidden. Even if he was shy — but no, he didn't seem the type, and there was something . . . Ginny didn't know what it was, but something about him seemed off. Maybe not fake, like Harry had said, but Riddle had that indefinable air of someone wearing a facade.

Ginny would know — she too had worn her fair share. Or maybe it was just the politician in Riddle shining through, underneath all the charisma and pretty smiles.

He was a good dancer, if nothing else. He was all grace as they glided across the room, his movements effortless and elegant.

"Have you?" she said dully. "Big Quidditch fan, then?"

"Can't stand it, actually. No offense."

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "Points for honesty. Why are you dancing with me then?"

Riddle arched an eyebrow. "Do I need a reason?"

"Generally, yeah. Otherwise I'm gonna think you're out to get me or something. Haven't ruled that out yet, mind you."

He chuckled. "I think I've already told you why."

She grimaced. "Yes . . . romance."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

Well. 

There wasn't. Not really. It wasn't like Ginny was seeing anyone, but . . .

She thought of Harry, who had cajoled her into coming to this bloody party, with his too messy hair and his kind eyes. The thought of coming tonight hadn't even crossed her mind until he asked her, and a little part of her had always thought —

Ginny shook her head. No sense in thinking about what-ifs and could-have-beens.

"You said you've heard of me," she said coolly. "Should I be worried?"

"You probably don't remember," said Riddle, "but we were in Horace's club at the same time, back in school."

"Were we?" It was possible. Riddle seemed old enough that they must have been in Hogwarts together at some point, though Ginny would have been too young to attend Slughorn's parties then.

Riddle nodded. "Horace kept inviting me back after I graduated, and I couldn't turn down the chance to see Hogwarts again." He smiled, and again she was taken aback by how unfairly charming he was. "He talked about you a great deal, but we were never formally introduced."

"What a loss for you," said Ginny.

Riddle met her gaze daringly. "I agree."

[crazy-loca-blog]

Meet My OC: Oliver Valentine

A/N: Of course I was going to use my OC card in the @openheartfanfics "Meet My MC" event to introduce him! If you thought Ethan was a protective husband, then you don't know Oliver Valentine, Casey's "evil" twin. Once again, I used the base template by @jamespotterthefirst. and I added some extra items to it.

~~*~~*~~

Oliver’s Bio

Full Name: Oliver Sean Valentine

Face Claim: Adrian Grenier

Nicknames: None

Birthday: December 3

Sexual orientation: Bisexual

Love Interest(s):  None at the moment, even though Casey insists that he should rekindle his relationship with his high school sweetheart, Emma.

Kids: None (yet)

Hair: Black

Eyes: Green

Height: 5'9"

Hometown: Abingdon, Virginia

Education: Lawyer / Duke University

Occupation: Freelance lawyer

Family: Maggie and Tom Valentine (parents, dead), Marie Smith (grandmother, dead), Casey Valentine (twin sister, alive)

Personal motto: “Every person deserves to be respected”

Background: Oliver and Casey grew up surrounded by love in a middle class family. His parents, Tom and Maggie, had been high school sweethearts and had been happily married for two years when the twins were born. After his parents died in a car accident, his grandma Marie took care of them for 20 years, until she passed away. He ows his popularity at high school not only to his good looks, but also to his sense of justice when it came to defend his peers, something he learned from his parents at a very young age.

Personality traits: Being raised together means that Oliver and Casey have a lot in common when it comes to their personalities. He is a noble guy who can't stand injustice. Since he was a kid he defended the weak and fiercely protected his sister. But whenever Casey avoids a conflict, he faces it. He is a very straight forward person, and he won't shut up if he has something to say. He has no filter when he is mad. This attitude causes that some people may not like him, but he couldn't care less about it. With Oliver, what you see is what you get.

On the relationship with his sister: The fact that they are twins made them have an unique bond. The fact that they lost their parents as such a young age only made that bond stronger. Casey is his best friend, and the only person in the world he knows he can openly talk about literally everything. She is also his biggest cheerleader, and the only one who had faith in him when he applied to law school. At first, he hated the idea of Casey leaving to Boston by herself. Now, he loves to see her being as happy as she deserves, even if that means sharing his sister with Ethan (lol). He truly aspires to have something like what she has in the future.

On his love life: Oliver is openly bisexual, and he has experienced with both men and women. However, when it comes to a serious relationship, he may be inclined to prefer girls, as his personal experiences have made him believe that girls tend to take commitment more seriously than guys. He won't admit it, but Casey knows his soulmate is Emma, his high school sweetheart. The only reason they broke up was because they were going to different universities and didn’t feel like having a long distance relationship after they graduated. But they've always remained friends, and they've kind of rekindled their romance in the past. Now they're both single and back in town. Time will tell.

On his parents accident: Their parents' accident hit Oliver and Casey differently. While Casey focused on healing (one of the reasons that led her to become a doctor), Oliver just wanted to have answers. That's why he went to law school. Despite living in a small town, he has always had this idea that "the Valentines' case" is kind of a taboo among older residents. People remember it, but no one talks about it. The fact that the case was closed because of lack of evidence (it was always said the responsible escaped and that they were never found, something that doesn't make sense at all, given the fact that the car crash was severe enough to kill his parents) doesn't help either. He feels the only way for him and Casey to find real peace is by finding out who did it. And he is determined to unveil the truth.

~~*~~*~~

10 Random Facts on Oliver

Oliver and Casey are one of those rare cases where one of the babies is born before midnight and the other one is born after midnight. So even though he legally was born one day before Casey, he's technically 10 minutes older than her (yes, their parents celebrated two birthdays on two different dates to keep them both happy).

He wasn't the most dedicated student, but he is incredibly smart. He was definitely one of those kids who didn't need to study a lot to get good grades.

Even though he knows Casey can defend herself, he may have helped her several times in high school without her noticing it. Even though Casey wasn’t at the bottom of the popularity list, the fact that Oliver was a popular kid may have helped her to be more respected by her peers.

He considers himself Casey's biggest fan, no matter what Ethan says. He has known her since she was literally an egg, and that's enough for him to win that discussion.

One of the reasons he became a lawyer is because he wanted to help all those people whose cases were closed with no answers. He knows how it feels because him and Casey have been trying to live with it, but he knows it’s hard sometimes. So he’d like for everyone to find the peace they deserve.

He likes writing and he is very talented. In fact, he may publish a novel someday. His grandma always thought that the biggest difference between him and Casey was how creative he was, so she always encouraged him to develop his artistic side.

After his parents' death, there was a time where he couldn’t express his emotions. Now, he has no problems telling how he feels (he'll always thank Emma for helping him overcome this), but he would never say ILY to another person without meaning it, he’s seen his sister going through hell because of some jerks, he wouldn’t forgive himself if he becomes one.

He loves kids and someday he'd like to have a bunch of them. But for now... damn! He can't wait for Casey and Ethan to come to their senses and to become parents so that he can become an uncle!

He has had a serious conversation with each and every one of Casey's boyfriends or potential boyfriends. The only conversation that ended up well was the one he had with Ethan. And nope, Casey doesn't know this conversation took place.

At first, Oliver didn't have the best opinion on Ethan. He thought he was an asshole and a coward for escaping to the Amazon and leaving his sister alone after all they had gone through (and yes, Oliver did tell Ethan this to his face during the chat mentioned above). His opinion only changed after he saw how much he cared about Casey during and after the incident (yes, he also told him this). Now he is sure that Ethan is the best thing that could have happened to his sister (and he made sure that Ethan knows it as well).

Tags: @adiehardfan @izzyourresidentlawyer