Wired: No Truce in the Spam Wars

Atty Pete Wellborn

EmarketersAmerica.org (EMA), a front group for anonymous "marketers" targeting anti-spam groups, got itself into a legal hole when it decided to sue several blacklist providers. Recognizing that their suit was not likely to bring about the desired result, they are now trying to dismiss the charges. But the anti-spam defendants, who have been eagerly awaiting the suit in hopes of gaining troves of intelligence through the discovery process, are reluctant to let them get away.

The defendants, represented by Pete Wellborn - the man behind the $25 million judgement against spammer Kahn C. Smith - are asking for $75,000 in legal fees, or at least a judgement that they won on the merits (or lack of merits) of the case. The EMA's attorney, Mark Felstein (a resident, it almost goes without saying, of Boca Raton, Florida) has been less successful in his legal career, failing to gain admittance to the New York State Bar due to "character and general fitness" issues stemming from, among other things, a criminal record.