Contact: Stephanie Slater Goldfuss
sslatergoldfuss@lesserlawfirm.com
561-472-8174
Stuart, FL – While Facebook often provides a valuable forum for the public to share information, people are increasingly taking advantage of social media’s anonymity to spread misinformation, false allegations and outright lies to slander others for their personal gain.
One Martin County man is taking a stand against the creators of a Facebook page that anonymously posted misinformation and libelous statements about him.
On Wednesday, Ransom Reed Hartman of Palm City, Florida, filed a three-count lawsuit in Martin County, Florida, seeking to unmask the individuals behind the Martin County Corruption Exposed Facebook page. The page creator, identified only by the pen name @darkmoneymc, has spent the past two months publishing posts that falsely malign private individuals and public officials with broad, and wholly unsubstantiated, allegations of impropriety.
“With this action, we are putting the creators of this Facebook page, and others like them, on notice that their actions will no longer be tolerated,” said Hartman’s attorney, Joshua D. Ferraro, partner at the law firm of Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith, PLLC. “Good people, like Mr. Hartman and his family, have a right to enjoy the stellar reputation they have earned through decades of service to the Martin County community, and we intend to protect those rights to the full extent of the law.”
Hartman’s suit names three defendants, Martin County Corruption Exposed, its creator who for now is identified as John Doe, and Meta Platforms f/k/a Facebook, Inc. It seeks the name, address, email, IP address and other identifying information for the creator, administrator, and content generators of the Martin County Corruption Exposed Facebook page. Once this information is discovered, Hartman will be able to proceed against these individuals with a claim for defamation of character.
A copy of the complaint can viewed by Clicking Here. It can also be found on the Martin County Clerk of Court website https://www.martinclerk.com/ under Case Number: 22000772CAAXMX.
