Read on Twitter
So at the risk of ending up with a new breed of CHUDs in my @'s... the 12 March 2020 complaint doesn't seem as SLAPPy as I expected ( https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Mitchell-Complaint.pdf), and this may even be meritorious? 
1/ https://twitter.com/lastgeeksdying/status/1257573007729373184
1/ https://twitter.com/lastgeeksdying/status/1257573007729373184
A few caveats:
This is a California state court suit, so the expert on this sort of thing would be @Popehat
I don't have the full docket, and the Ars write-up suggests there's some weirdness going on (e.g. the suit was filed in 2019, w/ misnamed Def?)
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@LastGeeksDying
This is a California state court suit, so the expert on this sort of thing would be @Popehat I don't have the full docket, and the Ars write-up suggests there's some weirdness going on (e.g. the suit was filed in 2019, w/ misnamed Def?)2/
@LastGeeksDying
Most of the allegations in the Complaint are for "color" (background designed to generate a favorable impression of the Plaintiff) and not-at-all legally relevant
However...
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@LastGeeksDying
However...
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@LastGeeksDying
The statement that the "taped Donkey Kong score performances ... were not produced by the direct feed output of an original unmodified Donkey Kong Arcade PCB" strikes me as an objectively verifiable statement of fact that could potentially be defamatory
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@LastGeeksDying
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@LastGeeksDying
Mitchell's lawyers also recognize that he's a public figure and has to prove actual malice, so there are several allegations that go to the Defendant knowing their claim was false (deliberately ignoring Nintendo's certification, for example)
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@LastGeeksDying
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@LastGeeksDying
So from a bare bones / brass tacks perspective, you've got the sort of stuff you'd want to see in a meritorious defamation case by a public figure: specific identification of the false statement, and evidence of actual malice
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@LastGeeksDying
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@LastGeeksDying
That's not to say Mitchell will actually *win*; the Complaint references a cross-claim by Twin Galaxies (when a Defendant sues a third party to bring them into the suit, claiming it's really their fault), so someone else may get thrown under the bus
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@LastGeeksDying
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@LastGeeksDying
And if it turns out in discovery that the machine *wasn't* an "original unmodified Donkey Kong Arcade PCB," the Defendant would win on a substantial truth affirmative defense
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@LastGeeksDying
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@LastGeeksDying
But based on the amended complaint, and without the benefit of seeing the rest of the docket, it strikes me as a prima facie case that could survive an anti-SLAPP hearing
9/9
@LastGeeksDying
9/9
@LastGeeksDying
Were the details of the investigation itself released?
If so, I'd agree that would be a good defense (and it's the type of fact-vs-opinion on-the-margin call that makes for interesting cases)
That's not apparent from the Complaint though https://twitter.com/thebecwar/status/1257664342520139776
If so, I'd agree that would be a good defense (and it's the type of fact-vs-opinion on-the-margin call that makes for interesting cases)
That's not apparent from the Complaint though https://twitter.com/thebecwar/status/1257664342520139776
Yyyeeeaaahhh I know
But I expected an obvious LOLsuit, and this one appeared competently done! https://twitter.com/jmckeownesquire/status/1257661461985234944
But I expected an obvious LOLsuit, and this one appeared competently done! https://twitter.com/jmckeownesquire/status/1257661461985234944
Not sure how California works, but in NC if you misidentify a Defendant pre-SOL the Court will offen conclude you didn't meet the SOL in time and there's no "relation back" on amendment https://twitter.com/icepick87/status/1257665081451610112
I don't know anything about him, I'd be bored sh*tless playing Donkey Kong or Pac Man that long (or watching someone else do it) https://twitter.com/michaeltoole/status/1257665163991437312
Yeah the vast majority of what's in the suit would be protected opinion IMO
That statement about the original unmodified game could be actionable though, including implications that flow from it https://twitter.com/apark2453/status/1257668188122144768
That statement about the original unmodified game could be actionable though, including implications that flow from it https://twitter.com/apark2453/status/1257668188122144768
I was taught that's what a cross-claim is lol, a Defendant suing what becomes a third-party Defendant, rather than counterclaiming against a Plaintiff https://twitter.com/aquavelvaboy/status/1257686380563640323
My thoughts exactly https://twitter.com/j_remy_green/status/1257684577537142784
No clue. There are definitely some procedural oddities https://twitter.com/wolmanj/status/1257682247139893249
Mike's analysis is here: https://twitter.com/questauthority/status/1257678223007195136
Got it 
Shows you how often I've dealt with third-party complaints in practice 
So here the cross-claim is against the Doe defendants then. I'd be interested to see what that looks like https://twitter.com/aquavelvaboy/status/1257689061428469761
Shows you how often I've dealt with third-party complaints in practice So here the cross-claim is against the Doe defendants then. I'd be interested to see what that looks like https://twitter.com/aquavelvaboy/status/1257689061428469761
Agreed. A merely biased investigation wouldn't be actionable (though a sham investigation would). Open question whether what's in here is enough to survive Cali anti-SLAPP; if it does, discovery could be damaging for all parties https://twitter.com/aquavelvaboy/status/1257696810379993091
Yep. But even then I think it's tied back to the statement about the machine; I'm not sure even an outright "he cheated" would be actionable vs protected opinion https://twitter.com/greggentry1/status/1257695876123971584
I don't know anything about him, that may very well be true – which would be an issue for the damages aspect if the case progressed past anti-SLAPP motions https://twitter.com/mitchellahorton/status/1257697366557286400
Not really paying attention to it, but did talk a bit about the Amended Complaint in this thread https://twitter.com/handicapablegmr/status/1259669174210695169
