People News Chris Avellone grows a pair and fights back against being cancelled

[Quillon]

I wonder if the judge loves RPGs...

combatfag RPGs, that is!

that might backfire, chris needs a judge who likes storyfag RPGs

 

[Sentinel]

I don't know why Chris Avellone didn't decide to sue in Orange County instead, considering he lives there.

The law might require that he file the complaint near the defendant's residence. Idk if the woman lives in California or whatever though.

Nope. And also, she doesn't even live in California.

The petition says Avellone resides in California and justifies

PS: Why does it even matter what county he chose to file the petition in? There's no way different counties within a state have different procedural rules.

 

[Eli_Havelock]

I don't know why Chris Avellone didn't decide to sue in Orange County instead, considering he lives there.

The law might require that he file the complaint near the defendant's residence. Idk if the woman lives in California or whatever though.

Nope. And also, she doesn't even live in California.

The petition says Avellone resides in California

You just don't get the same quality wumao these days as you used to.

 

[ga♥]

So, basically the consensus on the lawyers who have spoken is that the lawsuit is gonna be SLAPed?

Any reason why it was filled in Cali? I mean, I understand his lawyers not trying to prove that he's not a public figure (seems pretty hard), but why Cali? Was it a necessity?

Also, wouldn't make more sense to lawsuit up the studios that fired him instead...?

 

[ADULF HITLOR FAN KLUB]

Just had a thought. Can anyone tell if Chris wrote the part about Myron drugging and sexually assaulting the female PC in FO2? If so, imagine that.

Did you perhaps write the dialogue for low intelligence Vault Dweller in FO1 and FO2? If so, imagine that.

 

[CancerUnlimited]

I like MCA, he looks like a cool guy and his writing is good. I hope Karissa gets cancer.

 

[Roguey]

So, basically the consensus on the lawyers who have spoken is that the lawsuit is gonna be SLAPed?

Among Prog/lib lawyers, yes. A few who are not that have expressed the belief that the suit has merit but that it's also incredibly difficult to win.

Any reason why it was filled in Cali? I mean, I understand his lawyers not trying to prove that he's not a public figure (seems pretty hard), but why Cali? Was it a necessity?

No one has actually said.

Option 1) They didn't want to be accused of/punished for venue shopping (keep in mind that the lolyers believe Chris is a predator and knows he's a predator and has no intention of winning the suit so they're thinking in terms of someone who just wants to use the process as punishment for telling the truth about him).

Option 2) They're crazy like foxes and believe this to be the best course for reasons undisclosed.

Option 3) They hate Chris, don't believe him, are intentionally sabotaging him for maximum hurt (and are either unaware or unwilling to believe he'd file a suit against them for malpractice).

Option 4) They're incompetent, which seems unlikely because I can't imagine a law firm surviving in ultra-expensive Beverly Hills without extreme competence

Option 5) They told Chris the risks and warned him against it, but he shouted "Damn the torpedoes full speed ahead!" because he's dumb and delusional.

Also, wouldn't make more sense to lawsuit up the studios that fired him instead...?

No, because legally speaking, they did nothing wrong. They terminated a contract with a freelancer which is their right.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

So, basically the consensus on the lawyers who have spoken is that the lawsuit is gonna be SLAPed?

Among Prog/lib lawyers, yes. A few who are not that have expressed the belief that the suit has merit but that it's also incredibly difficult to win.

Any reason why it was filled in Cali? I mean, I understand his lawyers not trying to prove that he's not a public figure (seems pretty hard), but why Cali? Was it a necessity?

No one has actually said.

Option 1) They didn't want to be accused of/punished for venue shopping (keep in mind that the lolyers believe Chris is a predator and knows he's a predator and has no intention of winning the suit so they're thinking in terms of someone who just wants to use the process as punishment for telling the truth about him).

Option 2) They're crazy like foxes and believe this to be the best course for reasons undisclosed.

Option 3) They hate Chris, don't believe him, are intentionally sabotaging him for maximum hurt (and are either unaware or unwilling to believe he'd file a suit against them for malpractice).

Option 4) They're incompetent, which seems unlikely because I can't imagine a law firm surviving in ultra-expensive Beverly Hills without extreme competence

Option 5) They told Chris the risks and warned him against it, but he shouted "Damn the torpedoes full speed ahead!" because he's dumb and delusional.

Also, wouldn't make more sense to lawsuit up the studios that fired him instead...?

No, because legally speaking, they did nothing wrong. They terminated a contract with a freelancer which is their right.

Option 6) They are more qualified at legal proceedings than average videogame forum posters.

 

[Absinthe]

Chris Avellone lives and does most of his business in California, so the jurisdiction is obvious. The problem all the twitter lawyers are raising (correctly) is an anti-SLAPP motion (followed by a SLAPPback suit), but if you are confident you can overcome an anti-SLAPP that's not really a problem.

Suing the firms that fired him for wrongful termination is obviously a retarded move. Even if you win, you'd still convince everyone not to hire you. It's a great way to alienate the industry. If you don't have better options or feel a need to make a point, you can do it (assuming your case is good enough), but Chris can make his point more productively through suing Karissa et al rather than the firms that fired him.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

https://kotaku.com/games-writer-chris-avellone-files-libel-lawsuit-denies-1847186019

Those comments...

The cancer floating around kotaku is hilarious.

Any reason why it was filled in Cali? I mean, I understand his lawyers not trying to prove that he's not a public figure (seems pretty hard), but why Cali? Was it a necessity?

No one has actually said.

Option 6) They are more qualified at legal proceedings than average videogame forum posters.

Yeah, I don't see what the struggle to grasp this is. Chris lives in California -> He talks to lawyers in California (who are convenient and easily accessible for him) -> Chris goes to court in California.

If Chris goes to court in another state, guess what? Chris needs to engage lawyers familiar with the law in that state. He then needs to travel to that state to deal with the court case. Which could go on for a long time and involve a lot of back and forth travel.

The number of internet lawyers not grasping that core concept tells me they have little real world experience with actual court cases (please don't tell me, "Oh but you can Zoom now" because that tells me you have even less experience with the real world).

Mind you, I have little faith in the American justice system, especially with how over run with progressive think America is right now, that I wholly expect Chris to end up in prison because he looks like someone who was at the Capitol on Jan 6th.

 

[A horse of course]

especially with how over run with progressive think America is right now, that I wholly expect Chris to end up in prison because he looks like someone who was at the Capitol on Jan 6th.

ok chud

 

[DarkUnderlord]

I'll also add: Also curious by the number of twitter parrots saying the lawsuit is "poorly written". Yet I've not seen anyone say in what way it's poorly written. It seems pretty clear and makes a clear case. (Although lol at Barrows putting Chris onto her friend. Poor move my man, you're supposed to realise her shenanigans, reject the offer of her friend and pursue her).

He also has clear and tangible damages (sacked by everyone as a direct result of the allegations). SLAPP is interesting because Chris let this go for a full year. Something that could hardly be considered "silencing his victims". It could also explain the talk about "elevating their voices" - which means Chris has been smart and been talking to lawyers about this for a while.

Again though, jury trial in California. Are there even 12 people left in California who aren't going to immediately say: "Oh, he's a white male. He must be guilty"?

 

[CancerUnlimited]

The cancer floating around kotaku is hilarious.

In Kotaku news don't go viral, they metastasize.

 

[RobotSquirrel]

Dis u?

You joke but I've seen people in this industry that I'd classify as having a drinking addiction being enabled by the industry to make their addiction worse.
If they want to go get pissed off the clock fine but its something that I find the industry blatantly does the wrong thing about, if someone has an addiction they not only enable them but practically force it down their throats.
Both sides are making it perfectly clear that alcohol caused this incident to be far worse than it probably should have been. Though from the accuser there is an obvious motive to try and be the "one" that took down an industry great. No doubt its a big motivator in why she and her friends are doing what they are doing.

I've drank at industry events before but when people start to pressure me I usually leave. It is very common to be pressured at meet ups as I've discovered first hand.
I'm not saying Chris has an addiction but he definitely shows the signs of someone that might. (he's definitely addicted to soylent though). I'll fully disclose that I lost a family member to alcohol addiction so its why its a sensitive issue with me.

Anyway the whole situation just sucks. I don't know if Chris having an addiction would have any bearing on the case tbh but it would be a way of nullifying that he was intentionally supplying drinks for malicious reasons its more likely he was doing it because he wanted/needed to drink.

https://kotaku.com/games-writer-chris-avellone-files-libel-lawsuit-denies-1847186019

lol they actually compared him to Trump in the comments.

 

[underground nymph]

Poor move my man, you're supposed to realise her shenanigans, reject the offer of her friend and pursue her

If only men had will that strong to resist pussy magic, imagine world.

 

[Dycedarg]

No one has actually said.

Option 1) They didn't want to be accused of/punished for venue shopping (keep in mind that the lolyers believe Chris is a predator and knows he's a predator and has no intention of winning the suit so they're thinking in terms of someone who just wants to use the process as punishment for telling the truth about him).

Option 2) They're crazy like foxes and believe this to be the best course for reasons undisclosed.

Option 3) They hate Chris, don't believe him, are intentionally sabotaging him for maximum hurt (and are either unaware or unwilling to believe he'd file a suit against them for malpractice).

Option 4) They're incompetent, which seems unlikely because I can't imagine a law firm surviving in ultra-expensive Beverly Hills without extreme competence

Option 5) They told Chris the risks and warned him against it, but he shouted "Damn the torpedoes full speed ahead!" because he's dumb and delusional.

I believe option 5 to be the most likely. While litigation is always a risk, his chances in this case don't seem very good. And depending on how rich he is, he might consider the risk acceptable. But I'm neither a lawyer nor even american, so take this opinion with a grain of salt (just like everything you hear on an internet forum concerning a lawsuit).

Something that could hardly be considered "silencing his victims". It could also explain the talk about "elevating their voices" - which means Chris has been smart and been talking to lawyers about this for a while.

I think the talk about "elevating their voices" and not silencing the women has more to do with Avellone's own progressive mindset than with any lawyer's advice. It would also explain the one year gap between the original accusations and his response. And considering what happened to Avellone's career and reputation, I don't think anything he did was particularly smart.

 

[serch]

Yeah, they dont seem to get how this works. Obviously, all libel actions are very difficult to win in your run of the mill democratic western judicial systems. Still, the plaintiff, if a public person, rarely needs that. Its often enough to restore part of his reputation that the reasoning of the judgment ends up stating that it's considered unproved or even false what defendants claimed, even if not motivated by malice or reckless disregard for the truth. Im an attorney in Spain though, but id be surprised if it was too different in Cali. So if he passes that Slapp shit, he'd be half through.

 

[Tacgnol]

Question for Americans, cos I don't really understand your legal system well, do reputable legal firms take on cases that are likely to be thrown out?

I would have thought they'd avoid doing that because it's bad for their reputation.

 

[ga♥]

Suing the firms that fired him for wrongful termination is obviously a retarded move. Even if you win, you'd still convince everyone not to hire you. It's a great way to alienate the industry. If you don't have better options or feel a need to make a point, you can do it (assuming your case is good enough), but Chris can make his point more productively through suing Karissa et al rather than the firms that fired him.

I don't think any firm will hire him anyway. Even if he wins this libel.

 

[Dycedarg]

Yeah, they dont seem to get how this works. Obviously, all libel actions are very difficult to win in your run of the mill democratic western judicial systems. Still, the plaintiff, if a public person, rarely needs that. Its often enough to restore part of his reputation that the reasoning of the judgment ends up stating that it's considered unproved or even false what defendants claimed, even if not motivated by malice or reckless disregard for the truth. Im an attorney in Spain though, but id be surprised if it was too different in Cali. So if he passes that Slaap shit, he'd be half through.

If he passes the Slapp, he might even be able to brute force a deal, since he certainly has more money than the defendants. But that's still a big if.

 

[Tacgnol]

Yeah, they dont seem to get how this works. Obviously, all libel actions are very difficult to win in your run of the mill democratic western judicial systems. Still, the plaintiff, if a public person, rarely needs that. Its often enough to restore part of his reputation that the reasoning of the judgment ends up stating that it's considered unproved or even false what defendants claimed, even if not motivated by malice or reckless disregard for the truth. Im an attorney in Spain though, but id be surprised if it was too different in Cali. So if he passes that Slaap shit, he'd be half through.

If he passes the Slapp, he might even be able to brute force a deal, since he certainly has more money than the defendants. But that's still a big if.

Karissa seems like the type crazy enough to fight it to the grave. She seems well beyond the typical level of SJW crazy.

 

[ga♥]

Question for Americans, cos I don't really understand your legal system well, do reputable legal firms take on cases that are likely to be thrown out?

I would have thought they'd avoid doing that because it's bad for their reputation.

You must have forgotten the whole blompf clownesque "election fraud" lawsuits.

 

[RobotSquirrel]

I looked it up. I don't even think the alcohol point is even going to matter.
Just because someone supplies you with alcohol doesn't imply malice. This is especially true if you're conscious and a willing participant which she clearly was. "I was drunk" is not a credible defence.

I would also say that if Chris doesn't have an addiction then there's some games journalists that need to be added to this case too because they are publishing he does.

 

[Nutria]

I think the way this stuff used to work was that you could dodge it if you said there weren't any damages that could be quantified. But when someone gets fired from a bunch of jobs where he can say exactly how much money he lost, I thought that was where libel suits actually worked. I don't really know how lawyers decide things though. I'm pretty sure a lot of it involves dice.

 

[Aarwolf]

There is also an "article" on the gamer, read at your own responsibility: https://www.thegamer.com/chris-avellone-slapp-lawsuit-sexual-misconduct/