Doctor’s Data v Barrett – Why the Wait?

The last real activity in the Doctor’s Data v Stephen Barrett  Federal court case, besides the monthly re-scheduling of Status Hearings, was last July, 2011. I wrote about that:

Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen

“The legal arguments, at this point, are over the “Motion to Dismiss” filed by Stephen Barrett’s legal team.  Barrett, it appears, is claiming that he is IMMUNE to lawsuits because, in his own words, he is “Assisting Government.” (don’t laugh – he is dead serious). 

More, it is clear, that Barrett was originally demanding that the US Federal court formally declare him to be the “Czar/God of US health care.” (envision the word MEGALOMANIA here – like in sky-writing).

But, the last few documents filed by Barrett, it appears to me, have lost their demanding, condescending tone.  They have settled into a whine – sort of an effort to snivel, whimper, bleat, blubber, and mewl, hoping, as it were, to beseech the court for mercy – so he, Barrett, can live another day, legally – avoiding, what for him, would be the process of self-extinction – “Discovery.”   That “Discovery” would be a course of action where Barrett would have to reveal the names and activities of his masters and co-conspirators.”

So, what IS happening?  Why is there no activity?

First, there is a new Judge in the case.  The new Judge was recently appointed to the Federal bench.  This case has several legal issues that will, without doubt, be Appealed by either party should the Decision go against them.  The last thing a new Federal Judge wants is to have one of his first Federal cases he decided to go to an Appeals Court and be reversed.  So, not only does the Judge need to get the law right, but he will want to get the language right too.

I won’t go into the details of the legal issues involved.  I’ll just summarize in layman’s terms.

(1)  What the Defense (Barrett’s legal team) is doing is to stall, stall, stall, stall, stall with every legal trick they can think of.  Why?  I believe that Barrett’s Masters thought they could run Doctor’s Data out of business, during the case, by making an increased attack on them on the internet.  As you recall, the “Skeptics,” as I reported in an earlier article called Quackpots in a Tizzy Over Barrett Getting Sued...” had organized an attack called a “Googlebomb.” Below is an excerpt:

Besides the fact that “Orac” whined, like a girl, through the entire article, his comments, it looks to me, are more than enough to get him added on as a Defendant in the case.  I can see that coming.  But better, and this where I give him the “dumb of the dumbest” rating, was his last paragraph saying:

ADDENDUM: You can help Dr. Barrett, too. If you’re a blogger, please write about this.

What “Orac” was doing was soliciting MALICE – and he was successful.  The kiss-ups went to work organizing what’s called a “Googlebomb” insuring that their totally libelous version of Doctor’s Data, and their version alone, dominated the internet search engines.

Orac the Nipple Ripper,  as I call him, has been exposed by Jake Crosby over at Age of Autism (AOA).  David Gorski MD, Orac the Nipple Ripper’s real name, works for the world’s largest vaccine maker Sanofi-Aventis.  See what Crosby says below about Gorski:

“He has become the online spokesperson for the vaccine industry, a member of the highly trafficked, drug-industry-sponsored “Science”Blogs where he heavily promotes the tobacco science obscuring causes of autism. Posting under the science fiction name “Orac,” David Gorski has become the most outspoken, self-styled “skeptic” in defense of mercury that exceeds EPA limits in vaccines. Another example of a cause of autism he vehemently denies is the MMR – the triple, combined live-virus vaccine implicated in measles virus infection in the ileum, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and cerebrospinal fluid of children who have autistic enterocolitis. 

In case anybody’s wondering what David Gorski’s connection is to the autism debate, he has undisclosed financial ties to the vaccine industry. He has made no mention of these connections, despite stating in one of his many defenses of millionaire vaccine industrialist Paul Offit, “A general principle is that undisclosed potential conflicts of interest (COIs) are of far more concern and potentially far more damaging to the scientific process than disclosed COIs.”However, Gorski has steadfastly denied possessing any conflicts, having once told me online without my even accusing him, “You are wrong. I receive no money from pharmaceutical companies and haven’t for 14 years.”

Sanofi-Gorski

Well, it so happens Sanofi-Aventis – the world’s largest vaccine maker – is involved in several partnerships under which the company may be required to pay a total of €31 million ($39 million USD) from 2008 to 2013. Gorski’s employer, Wayne State University, is one of the partners, and he is conducting a clinical trial of one of the company’s drugs. Therefore, like Offit (who concealed the millions he received in Merck royalty payments because Merck paid the royalties to a third party, not Offit directly) Gorski has a reasonable expectation to receive money from a vaccine maker, even if it is through a third party. A look at the summary description of the Gorski Lab reveals that his research focus is drug discovery and development. However, he is not developing a new drug, but rather, developing new uses for an existing one. Such a process is far more profitable to the drug manufacturer as it eliminates the costs of developing a new substance from scratch, thereby maximizing profits for the company.”
You can read Jake’s excellent article about Gorski by clicking here.

Make the connection?  The way I see it, Gorski, who works for Sanofi-Aventis, was clearly trying to organize Doctor’s Data financial demise.

Did it work?  Nope.  Gorski is, basically, an incompetent whiner.  His writing has an angry girly-boy tone.  He’s like a seventh-grade girl, whose parents ordered a limo for her Junior High Prom, but no boy asked her to that Prom.

(2)  “The stalling tactics” are to avoid Discovery as long as possible.  Once the Discovery process begins the entire quackbuster hidden operation is at risk.  Doctor’s Data will have massive subpoena power and demand almost anything even remotely related to the case.  What interesting things could Doctor’s Data demand to see?

(a)  Doctor’s Data could subpoena the “System Logs” from Barrett’s website host Global Net Access LLC in Atlanta, Georgia.  These logs contain details of every activity on every page of Barrett’s twenty-two (22) websites, including information that would lead, directly, back to who actually wrote each of those article with Barrett’s name on them.

(b)  Doctor’s Data could subpoena the “Payment Records” from Barrett’s website host Global Net Access LLC in Atlanta, Georgia.   Those records would tell us exactly who is paying the bills for those twenty-two (22) websites.

(c)   Doctor’s Data could subpoena, following the “Googlebomb” attack mentioned above started by Sanofi-Aventis agent David Gorski (Orac the Nipple Ripper), the “Skeptic” network files, garnering information on who, exactly, the hidden “skeptics” actually are, and how they are funded.

All of these subpoenas, I think, would lead to new people, and entities, being added as new Defendants.

To refresh your memory:

The case charges the Defendants with (1) Lanham Act Violations – Restraint of Trade, Deceptive Business Practices, and Trademark Dilution, (2)  Trademark Dilution under the Illinois Trademark Registration and Protection Act, (3)  Violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, (4)  Violations of the Illinois Deceptive Trade Practices Act, (5)  Business Libel Per Se,  (6)  Business Libel Per Quod,  (7)  Tortuous Interference with Existing and Potential Business Relationships, (8)  Fraud or Intentional Misrepresentation, (9)  Civil Conspiracy, (10)  Corporate Officer and Board Member Personal Liability, (11)  Temporary and Permanent Injunctive Relief.”

“The lawsuit seeks $5,000,000 in damages and an additional $15,000,000 in punitive damages from the Defendants, temporary and permanent injunctions preventing re-occurrence, plus whatever else the Court deems suitable.

Here, is a copy of the actual lawsuit with the Exhibits: A, B, C, D, E,  FG.   Happy reading…

Stay tuned.

Tim Bolen – Consumer Advocate