Last week I presented a Notice of related cases that California attorney Morgan Pietz wrote with a couple of goals:

To make the district aware of blatant forum shopping carried out by Prenda: just a fraction of its carbon-copy cases (filed by two “plaintiffs”) have wasted precious time of 11 judges (instead of one);

To draw judges’ attention to a very troubling development regarding alleged fraud, which, if proven, would definitely nullify all the AF Holdings and Ingenuity 13 cases at the very least, and possibly warrant a criminal investigation of Prenda;

To make the district aware of the events in Florida, which were not only highly embarrassing to Prenda, but also very illustrative of its fraudulent foundation.

In addition to that Notice, Morgan Pietz has been communicating with Prenda’s California shakedown envoy and veteran weasel Brett Gibbs for about two weeks, trying to get answers to simple, no-nonsense questions out of him:

Is there another Alan Cooper, other than the gentleman in Minnesota who was John Steele’s former caretaker, who is or was the principal of AF Holdings, LLC and/or Ingenuity 13, LLC?; Will plaintiff’s counsel Brett Gibbs produce the original signature to the verified petition, supposedly executed by hand by “Alan Cooper” and notarized, which Mr. Gibbs stated, under penalty of perjury, that he has a copy of in his own possession and control? See In the Matter of a Petition by Ingenuity 13, LLC, E.D. Cal. Case No. 2:11-mc-JAM-DAD, ECF No. 1, 10/28/11; Will Mr. Gibbs identify his client contact at Ingenuity 13 and AF Holdings, given that Mr. Gibbs purported to speak with his “client” at Ingenuity 13 only two weeks ago?

Wasn’t really a surprise that instead of coherent answers, Brett Gibbs has been throwing a tantrum after tantrum, I can’t find a better word either for his response to the Notice, or for the email correspondence with Morgan (embedded below). I reckon that their phone exchange sounded something like a father trying to reason with a four-year-old, who was left without a cake.

Gibbs is not new to this kind of childish behavior. Every time he is cornered, an apoplectic reaction ensues. There are plenty of examples. Among others: an unfortunate (but not unexpected) harassment that prompted a tear-soaked letter to the judge. Also note how Nick Ranallo’s sane motion to secure a bond resulted in a series of insults and predictions of the end of the World, all in a high-pitched voice. Etc., etc.

I had a chuckle reading Gibbs’s reference to fightcopyrighttrolls.com as a “biased misguided website.” Well, I don’t deny that I’m biased, but I’m biased emotionally only. If anyone wants to question the credibility of facts, he is welcome, but such dialog requires guts and honesty. In the absence of these virtues, Gibbs simply embarrassed himself by brushing off one fact (detailed below) that Morgan referred to — not because Gibbs expressed his doubts about the fact per se, but because it was me who published it. But the fact (90/10 fee split in Malibu Media cases, articulated by Malibu’s owner Brigham Field himself) does not care about who brought it to the light of the day: if you are a professional attorney, and not a toddler, deal with facts without tantrums.

Morgan’s supplement to the Notice was, as usual, short and precise. It reiterated the concerns, noting that

So far, Prenda has not only refused to answer these [listed above] specific questions, it has refused to even discuss these matters at all.

In addition, Morgan presented a notarized affidavit of Alan Cooper, and asked to assign all the seven cases to Judge Write.

Oh, and if you still think that Brett Gibbs is a “decent guy” and a “professional,” read the following email correspondence and make your own conclusions

Brain teaser: How many crooks does it take to answer a set of simple, direct questions?

Appendix: Related cases reported by Morgan Pietz

AF Holdings LLC v. John Doe (12-cv-05709) | “Popular Demand” | 66.27.196.248 | Judges: Write / Chooljian

Ingenuity 13 LLC v. John Doe ( 12-cv-06635 ) | “Anything for Daddy” | 99.12.183.52 | Judges: King / Zarefsky

Ingenuity 13 LLC v. John Doe ( 12-cv-06660 ) | “Five Fan Favorites” | 75.142.52.147 | Judges: Feess / Rosenberg

Ingenuity 13 LLC v. John Doe (12-cv-07385) | “Anything for Daddy” | 99.59.96.29 | Judges: Fischer/ Mumm

Ingenuity 13 LLC v. John Doe (12-cv-07386) | Teen Sex First Anal 108.38.135.253 | Judges: Gee / McDermott

Ingenuity13 LLC v. John Doe (12-cv-08322) | A Peek Behind the Scenes at a Show | 71.83.94.169 | Judges: Gee / Walsh

Ingenuity13 LLC v. John Doe (12-cv-08333) | A Peek Behind the Scenes at a Show | 108.13.119.253 | Judges: Gee / Walsh

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