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Reason
Reason
Politics
Eugene Volokh

No Money for a Pure Jane Doe: Totally Unidentified Defendant Can't Recover Sanctions and Attorney Fees

Allison Publications, LLC v. Doe, decided last week by the Texas Court of Appeals (Fort Worth), in an opinion by Justice Brian Walker, joined by Justice Wade Birdwell and Judge Ruben Gonzalez, involves a rare libel lawsuit by a publisher:

Allison publishes regional and specialty publications in Texas, such as D Magazine. According to Allison, in April 2021, three of its advertisers received phone calls from a person who identified herself as a journalist named "Maya" or "Maya Pembledon." The caller allegedly told the advertisers that Allison is a racist publisher and encouraged them to cease advertising with Allison. The advertisers expressed concerns to Allison after receiving the calls, and at least one decided not to renew its advertising contract with Allison.

More specifically, according to the amended petition (cf. this post, where I criticized the original petition, which was much vaguer):

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