On Friday, 24th May 2002, "The Which Company", also known as T3 Direct, an alleged spammer based in Perth, Western Australia, filed suit against Joey McNicol, alleging that he had made "an unfounded complaint that [T3 Direct] had been sending Unsolicited Bulk Email" to SPEWS. The evidence for the alleged unfounded complaint is a SPEWS listing.
On Monday, 14th October 2002, the action was dismissed by the court.
On Thursday, 24th October 2002, T3 Direct filed a notice of appeal.
On Wednesday, 20th October 2002, T3 Direct discontinued the appeal - this makes the dismissal final. In other words, Joey wins, permanently
In this case, Joey was being sued for allegedly submitting a complaint about spam to a blacklisting service. This was the first suit of this kind that we are aware of.
Joey was defended by Jeremy Malcolm at iLaw.
A legal defence fund was established. Any unused amounts in this fund will be made available to defend other actions brought by spammers against people who fight spam.
Joey Fights Spam Forums
Joey Fights Spam mailing list
| Date | Document | By/From |
|---|---|---|
| 24-May-2002 | Statement of Claim | Plaintiff | 30-May-2002 | Memorandum of Appearance | Defendant |
| 30-May-2002 | Notice of Intention to Seek Summary Judgement | Defendant |
| 04-Jun-2002 | Application for Summary Judgement | Defendant |
| 04-Jun-2002 | Affidavit in Support of Application for Summary Judgement | Defendant |
| 02-Jul-2002 | Affidavit of Wayne Mansfield | Plaintiff |
| 11-Jul-2002 | Submission in Response to Application for Summary Judgement | Plaintiff |
| 14-Jul-2002 | Submission in Support of Application for Summary Judgement | Defendant |
| 20-Jul-2002 | Supplimentary Affidavit of Wayne Mansfield | Plaintiff |
| 04-Oct-2002 | Dismissal of Action | The Court |
| 24-Oct-2002 | Notice of Appeal | Plaintiff |
| 12-Nov-2002 | Affidavit Requesting Vacation of Appeal Date | Plaintiff |
| 20-Nov-2002 | Notice of Discontinuance | Plaintiff |
http://www.spamblocked.com/auspam.html
http://www.isux.com/c-n-c/auspam.html
http://www.vtgts.com/auspam.htm
http://oriez.org/spammerscum/ausspam.html
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22t3direct.com.au%22&hl=en&lr=&scoring=d
http://www.rts.com.au/spam/t3direct/
The plaintiff's web site (plus his new one, and his other enterprise)
The plaintiff's solicitors
Aussie spammer sues anti-spammer in world-first case - ZDNet
Lawsuit hits anti-spam activist - The Australian
Australian Spammer Sues Back - Slashdot
Aussie spammer sues anti-spammer - Yahoo
Anti-spammers rally to fight lawsuit - The Australian
Australian firm sues over spam complaint - C|Net News
Junk email row heats up - The West Australian
Spam sender sues man, claims he tried to stop its business - The Age (Also in the Sydney Morning Herald)
Greed - Spam turns sour - The Age, 4th June 2002, Business section, page 8
Anti-spammer sued over SPEWS listing - The Australian, 4th June 2002, p27
Can the spam war in court - Junk e-mail dispute - The Daily Telegraph, 4th June 2002, p22
Quando lo spammer denuncia l'antispam - Punto Informatico
Junk e-mail dispute - The Daily Telegraph
Aussie Firm Sues Anti-Spammer - DM News
Spam case warning - The Age
Klage gegen Anti-Spammer - Intern.de
Wehe, wenn Du Spam blockierst - Heise Online
Anti-spammer fights lawsuit - The Australian
Australia update: Spam lawsuit and "e-security" threats - Politech
Chips are down over spam - The West Australian
IP addresses questioned in Australian spam stoush
Plot thickens in anti-spam case - The Australian
Spammer suing over Christian centre's IP address - The Sydney Morning Herald
"Spammer" had no IP rights - News Interactive
More spam on way: activist SPEWS - The Weekend Australian
Aussie Gets Into Pickle With Spam - Wired News
Swiftel unplugs hosting for T3 - The West Australian
Spam hits the fan - The Australian
To spam or not to spam - The Australian
Alleged spammer taken offline - The Australian
Protestor's legal fund wins unlikely support - The Australian Financial Review
ISP's anti-spam headache - The Australian
Web Central cans alleged spammer - The Australian
Lights out for Aussie DMer involved in spam lawsuit - DM News
OzEmail cuts off accused spammer - The Australian
Spam court case begins - The Sunday Times
Spam suit - Sydney Morning Herald, 15th June 2002
News in Brief - Australian Financial Review, 15th June 2002
Black list hits home for ISPs
Australian anti-spam activists plan protests - ZDNet
Spam lawsuit creates furore - The Australian
Stakes raised in anti-spam case - The Australian
Scuffle at anti-spam protest - The Australian
Spam protests washed out - The Australian, 30th July 2002, p27
Accused spammer back online - The Australian
T3 Direct offline again - The Australian
Spam: The last crusade - ZDNet
Spam fighter in court battle - The Australian
Judge reserves decision on spam fighter trial - The Sunday Times (Perth)
Anti-spammer in court over bulk e-mail - ABC News Online (with similar stories in the WA and Perth editions)
Spam fighter may face trial after junk-mail company hit - The Sydney Morning Herald
Decision reserved in spam-fight case - News Interactive
Judge reserves decision on spam fighter trial - The Age
The plague - The Age
Anti-spammer wins court case - News Interactive
Spam fighter wins junk-mail case - News Interactice
Spam fighter wins junk-mail case - The Australian
Spam fighter wins junk-mail case - The Herald Sun
Spam fighter wins junk mail case - The Sunday Mail (Queensland)
Spam fighter wins junk-mail case - The Townsville Bulletin
Australian Anti-Spammer Wins Court Case - Slashdot
Aussie Spammer Loses Suit, Done in by Own Affidavit - DMNews
A David takes on Goliath of junk e-mail business - Taipei Times
Spam 'fighter' wins court battle - The Sunday Times (WA)
(also in the Townsville Bulletin,
the Herald Sun,
The Australian,
The Courier-Mail (Qld),
and The Sunday Mail (Qld))
Aussie wins spam case - ZDNet
Court sends message to junk e-mail company - The Age
Spam fighter defeats junk email company - The Sunday Times (WA)
Bulk emailer to ponder appeal - The West Australian
Spam man to fight on - The West Australian
The Law Report - ABC Radio National
Mansfield plans appeal on spam case - The Age (also in the Sydney Morning Herald)
Matters of Public Interest: Information Technology: Internet, speech by Senator Greig (Democrats, WA), Hansard
T3 appeals spam decision - News Interactive
T3 appeals spam decision - The Australian
Slashback - Slashdot
T3 Direct drops spam lawsuit - News Interactive
The iLaw T3 v McNicol Site (Local Mirror)
Spamsuit - Stop the Spammers
Joey Fights Spam