It’s typically pointless to bring a 512(f) claim because the law makes it almost impossible to win. Plus, 512(f) plaintiffs have to consider the possibility of a costly fee shift against them.
The plaintiff in this case claims that the defendant’s takedown notices got it permanently banned in Reddit. Nevertheless, the court concludes that the plaintiff’s 512(f) suit was objectively unreasonable because:
- the state law claims had been previously dismissed in state court.
- “Plaintiff asserted 512(f) without apparently having any evidence to support the ‘knowingly’ component of the first element.” As I’ve discussed many times, 512(f) plaintiffs rarely possess a smoking gun piece of evidence to show defendant scienter at the time of filing, so the pleadings must necessarily rely on inferences and circumstantial evidence.
- the plaintiff’s Reddit account got reinstated and shut down several more times, and the plaintiff admitted the subsequent account drama wasn’t due to the defendant.