Richard Meyer v. Mark Waid (2018)

[AnOminous]

Wouldn't this be the kind of thing they wouldn't want leave unopposed, or is there some subtlety to the term "unopposed" in legal jargon?

All it means is the other side didn't file anything opposing the motion and is letting it go forward.

Opposing a motion for discovery on the subject of jurisdiction when you filed the motion to dismiss based on a claimed lack of personal jurisdiction would be an exercise in futility anyway. Even Mark Zaid isn't going to do that.

 

[The Flawless Gazelles]

if waid would wake up and realize what kind of lawyer is, could he go after him for how he acts?

 

[AnOminous]

if waid would wake up and realize what kind of lawyer is, could he go after him for how he acts?

His wisest move would be to fire that idiot and settle the case.

But he's a stupid motherfucker.

 

[RodgerDodger]

if waid would wake up and realize what kind of lawyer is, could he go after him for how he acts?

Very very hard to do in a civil matter. Waid has absolute choice over his selection of council. He is fully empowered to participate in the process and make a rational informed consumer decision on his quality of legal representation. Unless his lawyer commits a blatant act of malpractice, such as embezzlement there isn’t much he could do beyond firing the lawyer.

 

[AprilRains]

I guess Waid could sue Zaid for malpractice when he loses the suit, but as @AnOminous said, the real way to cut losses here is to settle for quick cash.

 

[Krispy Skream]

I, for one, am thankful for all the comix pros blowing enough smoke up Waid's arse to keep this steam locomotive churning towards oblivion

He gets by with a little help from his friends

 

[IAmNotAlpharius]

Is Mark Zaid just this incompetent? Or could this be a temporary lapse because of fanboyism?

 

[RockVolnutt]

I, for one, am thankful for all the comix pros blowing enough smoke up Waid's arse to keep this steam locomotive churning towards oblivion

He gets by with a little help from his friends

That's still why I think it's impossible for Waid to back down. Settling and apologizing is only get him the "alt-right Comicsgater" label and as an old white guy, that's not something he can afford. We already know he doesn't have the skills or the maturity to work in other fields beyond being a "formerly successful comic writer".

There's not really any outcome for this where Waid does not get fucked.

 

[AnOminous]

There's not really any outcome for this where Waid does not get fucked.

Waid needs to realize no matter how much he pays that dipshit Mark Zaid, he's getting a dick in the ass.

It's just up to him whether it's with lube and whether he's completely bankrupt at the end of it.

 

[Krispy Skream]

In a world where speaking to people means you endorse all their opinions

Settling a lawsuit with a nazi means you have a date in Nuremberg

 

[AnOminous]

Unless his lawyer commits a blatant act of malpractice, such as embezzlement there isn’t much he could do beyond firing the lawyer.

We haven't really seen enough out of him to know whether he's competent at actual motion practice. The one really dumb motion he's filed is that jurisdiction thing and he was kind of tripped up by his own idiot client there. Not that I think it is a particularly great argument even if Waid hadn't done a shit-ton more "purposeful availment" than he let on in his sworn statement, but a dismissal for some reason like that is really his only way out of this without an ugly ass trial.

 

[Oh Long Johnson]

More likely just the actual personal jurisdiction issues related to the pending motion.

Like that whole Mark Waid committing blatant perjury thing.

Is the deposition more likely to be dotting I's and crossing T's, a fishing expedition or might they have a fifth ace up their sleeve and want Waid to perjure himself again?

 

[AnOminous]

Is the deposition more likely to be dotting I's and crossing T's, a fishing expedition or might they have a fifth ace up their sleeve and want Waid to perjure himself again?

They'll probably try to get as much out of it as they can because it's expensive deposing someone.

My guess is Waid has probably been to Texas more times and done more stuff than he's admitted to even now, since the only reason he even admitted to as much as he has is probably because Zaid took him to the woodshed and let him know he was looking at potential jail time for perjury if he didn't clean his shit up.

A lot of the jurisdictional facts open for discovery can do double duty for the case in chief, especially if Waid has done more sperging about Meyer in Texas than we already know about.

Waid really screwed himself as his only real witness because if the judge wants to find against him all he really has to do is just say he doesn't find Waid credible at all, and his basis for that is he flat out lied in his first statement to the court under oath.

 

[RodgerDodger]

They'll probably try to get as much out of it as they can because it's expensive deposing someone.

My guess is Waid has probably been to Texas more times and done more stuff than he's admitted to even now, since the only reason he even admitted to as much as he has is probably because Zaid took him to the woodshed and let him know he was looking at potential jail time for perjury if he didn't clean his shit up.

A lot of the jurisdictional facts open for discovery can do double duty for the case in chief, especially if Waid has done more sperging about Meyer in Texas than we already know about.

Waid really screwed himself as his only real witness because if the judge wants to find against him all he really has to do is just say he doesn't find Waid credible at all, and his basis for that is he flat out lied in his first statement to the court under oath.

I think there is no situation where putting Waid under oath does not benefit Meyer. Waid just seems like a ticking bomb. He's going to say something more. He is going to put himself forward as the hero and embelish.

 

[AnOminous]

I think there is no situation where putting Waid under oath does not benefit Meyer. Waid just seems like a ticking bomb. He's going to say something more. He is going to put himself forward as the hero and embelish.

I could easily see him completely sperging out in some scene like Jack Nicholson melting down in A Few Good Men and just saying you're damn right I did it all! He doesn't seem to be at all aware of the legal peril he is in even now and appears to think he's going to be given some kind of medal for punching the "Nazi."

 

[Stoneheart]

what happens if they find evidence that Waid encouraged people in the marvel sphere to false dmca meyers channel while the trial is running?

 

[RadicalCentrist]

what happens if they find evidence that Waid encouraged people in the marvel sphere to false dmca meyers channel while the trial is running?

They already have evidence of that, the problem is those losers have no money and copyright law nonsense is expensive. The most likely scenario for Meyer escalating the situation is something juicy turning up in discovery.

 

[AnOminous]

They already have evidence of that, the problem is those losers have no money and copyright law nonsense is expensive. The most likely scenario for Meyer escalating the situation is something juicy turning up in discovery.

Meyer has wisely chosen a slow, steady and minimal approach to the suit, limiting it to the specific issues where he can obviously point to a specific amount of money as his damage, i.e. what he had to spend to move his book and self-publish it. While he has substantial cash reserves for it, he isn't going wild spending them all.

Since breaching a contract usually doesn't entitle you to punitive damages or attorney fees, he also stands to collect more from Waid than he would have by suing Antarctic, but without looking bad for suing Antarctic. They fucked up here, but they were put in an ugly situation, where either they'd get burned to the ground by Waid's lynch mob or sued by Meyer.

I don't see Meyer getting distracted by these dumb pissants.

 

[RadicalCentrist]

I don't see Meyer getting distracted by these dumb pissants.

Yeah I don't see it happening despite the harm Meyer has suffered especially in light of Zaid's legal strategy of "Pump the client for as much as possible before the hammer drops." Gotta get what you can before the well dries up.

But if that motion for jurisdictional discovery results in an actual deposition though... We are speaking of a man that would have regular nervous break downs merely coming to work. God only knows what he says (or implicates.) This makes me really curious regarding that alleged police tape and Mr Zaids actions.

 

[RockVolnutt]

They already have evidence of that, the problem is those losers have no money and copyright law nonsense is expensive. The most likely scenario for Meyer escalating the situation is something juicy turning up in discovery.

His best chance is Joe Quesada, the chief creative officer at Marvel Entertainment, getting dragged in. Despite his position meaning he's one of the top guys in charge of Marvel's comics and TV shows, he's been pretty vocal as of late in the "Fuck Meyer" crowd. I'm not aware of any statements directly mentioning the Waid incident but I'm assuming it wouldn't be impossible this rabbit hole is deeper as no one at Marvel or connected to Waid seem to get that they should distance themselves for the time being.

I admit I'm not a legal guy but it doesn't seem off-base to say he's "officially unofficially endorsed" by employers unaware of the ramifications. These are people who openly brag about their blacklists for anyone who pisses off their twitter cliques.