Park West Gallery served Fine Art Registry® and its CEO with a second lawsuit today - this time in the state of Florida - the same exact allegations of defamation and slander mind you - but a second lawsuit nonetheless. Why? Solely to harass, intimidate, and attempt to stop Fine Art Registry from continuing to investigate and report the truth.
Over the course of the last year, our investigative efforts have made it abundantly clear that Park West Gallery makes litigation part of its business model - abusing the Court system and using it as its legalized torture chamber to bully and strong arm individuals, businesses and anyone that dare speak out against its untoward business practices.
Park West Gallery has filed against Fine Art Registry and its writer David Phillips what is known in the legal arena as a "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation" or "SLAPP". What does this mean? Wikipedia provides a sufficient definition:
Quote:
Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation ("SLAPP") is a lawsuit or a threat of lawsuit that is intended to intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition. Winning the lawsuit is not necessarily the intent of the person filing the SLAPP. The plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate.
According to New York Supreme Court Judge J. Nicholas Colabella, "Short of a gun to the head, a greater threat to First Amendment expression can scarcely be imagined." A number of jurisdictions have made such suits illegal, provided that the appropriate standards of journalistic responsibility have been met by the critic.
Fine Art Registry will not be silenced.
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