> does anyone know why for WSJ was sued in the first place?
From a posting on USENET by Spamtrap@spamcop.net:
Artifacts follow:
(1) Richard Morton Scoville was described in a Friday, November 16, 1990 San Antonio Business Journal article ("Artesia Water Loses Moneyin Judicial Victory") as the "owner" of ArtesiaWaters.
In that article, "Rick Scoville" was described as having brought suit in February 1987 against a glass bottle manufacturer in Mexico and winning, in December 1989, a substantial judgment in a jury trial:
$ 28,060 actual damages
$ 2,000,000 exemplary damages
$ 136,000 attorney's fees
However, in May of 1990, a judge reduced the award to actual damages only. Per the article:
"My greatest fears had become a reality -- that a judge, not a jury of my peers, would tender a verdict which was predicated by something other than right versus wrong," says company president Scoville. Judge Whittington was unavailable for comment. But jury foreman Darla Allen, who LEARNED OF THE CHANGE IN THE AWARD THROUGH LETTERS FROM SCOVILLE, says she is disillusioned about the system.
...
Scoville was FINED FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT DURING THE TRIAL and fined $ 500 when he protested to the judge against an ACCUSATION BY THE DEFENSE THAT HE WAS BOTTLING TAP WATER. ... "We almost did go out of business because of this," Scoville says.
(2) On Wednesday, April 10, 1991, the Wall Street Journal published an article with this title:
FDA FINDS BUNK IN BOTTLEDWATER CLAIMS
In summary, the article stated:
Food and Drug Administration survey of US bottled-water industry suggests that water of number of domestic companies may not be as pure and natural as consumers have been led to believe; ArtesiaWaters ... is heavily processed and COMES FROM THE SAME UNDERGROUND SOURCE THAT SANANTONIO TAPS FOR ITS MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY...
(3) This article was followed by more public discourse regarding bottlers and their claims, including specific discussion regarding Richard Morton Scoville's company, Artesia Waters. As noted in theMonday, April 15, 1991 article in 'Adweek Marketing Week' (BRANDWEEK):
Water Brands Face New Scrutiny
Last week the $ 2.6 billion category won more unfavorable publicity as Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) conducted hearings on the industry.
In testimony, the FDA revealed a bit of common industry knowledge -- that bottledwater sources are often the same ones used by municipalcities. For the White House's favorite water brand, Artesia, ArtesiaWaters Inc. USES THE SAME ACQUIFIER AS THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
...
I think if I lived in San Antonio," ... "I'd feel a little cheated."
(4) In a Monday, July 10, 1991 article in the "Marketing News", Scoville announced his plans to sue the Wall Street Journal, and a professor who was a source for the WSJ's article, and "possiblelitigation against [U.S. Representative John D.] Dingell".
Bottled-water firm set to sue over charges
ArtesiaWaters Inc., San Antonio, Texas, which is threatening legal action, said it watched sales plummet 45% in May, a month after a General Accounting Office report, ...
The charges that Artesia is the same quality as San Antonio's tap water are "totally ludicrous," Scoville said. ...
But Scoville said it was the The Wall Street Journal's preview of the House hearings, which included allegations against Artesia, that had the "most damaging marketing effect."
...
the company is putting together a "major, major lawsuit" against the Journal and one of the story's sources, ... a professor of environmental health and hydrology at University of Texas at Houston. ...
The congressional hearing "stirred up some unnecessary controversy" but "I really don't think it hurt the industry," said Hellen Berry, vice president of marketing at Beverage Marketing Corp., New York. Consumers were skeptical about bottled water but that lasted "no more
than a week." ... Artesia was one of the few brands "actively affected" and it has "already starting making its explanations." Berry said other bottled water marketers "would be well advised to ignore [the controversy] totally."
(5) According to a Friday, August 14, 1992 article in the San Antonio Business Journal, Scoville and ArtesiaWaters filed yet another lawsuit, this time in July against another bottle supplier, claiming "2 millionin sales ... and $ 5 million a year in potential sales".
Artesia, Bottle Supplier Negotiating to Settle Legal Dispute
Artesia's petition alleges that [Vidriera Oriental, S.A. de C.V. (VOSA) of Mexico] misrepresented its ability to produce bottles before entering into its contract, violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Under the act, Artesia should be able to recoup its
attorneys fees from the defendant in addition to three times its actual damages, according to the suit. ...
The suit is not the first Artesia has filed against a Mexican bottle company. ...
In that suit, a Dallas County judge pitched out a jury's decision togrant Artesia $ 2 million in punitive damages and legal fees, instead awarding the company $ 28,060 in damages from the lengthy case. The judge's decision cost Artesia $ 150,000 in legal fees that it would have partially recouped if the jury's decision had been allowed tostand.
Within six months of the decision, Artesia appealed the suit and came to an out-of court settlement with Vitro, Scoville says. He would notreveal the amount of the settlement.
(6) In a Monday, January 25, 1993 article, the "Legal Intelligencer" announced the jury's verdict AGAINST Scoville and ArtesiaWaters in theWSJ lawsuit:
JURY: ARTESIA WATERS WAS NOT LIBELED
A federal court jury ruled Thursday that ArtesiaWaters, Inc., was not libeled by a story in the Wall Street Journal that said the companymisled consumers about the source of its product.
Artesia President Rick Scoville said he planned to appeal,...
Both Scoville and his attorney, George Shaffer, said they won a moral victory because the jury did find that the company had not distributedcontaminated water and did not have to recall any of its products.
(7) A Monday, Frbruary 15, 1993 article in "Texas Lawyer" describes the
verdict additionally:
ARTESIA WATERS INC. v. BRUCE INGERSOLL and THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
... Austin's George, Donaldson & Ford successfully defended The Wall Street Journal and one of its reporters in a $10 million libel suitfiled by San Antonio-based ArtesiaWaters Inc.
Artesia was represented by brothers George Shaffer and Robert Shaffer & Shaffer.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John W. Primomo of San Antonio on Jan. 25 entered a take nothing judgment and dismissed the suit with prejudice. An eight-member jury ... found Jan. 21 that statements in an article published April 10, 1991, were not false and defamatory to Artesia.
...
The suit, filed in March 1992, alleged that the article implied that Artesia sells city water, has had false or misleading promotions, has bottled contaminated water and has conducted a recall. The jury found only that the article stated or implied that Artesia sells city water and has had false or misleading promotions. But the jury said those statements were not false and defamatory.
(8) The case had interest in the publishing community, as noted in a Saturday, February 20, 1993 article in "Editor & Publisher Magazine":
WSJ cleared in libel case
...
The jury found that the "article is a substantially true account of the activities of the FDA" and a congressional committee.
Scoville claimed in the $ 10 million libel suit, filed in March 1992, that the story damaged the company's reputation and reduced its sales.
Journal lawyer R. James George said the company misled the public by claiming the water was "bottled at the source" and showed a waterfall on the label. However, George said, there was no waterfall at the source. He claimed Scoville even kept the source a "trade secret" forsome time
(9) It is unclear if Scoville's string of unsuccessful lawsuits led to this, but, as noted in this Friday, November 25, 1994 article in the San Antonio Business Journal, the "financial backer of firm-founder Rick Scoville" sold ArtesiaWaters Inc. to an employee, MARGARET K. SHODROCK, and two outside investors:
Artesia: New owners, focus
ArtesiaWaters Inc., Texas' oldest bottler of mineral water, has quietly changed hands.
...
...Shodrock says the deal was "very attractive." The Business Journal was unable to reach Scoville before press time or find out the name of Scoville's backer.
The firm's new owners have also changed Artesia's name to Alamo City Beverage Inc., but will continue to offer products under the Artesianame.
Alamo City Beverage currently has a work force of 18 people, but employs more during its peak seasons during the summer. It operates at a 37,000-square-foot bottling plant at 4671 Walzem Road. The companypurifies and bottles water from the Edwards Aquifer.
Shodrock has been employed by Artesia for seven years, serving in positions ranging from corporate comptroller to operations manager.
The firm's new president, Cheryl K. Randol, formerly maintained a local dental practice, served in a teaching position at the University of Texas Health Science Center and as a senior vice president at Texas Dental Plans Inc. Randol and her husband are now co-owners of Alamo
City Beverage. ...
The company has replaced its old trademark brown glass bottles with plastic.
...
According to Shodrock, the company under Scoville suffered declining market share because of its emphasis on carbonated and flavored water.
"It was a management decision." Shodrock says. "(Carbonated water) was the emphasis that (Scoville) wanted." Scoville is no longer with the company.
Scoville, a former industrial glue salesman, launched the company in 1980, taking on France's Perrier, the dominant brand of bottled waterat the time.
Scoville, an aggressive pitch man for his products, took the company through a series of ups and downs during his tenure as CEO. During the late 1980s, Artesia outsold Perrier's name-brand carbonated water inTexas.
But, the firm also felt a slap when the Wall Street Journal ran an article claiming the company misled consumers about the source of its product. The company filed a $ 10 million libel suit against thepublication, but a federal jury found the story not to be libelous.
During the trial, testimony pointed out that the firm's earnings decreased from 1989 to 1991, according to media reports. In better times--1985--Scoville turned down a buyout offer from brewing giantAnheuser-Busch.
(10) An amusing footnote to the foregoing, and a preview of his current net lunacy, is provided by this report of harassment by Scoville ofsamspade.org:
http://static.samspade.org/flynow.html
A usenet spammer, using the name of Margaret Morice, using the email addresses fly...@swbell.net, mamor...@aol.com, KRic...@aol.com and a number of flyno...@aol.com addresses is harassing both SamSpade.org and centergate.com (the nice company that donates all of SamSpade.orgs huge bandwidth requirements).
So far the harassment has taken the form of mailbombing, obscene email, frivolous complaints to providers, harassing phone calls, bogus police reports, threats of lawsuits and a number of other things. These have gone to not only myself and the employees of Centergate and associated companies but also to others who sit on the same commitees as Centergate staff members. There have also been false allegations, including what appears to be forged porn spam, sent to businessassociates, risking significant business costs.
The users real name appears to be Richard Morton Scoville, of San Antonio, TX
...
The user concerned uses a static DSL line, provided by swbell.net at 65.66.180.192/29:
CustName: Margaret Morice
Address: 2701 W 15th St PMB 236 Plano, TX 75075
Country: US
Comment:
RegDate: 2002-05-07
Updated: 2002-05-07
...
The website served by those addresses is freespeechstore.com:
Organization:
Free Speech Store
Margaret Morice
P.O. Box 120442
San Antonio Texas 78212
United States
Phone: 1111111111
mamor...@aol.com
Registrar Name: addresscreation.com
Registrar Whois: whois.addresscreation.com
Registrar Homepage: http://addresscreation.com
Domain Name: freespeechstore.com
Created on: 05/28/2001
Expires on: 05/28/2003
Record Last Updated on: 04/18/2002
...
Besides the obvious, I do wonder about the relationship, if any, between "Margaret Morice" and "Margaret Shodrock"
