Orthodontics company decries ‘villainous lineage’ of Gawker descendant Lifehacker

A local orthodontics startup is once again heading to court to stymie criticism of its direct-to-consumer teeth alignment product.

SmileDirectClub filed suit in Davidson County Chancery Court Wednesday against Gizmodo Media Group and author Nick Douglas over his story titled, “You Could Fuck Up Your Mouth With SmileDirectClub.” The company argues that the story, posted last week to Gizmodo site Lifehacker, is “filled with unsubstantiated false statements and innuendo that attacks [SmileDirectClub’s] products and services.”

The author describes criticisms from the American Association of Orthodontists about at-home alignment products but admits he has no direct experience with SmileDirectClub products. Instead, he’s been using a product from Invisalign, the parent company for which also manufactures SDC’s products and is a major investor in SDC.

“All these false statements and the defamatory title are done under the guise of ‘journalism’ without any disclaimer that the statements are allegedly his opinion,” SDC wrote in the complaint submitted by three Nashville-based attorneys from Bahou Miller.

Bobby Amirshahi, senior vice president for corporate communications at Gizmodo Media parent Univision, said the company has not been served with the complaint and will respond more fully when they have had the chance to review it.

"GMG stands by its reporting and its reporter," he added.



It’s not the first time a publisher has drawn SDC’s ire.

Last year, after BuzzFeed published a story describing some of the orthodontist groups’ complaints, SDC sent out a press release describing it as “a well-funded lobbying and public relations effort.” The company later sued groups of dentists and orthodontists for statements made about the product.

Lauren Altmin, communications director at SmileDirectClub, said the company does not comment on ongoing litigation, including the most recent lawsuit against Gizmodo.

“Access to affordable care for consumers is the foundation of SmileDirectClub and we will defend against any entity that seeks to impact that access with misinformation regarding our product and services,” she added.

A number of the complaints from medical professionals argue that it is unwise to treat patients without assessing them in person. SDC customers make an impression of their teeth at home, from which the company makes retainers, and patients have “teledentistry” access to SDC’s network of orthodontists.

“Moving teeth without a medical evaluation can cause permanent dental problems, and prescribing and placing a dental appliance without assessing the health of the teeth and gums can result in serious medical issues,” one of the complaints reads.

In the lawsuit, SDC takes pains to paint Lifehacker and Douglas himself as part of the “villainous lineage” of Gawker Media, the defunct publishing company successfully sued into oblivion by Terry Bollea for publishing an excerpt of a sex tape of the pro wrestler known as Hulk Hogan.

The Lifehacker story “continues a pattern over a decade of defamatory shock-style ‘journalism’ by Gawker Media and its progeny,” the company argues, again putting the word journalism in scare quotes.

Doug Pierce, a First Amendment lawyer in Nashville with King & Ballow, said “libel lawsuits are on the rise” and media companies should “be concerned about it.”

He added that headlines alone can be defamatory but a court should consider the full context of the story.

Align, the Invisalign parent company that last year upped its stake in SDC from 17 percent to 19 percent, is also facing pushback from SDC and its other investors. According to an SEC filing, SDC is seeking to repurchase Align’s stake in the company because SDC alleged that “the launch and operation of [Align’s] Invisalign store pilot program constitutes a breach of non-compete provisions applicable” to SDC investors.

Align’s most recent investment in SDC valued the Nashville company at $640 million. SDC was founded in 2014 and announced plans last year to hire more than 400 new employees locally.

Ken Paulson, dean of the College of Media and Entertainment at Middle Tennessee State University and president of the First Amendment Center, said the crude tone of the Lifehacker headline would not weigh heavily on the proceedings, despite SDC’s argument that it should.

“In an era of trying to drive traffic to your site, the headlines are ruder, the accusations are louder, and the possible virality is much stronger,” he said. “In the end, a court or jury would look at the content and not the tone. The only question is, did the writer publish untruthful information that damaged the company’s reputation?”

