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FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 01/17/2022
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SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
_____________________________________________ X
COMIC STRIP PROMOTIONS, INC. Index No. /2022
Plaintiff,
VERIFIED COMPLAINT
- against -
ENVIVO LLC, PLANCK, LLC, d/b/a PATCH MEDIA,
MICHAEL AQUILIA, NICK GARBER, and
JULIE MENIN.
Defendants.
_____________________________________________ X
Plaintiff, Comic Strip Promotions, Inc., (“Comic Strip” and/ or “Plaintiff”), by and through its
attorney, Mark Yosef, Esq., respectfully submits this Complaint against Defendants, ENVIVO
LLC, PLANCK, LLC, d/b/a PATCH MEDIA, MICHAEL AQUILIA, NICK GARBER, and
JULIE MENIN (collectively the “Defendants”), and hereby alleges and states as follows:
INTRODUCTION
1. This action seeks damages for false, malicious and damaging defamatory statements
made by Defendants with the malicious intent to disparage Comic Strip so as to harm said
business.
THE PARTIES
2. Comic Strip is a corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws
of the State of New York with its principal place of business in the County of New York.
3. Julie Menin is a resident of the State of New York who at all relevant times herein resided
and continues to reside in the County of New York. It is believed that Menin wrote and
published the statements that are the basis of this action in the County of New York.
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4. Michael Aquilia is a resident of the State of New York who at all relevant times herein
resided and continues to reside in the County of New York. It is believed that Aquilia wrote
and published the statements that are the basis of this action in the County of New York.
5. Nick Garber is a resident of the State of New York who at all relevant times herein resided
and continues to reside in the County of New York. It is believed that Aquilia wrote and
published the statements that are the basis of this action in the County of New York
6. Upon information and belief, Envivo LLC is a limited liability company organized under
and by virtue of the laws of the State of New York. It is believed that Envivo LLC
published the statements that are the basis of this action in the County of New York.
7. Upon information and belief, PLANCK, LLC, d/b/a PATCH MEDIA is a limited liability
company organized under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New York. It is believed
that PLANCK, LLC, d/b/a PATCH MEDIA published the statements that are the basis of
this action in the County of New York.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
8. This Court has personal jurisdiction over the parties pursuant to CPLR §301 because,
at all relevant times, each of the Defendants resided, conducted business in and/or maintained a
principal place of business within the State of New York.
9. Venue is proper pursuant to CPLR §303, because, at all relevant times, Plaintiff resided
in New York County.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
10. Envivo LLC is a limited liability company that owns and operates the website
uppereastsite.com and Instagram account “UpperEastSiteNY”, twitter account
“UpperEastSiteNY” and facebook account “Upper East Site.”
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11. On January 9, 2021, Comic Strip published an Instagram post stating “GOD BLESS
AMERICA.” See Exhibit “A”.
12. On or around 9:30am on January 9, 2022, an Instagram user named “Uppereastsiteny”
privately messaged Plaintiff and an ensuing conversation occurred. The entire message
exchange is attached as Exhibit “B” and detailed below.
13. UpperEastSiteNY messaged Plaintiff stating “Should customers be concerned that the
Comic Strip is not abiding by NYC’s vaccination requirement for employees or customers””.
Plaintiff replied “We do abide by all of them! Absolutely.”
14. Uppereastsiteny then messaged Plaintiff “That aside-Any concerns that the hashtags
Nuremberg and fmandates will be off putting to potential customers?” Plaintiff responded
“Nope. What customers? The ones that are scared because of media chaos? They don’t go out
anyway.”
15. Uppereastsiteny continued messaging plaintiff stating “Are you aware use of Holocaust
language – including false equivalency and citing of Nuremberg code is considered to be anti-
semitic and a personal attack to many in the Jewish Community?”. Plaintiff replied “UES, you
guys have been incredibly good to us, I hope it continues. We don’t believe it’s false. If the
Jewish community has issue, it’s BECAUSE of our love for them, and our awareness of
“slippery slopes” that we recognize this.
16. UpperEastSiteNY continued “Is the comic strip against all vaccinations or just the covid
vaccines?” Plaintiff replied “Not against ANY vaccines! Honestly, do you believe this post
hurts people? I’ll take it down, not our intent AT ALL.
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17. UpperEastSiteNY continued “I’ve been contacted by a Jewish person who found it
offensive and planned to share it with elected officials.” Plaintiff replied “Awww, that’s awful,
please reach out and let them know, not out intent.”
18. UpperEastSiteNY continued “The thing with anti-semitism is that it intent irrelevant when
you’ve hurt people.” Plaintiff replied “So you’re accusing us of being anti Semitic?” Upper
East Site NY replied “I’m not, members of the Jewish community are.” Plaintiff replied “The
name calling never ends does it?”
19. UpperEastSiteNY continues “Though your hashtag including the Nuremberg code – and
the false equivalency between vaccine mandates and the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany
are widely seen as anti-Semitic. Plaintiff replied “We took off Nuremberg already.”
20. UpperEastSiteNY continues “Why do you feel that the Nuremberg code applies to FDA
approved vaccines, such as Pfizer’s which has received full approval.” Plaintiff replied “I don’t
really have to understand it, to respect their feelings. Took it down immediately. They aren’t
all Pfizer, I respect anyone and everyone that decides the vaccine is beneficial to them.”
21. UpperEastSiteNY continues “Society has determined vaccines are beneficial to society
Vaccinations have never been an individual choice – which is why they’re required to attend
public school.” Plaintiff replied “Not completely true.” UpperEastSiteNY replied “Why do
you feel you are entitled to buck the choice of society-which sees vaccination as the way out
of the pandemic.” Plaintiff replied “Now you’re assuming you know what I think?”
22. UpperEastSiteNY continued “Im not assuming anything—im asking questions based on
your responses which focuses on your personal choice versus the choice of society.” Plaintiff
responded “you said “why do I feel””
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23. @UpperEastSiteNY continued “why do you feel *other people* are entitled to buck the
choice of society-which sees vaccination as the way out of the pandemic you’ve said “I respect
anyone and everyone that decided the vaccine is beneficial to them” Is there a phone number
or email I can contact the club owner? And would you be willing to share your name and title
for our article?”
24. Shortly after this exchange Uppereastsite.com published an article with the headline
“Iconic Comic Strip Club posts Anti-Semitic, Anti-Vax message on Instagram” See Exhibit
“C”.
25. The article begins by equating the Instagram post on Comic Strip Instagram to a hundred
dollar bill found at a Chase ATM with a swastika on it as “another instance of anti Semitism.”
26. The article further states “made Sunday morning’s anti-semitic Instagram post that much
more disturbing to neighbors who wondered whether Jews and Jewish comedians were
no longer welcome at the Comic Strip. “
27. The article further states “a closer look at the hashtags included in the post reveal the anti-
semitic and anti-vaccination message being sent”#Nurenberg[sic],” is a misspelled reference
typically made by anti-vaxxers make drawing false equivalency between current Covid-19
vaccination mandates and the human experimentation done on Jews by Nazi Germany and the
subsequent establishment Nuremberg Code-a set of ethical principals for medical research-
during war crimes trials held following the holocaust.”
28. The article again then seems to equate a word “Nurenberg” to actual anti Semitism by
stating “Anti-vaxxers have repeatedly used holocaust or anti-Semitic imagery over the past
year-including swastikas during a march in Central Park and a protest in front of Gracie
Mansion, as well as fliers posted on vacant storefronts using the yellow Star of David patches
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used by the Nazi’s[sic] to identify jewish people in Germany, in an attempt to legitimize their
unfounded feelings of persecution for choosing not to get vaccinated for Covid-19, which
disregards their own safety, the health of others and potentially prolongs the pandemic.”
29. Article further attempts to stoke rage by stating “The Comic Strip’s post goes even further
to declare “f(uck) mandates” and declare “freedomofchoice” which immediately drew
backlash from the community.
30. The article acknowledges the harm of reposting the tweet with their phrasing of it as anti
semitic as caused customers to avoid the Comic Strip or to state they will not patronage said
business “Oh no! I loved this place,” one person commented on the post. “Whoa, I guess I’ll
get my comedy downtown,” said another.
31. @UpperEastSiteNY posted a tweet stating “More anti-semitism on the UES. This time
unexpectedly coming from a beloved neighborhood institution, the Comic Strip – making an
offensive false equivalency between the Holocaust and vaccination mandates – and defending
it with a strange response.” It then links to the article with the defamatory headline. See Exhibit
“D”.
32. They retweeted their own post several hours later.
33. As of January 11, 2022 @uppereastsiteny has 907 followers on twitter.
34. @uppereastsiteny Instagram account posted the headline of the article as well as the
Instagram post by comic strip and wrote underneath “Another instance of anti-semitism
drawing outrage on the Upper East Side. This time unexpectedly coming from a beloved
neighborhood institution, the Comic Strip comedy club- making an offensive false equivalency
between the Holocaust and vaccination mandates – and defending it in a strange response.
More on UpperEastSite.com” See Exhibit “E”.
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35. As of January 11, 2022, @UpperEastSiteNY Instagram account has 6,646 followers.
36. Uppereastsite.com made a post identical to the Instagram post on its facebook page. See
Exhibit “F”. They have 148 likes on its facebook page.
37. It is important to note that the Instagram post by Comic Strip was up for approximately
one hour before taken down and at that point there were zero negative comments on the post.
38. It was not until UpperEastSite.com accused the Comic Strip of being anti-semitic and anti-
vaccination that they reached customers who stated they will not patronage the comic strip.
39. On January 9, 2022 at approximately 6:54pm Councilwoman Julie Menin on her twitter
account @JulieMenin retweeted @Uppereastsite.com article stating “This post is deeply
offensive. As a daughter of a holocaust survivor, I cannot condemn this strongly enough. No
one should draw false equivalencies between Covid-19 mandates and the Holocaust. We must
immediately call out hate speech and anti-semitism.” See Exhibit “G.”
40. Julie Menin’s twitter account has 5,887 followers.
41. @UpperEastSiteNY twitter account retweeted Julie Menin’s post. See Exhibit “H”.
42. Julie Menin subsequently published a letter in which she excoriates the Comic Strip for
“antisemitic sentiments expressed in your latest Instagram posting.” She continues by
explaining what occurred during the holocaust. She further states “Condoning antisemitism
leads to more hatred and violence.” She then calls on the Comic strip to issue a formal apology
stating “lead community solidarity against hate and persecution.” See Exhibit “I”
43. Uppereastsiteny.com posted an article with the headline “Council member Menin Calls for
Formal Apology in Scathing Letter After the Comic Strip’s Anti-Semitic Anti-Vax Post.” See
Exhibit “J”.
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44. UpperEastSite.com then tweeted a link to the article stating “UES Council Member
@NYCJulieMenin has penned a scathing letter calling for @ComicStripLive to issue a formal
apology for the ant(i)-Semitic language used by the comedy club in a recent Instagram post.”
Below the statement is a link to the article and below that are the hashtags “#UES, #NYC,
#antisemitism.” It then retweeted its own tweet and it is the first post on their twitter account
as of January 11, 2022. See Exhibit “K”.
45. Uppereastsite.com then posted the same headline on its Instagram account and wrote
“Upper East Side Council Member @NYCJulieMenin has penned a scathing letter calling for
@ComicStripLive to issue a formal apology for the antisemitic language used by the comedy
club in a recent Instagram post. The letter, on UpperEastSite.com.” See Exhibit “L”.
46. Uppereastsite.com then posted the same headline on its Facebook account “Upper East
Side Council Member @NYCJulieMenin has penned a scathing letter calling for
@ComicStripLive to issue a formal apology for the antisemitic language used by the comedy
club in a recent Instagram post” it is followed with a link to the article and underneath there
are the hashtags “#UES, #NYC, #antisemitism.” See Exhibit “M”.
47. Planck LLC, d/b/a Patch Media is a limited liability company that owns the website
Patch.com and they also posted defamatory article about the Comic Strip.
48. Patch.com posted an article with the headline “Swastika Found at UES Bank Prompts
Police Probe, Lawmaker Says.” The article was written by Nick Garber. See Exhibit “N”.
49. Among the defamatory statements in the article are that it states “A Nazi symbol found at
a neighborhood bank and an anti-vaccine post by a prominent comedy club both drew
condemnation this week.”
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50. The body of the article goes on to state after the article of the Nazi symbol “Since it was
closely followed by another instance of anti-Semitism in the neighborhood: an anti-vaccine
social media post by the local comedy club Comic Strip Live.
51. It goes on to state that the Instagram post “seemingly compared the city’s vaccine mandates
to Nazi Germany.”
52. It concluded by republishing part of Julie Menin’s letter to the Comic Strip.
53. Not only did Uppereastsite.com publish articles accusing comic strip of anti semitism it
also responded to posts under Comic Strip’s Instagram stating Comic Strip deleted a post
which has. See Exhibit “O”.
AS AND FOR THE FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION DEFAMATION
54. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth in paragraphs 1 through
52 of this Complaint as is set forth fully herein.
55. The Defendants asserted, published and/or caused to be published numerous false
statements on its websites Uppereastsite.com, patch.com as well as on Instagram, twitter,
facebook, in a letter by a councilwoman Julie Menin, and on her Instagram, and various other
sources to thousands of followers on the internet for which the public had unfettered access to
such articles and the complaint.
56. These statements by the Defendants include multiple false assertions that the Comic Strip
is “anti-semitic” and “anti-vaccination” because they used a hashtag #nuremberg and
#fmandates.
57. Despite a private message conversation on Instagram in which the person who posted on
Comic Strip Instagram stated they are not anti vaccination and they abide by the rules of New
York City, Uppereastsite.com still chose to publish this false information. Despite the fact the
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person who posted the Instagram post for Comic Strip stated unequivocally they had no intent
of offending anyone and took down the post just because UpperEastSiteNY stated a Jewish
person was offended, they still continued to post a false assertion that the language was
antisemitic and that the club engages in antisemitism. A false and abhorrent accusation.
58. A sitting councilwoman had the audacity to call Comic Strip, an institution since 1976, anti
semitic, and called the post an example of anti-semitism without spending one minute to
research what the post stated or what it was referring to. She wrote a letter demanding an
apology, while simultaneously accusing the Comic Strip of being anti-semitic and anti-
vaccination. Julie Menin should be apologizing for acting outside the scope of her employment
in attempting to destroy a revered comedy institution.
59. The Defendants incorrectly state Comic strip is comparing vaccination with the holocaust.
60. The Defendants incorrectly try to conflate an instance of a swastika drawn on a bill, to the
word “nurenberg” on an Instagram post as if they are similar in offensive nature, whereas
swastika is a clear instance of antisemitism – the other is not at all related.
61. These statements were made and published without any privilege or authorization.
62. Defendants published the statements with malice and the intent to harass, damage Comic
Strip’s reputation for their own financial gain, to increase readership, viewership by
sensationalizing a non-story and to damage the Comic Strip by convincing readers and viewers
to not visit the establishment and patronize the Comic Strip.
63. Defendants published the statements with knowledge of their falsity and with a reckless
disregard for its lack of truth and falsity.
64. The defamatory statements made and published by the Defendants were intentional,
willful, wanton, malicious and oppressive, were motivated by the greed of the Defendants and
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their desire to punish and intimidate Comic Strip, and were made without regard for the truth
or Comic Strip’s well-being, and were based on a lack of concern and ill-will towards Comic
Strip and a deliberate reckless disregard for its rights and the truth.
65. As a result of these defamatory statements, Comic Strip and its employees continues to
suffer from loss of standing in the community and public disgrace. Comic has also suffered,
and will continue to suffer, loss of business and revenue as a result of the defamation.
66. The Comic Strip as a viable business continues and will continue to suffer tremendously
as these statements continue to appear in the public domain and are accessed by millions of
people every day.
67. Thus, the Defendants’ statements constitute defamation.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against the Defendants for defamation in an amount
to be determined at trial but not less than $1,000,000.00, plus punitive damages, the costs and
attorneys’ fees for bringing forth this action, and such other relief as this Court may deem just and
proper
AS AND FOR THE SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION DEFAMATION PER SE
68. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth in paragraphs 1 through
67 of this Complaint as is set forth fully herein.
69. The Defendants asserted, published and/or caused to be published numerous false
statements on its websites Uppereastsite.com, patch.com as well as on Instagram, twitter,
facebook, in a letter by a councilwoman Julie Menin, and on her Instagram, and various other
sources to thousands of followers on the internet for which the public had unfettered access to
such articles and the complaint.
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70. These statements by the Defendants include multiple false assertions that the Comic Strip
is “anti-semitic” and “anti-vaccination” because they used a hashtag #nuremberg and
#fmandates.
71. Despite a private message conversation on Instagram in which the person who posted on
Comic Strip Instagram stated they are not anti vaccination and they abide by the rules of New
York City, Uppereastsite.com still chose to publish this false information. Despite the fact the
person who posted the Instagram post for Comic Strip stated unequivocally they had no intent
of offending anyone and took down the post just because UpperEastSiteNY stated a Jewish
person was offended, they still continued to post a false assertion that the language was
antisemitic and that the club engages in antisemitism. A false and abhorrent accusation.
72. A sitting councilwoman had the audacity to call Comic Strip, an institution since 1976, anti
semitic, and called the post an example of anti-semitism without spending one minute to
research what the post stated or what it was referring to. She wrote a letter demanding an
apology, while simultaneously accusing the Comic Strip of being anti-semitic and anti-
vaccination. Julie Menin should be apologizing for acting outside the scope of her employment
in attempting to destroy a revered comedy institution.
73. The Defendants incorrectly state Comic strip is comparing vaccination with the holocaust.
74. The Defendants incorrectly try to conflate an instance of a swastika drawn on a bill, to the
word “nurenberg” on an Instagram post as if they are similar in offensive nature, whereas
swastika is a clear instance of antisemitism – the other is not at all related.
75. These statements by the Defendants include false assertions that Comic Strip is “anti-
semitic” and that the Instagram post with hashtag “Nuremberg” is antisemitic and that anti-
semitism is accepted, promoted, welcomed or condoned by the Comic Strip.
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76. These statements by Defendants include the false assertion that Comic Strip is “anti
vaccination.”
77. These statements were made and published without any privilege or authorization,
including that the litigation privilege is not applicable to these claims.
78. Defendants published the statements with malice and the intent to harass, damage Comic
Strip’s reputation for their own financial gain
79. Defendants published the statements with knowledge of their falsity and with a reckless
disregard for its lack of truth and falsity.
80. The defamatory statements made and published by the Defendants were intentional,
willful, wanton, malicious and oppressive, were motivated by the greed of the Defendants and
their desire to punish and intimidate Comic Strip and were made without regard for the truth
or Comic Strip’s well-being, and were based on a lack of concern and ill-will towards Comic
Strip and a deliberate reckless disregard for its rights and the truth.
81. As a result of these defamatory statements, Comic Strip and its employees continue to
suffer from humiliation, loss of standing in the community and public disgrace. Comic Strip
has also suffered, and will continue to suffer, loss of business and revenue as a result of the
defamation.
82. The statements are deemed to be defamation per se because they falsely impute racism on
a comedy club by imputing from a hashtag #nuremberg in response to a vaccine mandate, that
a comedy club is now anti-semitic, or anti Jewish people who are semitic.
83. Nuremberg Code was a code established in response to the medical trials against Jewish
people and the code was law that was codified to prevent such atrocities from ever happening
again.
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84. How anyone, much less a journalistic news site and a sitting councilwoman can extrapolate
from the word “#nurenberg” that an establishment is “anti-semitic” and is engaging in anti-
semitism which has direct parallels to some of the worst atrocities in world history, is
disgusting and reason why this is defamation per se.
85. Comic Strip’s future business continues and will continue to suffer tremendously as these
statements continue to appear in the public domain and are accessed by millions of people
every day.
86. Thus, the statements constitute defamation per se.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against the Defendants for defamation per se
in an amount to be determined at trial but not less than $1,000,000.00, plus punitive damages, the
costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing forth this action, and such other relief as this Court may deem
just and proper.
AS AND FOR THE THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION TORT OF TRADE LIBEL
AND/OR INJURIOUS FALSEHOODS
87. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth in paragraphs 1 through
86 of this Complaint as is set forth fully herein.
88. Defendants’ publication of the statements was done solely with the purpose of harassing
Comic Strip, injuring the Comic Strip, causing Comic Strip’s business and livelihood to suffer,
punish Comic Strip, and intimidate Comic Strip to apologize.
89. These statements by the Defendants include multiple false assertions that the Comic Strip
is “anti-semitic” and “anti-vaccination” because it used a hashtag #nuremberg and #fmandates.
90. Despite a private message conversation on Instagram in which the person who posted on
Comic Strip Instagram stated they are not anti vaccination and they abide by the rules of New
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York City, Uppereastsite.com still chose to publish this false information. Despite the fact the
person who posted the Instagram post for Comic Strip stated unequivocally they had no intent
of offending anyone and took down the post just because UpperEastSiteNY stated a Jewish
person was offended, they still continued to post a false assertion that the language was
antisemitic and that the club engages in antisemitism. A false and abhorrent accusation.
91. A sitting councilwoman had the audacity to call Comic Strip, an institution since 1976, anti
semitic, and called the post an example of anti-semitism without spending one minute to
research what the post stated or what it was referring to. She wrote a letter demanding an
apology, while simultaneously accusing the Comic Strip of being anti-semitic and anti-
vaccination. Julie Menin should be apologizing for acting outside the scope of her employment
in attempting to destroy a revered comedy institution.
92. The Defendants incorrectly state Comic strip is comparing vaccination with the holocaust.
93. The Defendants incorrectly try to conflate an instance of a swastika drawn on a bill, to the
word “nurenberg” on an Instagram post as if they are similar in offensive nature, whereas
swastika is a clear instance of antisemitism – the other is not at all related.
94.
95. The statements contain false and derogatory claims about Comic Strip, including, but not
limited to, Comic Strip being an anti-semitic and anti-vaccination establishment. The
statements call into question Plaintiff’s character, actions, and business reputation, and the
Comic Strip has incurred damages as a result of such abhorrent and false accusations.
96. Third parties have already mentioned the statements, articles, and complaints to Comic
Strip, and, thus Comic Strip has incurred a decrease in her business and revenue since the
publication of the statements.
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97. As a direct result of the publication of the statements, Comic Strip has suffered a loss of
revenue as of the date of filing the instant action. Comic Strip’s damages are expected to
increase in the foreseeable future as a result of the statements.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against the Defendants for the tort of trade
libel in an amount to be determined at trial but not less than $1,000,000.00, plus punitive damages,
the costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing forth this action, and such other relief as this Court may
deem just and proper
AS AND FOR THE FOURTH CAUSE OF ACTION DECLARATORY
JUDGMENT
98. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth in paragraphs 1 through
97 of this Complaint as is set forth fully herein.
99. A Declaratory Judgment is necessary to mitigate and alleviate the suffering and damages
that Comic Strip has suffered by informing the public that Comic Strip is not anti-semitic nor
anti-vaccination.
100. On its website, Instagram, twitter and facebook accounts, Uppereastsite.com
repeatedly stated Comic Strip posted anti-semitic message and that their post is another
instance of anti-semitism.
101. Defendants’ claims Comic Strip posted an anti-semitic message and engages in
anti-semitism is unfounded and serves to publicly shame the Comic Strip, further jeopardizing
Comic Strip’s business.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands a Judgment Declaring that Plaintiff is not anti-semitic
and its message was not anti-semitic or anti vaccination, and such other relief as this Court may
deem just and proper.
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AS AND FOR THE FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION PERMANENT INJUNCTION
102. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth in paragraphs 1
through 101 of this Complaint as is set forth fully herein.
103. The continuing and determined efforts by the Defendants, as evidenced by the
publication of the libelous statements, have demonstrated their obsessive, irrepressible and
malicious desire to defame Comic Strip to the public; to cause Comic Strip to suffer ridicule,
disgrace, and prejudice; to injure the Comic Strip’s good reputation, name, business reputation,
and social standing, and to cause it to lose the esteem and respect of its community, friends,
acquaintances, business associates, and of the public generally, as well as a loss of business
and revenue.
104. The statements are false, malicious, and unsupported by any proof. However, that
is no impediment to Defendants disseminating the statements and to have other third parties
disseminate similarly negative writings, repeating the content of the statements.
105. Based on the Defendants actions, there is no reason to believe that the Defendants
will cease such conduct without an order from this Court permanently restraining their conduct.
106. Defendants continue to disseminate the defamatory content, and as a direct result,
Comic Strip will continue to be irreparably harmed by such.
107. Money damages alone will be insufficient to compensate the Comic Strip from the
ongoing and continuing damage to its good name, revenue, business and reputation caused by
the Defendants’ conduct.
108. Balancing of the equities as between the Comic Strip and the Defendants is such
that the Defendants will suffer no harm if restricted from further statements, writings and
dissemination of negative and damaging false statements about Comic Strip, while Comic Strip
will suffer further and increasing harm to its good name, potential revenue, and reputation if
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the Defendants are permitted to continue their defamatory conduct toward Comic Strip and not
ordered by this Court to remove the statements from all websites, and any other publications,
and not to disseminate such falsehoods in the future.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands an order of a permanent injunction requiring the
Defendants to remove the statements from any and all other publications, and such other relief as
this Court may deem just and proper.
AS AND FOR THE DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury pursuant to CPLR §4101.
RESERVATION OF RIGHT TO AMEND PLEADINGS
Plaintiff reserves the right to amend these pleadings to add any and all claims that it determines
are just and appropriate
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WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against Defendant, as follows:
(i) on the first cause of action, awarding Plaintiff damages against Defendants for
defamation in an amount to be determined at trial but not less than $1,000,000.00,
plus punitive damages, the costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing forth this action;
(ii) on the second cause of action, awarding Plaintiff damages against Defendants
for defamation per se in an amount to be determined at trial but not less than
$1,000,000.00, plus punitive damages, the costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing
forth this action;
(iii) on the third cause of action, awarding Plaintiff damages against Defendants for
the tort of trade libel in an amount to be determined at trial but not less than
$1,000,000.00, plus punitive damages, the costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing
forth this action,
(iv) on the fourth cause of action, awarding Plaintiff a Judgment declaring that
Plaintiff is not antisemitic and its message was not antisemitic or antivaccination,
and such other relief as this Court may deem just and proper.
(v) On the fifth cause of action, awarding Plaintiff an order of a permanent injunction
requiring the Defendants to remove the statements from any and all publications
(iii) such other and further relief as to this Court may seem just and proper in favor of
Plaintiff, together with costs and disbursements of this action.
Dated: New York, New York
January 11, 2022
MARK YOSEF, ESQ.
By: ____/s/ Mark Yosef__________________
Mark Yosef, Esq.
Attorneys for Plaintiff
25 Clinton Street, 301
New York, New York 10002
(917)254-6983
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Preview
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 01/17/2022 03/31/2022 05:20 11:19 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK _____________________________________________ X COMIC STRIP PROMOTIONS, INC. Index No. /2022 Plaintiff, VERIFIED COMPLAINT - against - ENVIVO LLC, PLANCK, LLC, d/b/a PATCH MEDIA, MICHAEL AQUILIA, NICK GARBER, and JULIE MENIN. Defendants. _____________________________________________ X Plaintiff, Comic Strip Promotions, Inc., (“Comic Strip” and/ or “Plaintiff”), by and through its attorney, Mark Yosef, Esq., respectfully submits this Complaint against Defendants, ENVIVO LLC, PLANCK, LLC, d/b/a PATCH MEDIA, MICHAEL AQUILIA, NICK GARBER, and JULIE MENIN (collectively the “Defendants”), and hereby alleges and states as follows: INTRODUCTION 1. This action seeks damages for false, malicious and damaging defamatory statements made by Defendants with the malicious intent to disparage Comic Strip so as to harm said business. THE PARTIES 2. Comic Strip is a corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New York with its principal place of business in the County of New York. 3. Julie Menin is a resident of the State of New York who at all relevant times herein resided and continues to reside in the County of New York. It is believed that Menin wrote and published the statements that are the basis of this action in the County of New York. 4 3 of 23 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 01/17/2022 03/31/2022 05:20 11:19 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 4. Michael Aquilia is a resident of the State of New York who at all relevant times herein resided and continues to reside in the County of New York. It is believed that Aquilia wrote and published the statements that are the basis of this action in the County of New York. 5. Nick Garber is a resident of the State of New York who at all relevant times herein resided and continues to reside in the County of New York. It is believed that Aquilia wrote and published the statements that are the basis of this action in the County of New York 6. Upon information and belief, Envivo LLC is a limited liability company organized under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New York. It is believed that Envivo LLC published the statements that are the basis of this action in the County of New York. 7. Upon information and belief, PLANCK, LLC, d/b/a PATCH MEDIA is a limited liability company organized under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New York. It is believed that PLANCK, LLC, d/b/a PATCH MEDIA published the statements that are the basis of this action in the County of New York. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 8. This Court has personal jurisdiction over the parties pursuant to CPLR §301 because, at all relevant times, each of the Defendants resided, conducted business in and/or maintained a principal place of business within the State of New York. 9. Venue is proper pursuant to CPLR §303, because, at all relevant times, Plaintiff resided in New York County. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS 10. Envivo LLC is a limited liability company that owns and operates the website uppereastsite.com and Instagram account “UpperEastSiteNY”, twitter account “UpperEastSiteNY” and facebook account “Upper East Site.” 5 4 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 11. On January 9, 2021, Comic Strip published an Instagram post stating “GOD BLESS AMERICA.” See Exhibit “A”. 12. On or around 9:30am on January 9, 2022, an Instagram user named “Uppereastsiteny” privately messaged Plaintiff and an ensuing conversation occurred. The entire message exchange is attached as Exhibit “B” and detailed below. 13. UpperEastSiteNY messaged Plaintiff stating “Should customers be concerned that the Comic Strip is not abiding by NYC’s vaccination requirement for employees or customers””. Plaintiff replied “We do abide by all of them! Absolutely.” 14. Uppereastsiteny then messaged Plaintiff “That aside-Any concerns that the hashtags Nuremberg and fmandates will be off putting to potential customers?” Plaintiff responded “Nope. What customers? The ones that are scared because of media chaos? They don’t go out anyway.” 15. Uppereastsiteny continued messaging plaintiff stating “Are you aware use of Holocaust language – including false equivalency and citing of Nuremberg code is considered to be anti- semitic and a personal attack to many in the Jewish Community?”. Plaintiff replied “UES, you guys have been incredibly good to us, I hope it continues. We don’t believe it’s false. If the Jewish community has issue, it’s BECAUSE of our love for them, and our awareness of “slippery slopes” that we recognize this. 16. UpperEastSiteNY continued “Is the comic strip against all vaccinations or just the covid vaccines?” Plaintiff replied “Not against ANY vaccines! Honestly, do you believe this post hurts people? I’ll take it down, not our intent AT ALL. 6 5 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 17. UpperEastSiteNY continued “I’ve been contacted by a Jewish person who found it offensive and planned to share it with elected officials.” Plaintiff replied “Awww, that’s awful, please reach out and let them know, not out intent.” 18. UpperEastSiteNY continued “The thing with anti-semitism is that it intent irrelevant when you’ve hurt people.” Plaintiff replied “So you’re accusing us of being anti Semitic?” Upper East Site NY replied “I’m not, members of the Jewish community are.” Plaintiff replied “The name calling never ends does it?” 19. UpperEastSiteNY continues “Though your hashtag including the Nuremberg code – and the false equivalency between vaccine mandates and the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany are widely seen as anti-Semitic. Plaintiff replied “We took off Nuremberg already.” 20. UpperEastSiteNY continues “Why do you feel that the Nuremberg code applies to FDA approved vaccines, such as Pfizer’s which has received full approval.” Plaintiff replied “I don’t really have to understand it, to respect their feelings. Took it down immediately. They aren’t all Pfizer, I respect anyone and everyone that decides the vaccine is beneficial to them.” 21. UpperEastSiteNY continues “Society has determined vaccines are beneficial to society Vaccinations have never been an individual choice – which is why they’re required to attend public school.” Plaintiff replied “Not completely true.” UpperEastSiteNY replied “Why do you feel you are entitled to buck the choice of society-which sees vaccination as the way out of the pandemic.” Plaintiff replied “Now you’re assuming you know what I think?” 22. UpperEastSiteNY continued “Im not assuming anything—im asking questions based on your responses which focuses on your personal choice versus the choice of society.” Plaintiff responded “you said “why do I feel”” 7 6 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 23. @UpperEastSiteNY continued “why do you feel *other people* are entitled to buck the choice of society-which sees vaccination as the way out of the pandemic you’ve said “I respect anyone and everyone that decided the vaccine is beneficial to them” Is there a phone number or email I can contact the club owner? And would you be willing to share your name and title for our article?” 24. Shortly after this exchange Uppereastsite.com published an article with the headline “Iconic Comic Strip Club posts Anti-Semitic, Anti-Vax message on Instagram” See Exhibit “C”. 25. The article begins by equating the Instagram post on Comic Strip Instagram to a hundred dollar bill found at a Chase ATM with a swastika on it as “another instance of anti Semitism.” 26. The article further states “made Sunday morning’s anti-semitic Instagram post that much more disturbing to neighbors who wondered whether Jews and Jewish comedians were no longer welcome at the Comic Strip. “ 27. The article further states “a closer look at the hashtags included in the post reveal the anti- semitic and anti-vaccination message being sent”#Nurenberg[sic],” is a misspelled reference typically made by anti-vaxxers make drawing false equivalency between current Covid-19 vaccination mandates and the human experimentation done on Jews by Nazi Germany and the subsequent establishment Nuremberg Code-a set of ethical principals for medical research- during war crimes trials held following the holocaust.” 28. The article again then seems to equate a word “Nurenberg” to actual anti Semitism by stating “Anti-vaxxers have repeatedly used holocaust or anti-Semitic imagery over the past year-including swastikas during a march in Central Park and a protest in front of Gracie Mansion, as well as fliers posted on vacant storefronts using the yellow Star of David patches 8 7 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 used by the Nazi’s[sic] to identify jewish people in Germany, in an attempt to legitimize their unfounded feelings of persecution for choosing not to get vaccinated for Covid-19, which disregards their own safety, the health of others and potentially prolongs the pandemic.” 29. Article further attempts to stoke rage by stating “The Comic Strip’s post goes even further to declare “f(uck) mandates” and declare “freedomofchoice” which immediately drew backlash from the community. 30. The article acknowledges the harm of reposting the tweet with their phrasing of it as anti semitic as caused customers to avoid the Comic Strip or to state they will not patronage said business “Oh no! I loved this place,” one person commented on the post. “Whoa, I guess I’ll get my comedy downtown,” said another. 31. @UpperEastSiteNY posted a tweet stating “More anti-semitism on the UES. This time unexpectedly coming from a beloved neighborhood institution, the Comic Strip – making an offensive false equivalency between the Holocaust and vaccination mandates – and defending it with a strange response.” It then links to the article with the defamatory headline. See Exhibit “D”. 32. They retweeted their own post several hours later. 33. As of January 11, 2022 @uppereastsiteny has 907 followers on twitter. 34. @uppereastsiteny Instagram account posted the headline of the article as well as the Instagram post by comic strip and wrote underneath “Another instance of anti-semitism drawing outrage on the Upper East Side. This time unexpectedly coming from a beloved neighborhood institution, the Comic Strip comedy club- making an offensive false equivalency between the Holocaust and vaccination mandates – and defending it in a strange response. More on UpperEastSite.com” See Exhibit “E”. 9 8 of 23 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 01/17/2022 03/31/2022 05:20 11:19 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 35. As of January 11, 2022, @UpperEastSiteNY Instagram account has 6,646 followers. 36. Uppereastsite.com made a post identical to the Instagram post on its facebook page. See Exhibit “F”. They have 148 likes on its facebook page. 37. It is important to note that the Instagram post by Comic Strip was up for approximately one hour before taken down and at that point there were zero negative comments on the post. 38. It was not until UpperEastSite.com accused the Comic Strip of being anti-semitic and anti- vaccination that they reached customers who stated they will not patronage the comic strip. 39. On January 9, 2022 at approximately 6:54pm Councilwoman Julie Menin on her twitter account @JulieMenin retweeted @Uppereastsite.com article stating “This post is deeply offensive. As a daughter of a holocaust survivor, I cannot condemn this strongly enough. No one should draw false equivalencies between Covid-19 mandates and the Holocaust. We must immediately call out hate speech and anti-semitism.” See Exhibit “G.” 40. Julie Menin’s twitter account has 5,887 followers. 41. @UpperEastSiteNY twitter account retweeted Julie Menin’s post. See Exhibit “H”. 42. Julie Menin subsequently published a letter in which she excoriates the Comic Strip for “antisemitic sentiments expressed in your latest Instagram posting.” She continues by explaining what occurred during the holocaust. She further states “Condoning antisemitism leads to more hatred and violence.” She then calls on the Comic strip to issue a formal apology stating “lead community solidarity against hate and persecution.” See Exhibit “I” 43. Uppereastsiteny.com posted an article with the headline “Council member Menin Calls for Formal Apology in Scathing Letter After the Comic Strip’s Anti-Semitic Anti-Vax Post.” See Exhibit “J”. 10 9 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 44. UpperEastSite.com then tweeted a link to the article stating “UES Council Member @NYCJulieMenin has penned a scathing letter calling for @ComicStripLive to issue a formal apology for the ant(i)-Semitic language used by the comedy club in a recent Instagram post.” Below the statement is a link to the article and below that are the hashtags “#UES, #NYC, #antisemitism.” It then retweeted its own tweet and it is the first post on their twitter account as of January 11, 2022. See Exhibit “K”. 45. Uppereastsite.com then posted the same headline on its Instagram account and wrote “Upper East Side Council Member @NYCJulieMenin has penned a scathing letter calling for @ComicStripLive to issue a formal apology for the antisemitic language used by the comedy club in a recent Instagram post. The letter, on UpperEastSite.com.” See Exhibit “L”. 46. Uppereastsite.com then posted the same headline on its Facebook account “Upper East Side Council Member @NYCJulieMenin has penned a scathing letter calling for @ComicStripLive to issue a formal apology for the antisemitic language used by the comedy club in a recent Instagram post” it is followed with a link to the article and underneath there are the hashtags “#UES, #NYC, #antisemitism.” See Exhibit “M”. 47. Planck LLC, d/b/a Patch Media is a limited liability company that owns the website Patch.com and they also posted defamatory article about the Comic Strip. 48. Patch.com posted an article with the headline “Swastika Found at UES Bank Prompts Police Probe, Lawmaker Says.” The article was written by Nick Garber. See Exhibit “N”. 49. Among the defamatory statements in the article are that it states “A Nazi symbol found at a neighborhood bank and an anti-vaccine post by a prominent comedy club both drew condemnation this week.” 11 10 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 50. The body of the article goes on to state after the article of the Nazi symbol “Since it was closely followed by another instance of anti-Semitism in the neighborhood: an anti-vaccine social media post by the local comedy club Comic Strip Live. 51. It goes on to state that the Instagram post “seemingly compared the city’s vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany.” 52. It concluded by republishing part of Julie Menin’s letter to the Comic Strip. 53. Not only did Uppereastsite.com publish articles accusing comic strip of anti semitism it also responded to posts under Comic Strip’s Instagram stating Comic Strip deleted a post which has. See Exhibit “O”. AS AND FOR THE FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION DEFAMATION 54. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth in paragraphs 1 through 52 of this Complaint as is set forth fully herein. 55. The Defendants asserted, published and/or caused to be published numerous false statements on its websites Uppereastsite.com, patch.com as well as on Instagram, twitter, facebook, in a letter by a councilwoman Julie Menin, and on her Instagram, and various other sources to thousands of followers on the internet for which the public had unfettered access to such articles and the complaint. 56. These statements by the Defendants include multiple false assertions that the Comic Strip is “anti-semitic” and “anti-vaccination” because they used a hashtag #nuremberg and #fmandates. 57. Despite a private message conversation on Instagram in which the person who posted on Comic Strip Instagram stated they are not anti vaccination and they abide by the rules of New York City, Uppereastsite.com still chose to publish this false information. Despite the fact the 12 11 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 person who posted the Instagram post for Comic Strip stated unequivocally they had no intent of offending anyone and took down the post just because UpperEastSiteNY stated a Jewish person was offended, they still continued to post a false assertion that the language was antisemitic and that the club engages in antisemitism. A false and abhorrent accusation. 58. A sitting councilwoman had the audacity to call Comic Strip, an institution since 1976, anti semitic, and called the post an example of anti-semitism without spending one minute to research what the post stated or what it was referring to. She wrote a letter demanding an apology, while simultaneously accusing the Comic Strip of being anti-semitic and anti- vaccination. Julie Menin should be apologizing for acting outside the scope of her employment in attempting to destroy a revered comedy institution. 59. The Defendants incorrectly state Comic strip is comparing vaccination with the holocaust. 60. The Defendants incorrectly try to conflate an instance of a swastika drawn on a bill, to the word “nurenberg” on an Instagram post as if they are similar in offensive nature, whereas swastika is a clear instance of antisemitism – the other is not at all related. 61. These statements were made and published without any privilege or authorization. 62. Defendants published the statements with malice and the intent to harass, damage Comic Strip’s reputation for their own financial gain, to increase readership, viewership by sensationalizing a non-story and to damage the Comic Strip by convincing readers and viewers to not visit the establishment and patronize the Comic Strip. 63. Defendants published the statements with knowledge of their falsity and with a reckless disregard for its lack of truth and falsity. 64. The defamatory statements made and published by the Defendants were intentional, willful, wanton, malicious and oppressive, were motivated by the greed of the Defendants and 13 12 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 their desire to punish and intimidate Comic Strip, and were made without regard for the truth or Comic Strip’s well-being, and were based on a lack of concern and ill-will towards Comic Strip and a deliberate reckless disregard for its rights and the truth. 65. As a result of these defamatory statements, Comic Strip and its employees continues to suffer from loss of standing in the community and public disgrace. Comic has also suffered, and will continue to suffer, loss of business and revenue as a result of the defamation. 66. The Comic Strip as a viable business continues and will continue to suffer tremendously as these statements continue to appear in the public domain and are accessed by millions of people every day. 67. Thus, the Defendants’ statements constitute defamation. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against the Defendants for defamation in an amount to be determined at trial but not less than $1,000,000.00, plus punitive damages, the costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing forth this action, and such other relief as this Court may deem just and proper AS AND FOR THE SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION DEFAMATION PER SE 68. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth in paragraphs 1 through 67 of this Complaint as is set forth fully herein. 69. The Defendants asserted, published and/or caused to be published numerous false statements on its websites Uppereastsite.com, patch.com as well as on Instagram, twitter, facebook, in a letter by a councilwoman Julie Menin, and on her Instagram, and various other sources to thousands of followers on the internet for which the public had unfettered access to such articles and the complaint. 14 13 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 70. These statements by the Defendants include multiple false assertions that the Comic Strip is “anti-semitic” and “anti-vaccination” because they used a hashtag #nuremberg and #fmandates. 71. Despite a private message conversation on Instagram in which the person who posted on Comic Strip Instagram stated they are not anti vaccination and they abide by the rules of New York City, Uppereastsite.com still chose to publish this false information. Despite the fact the person who posted the Instagram post for Comic Strip stated unequivocally they had no intent of offending anyone and took down the post just because UpperEastSiteNY stated a Jewish person was offended, they still continued to post a false assertion that the language was antisemitic and that the club engages in antisemitism. A false and abhorrent accusation. 72. A sitting councilwoman had the audacity to call Comic Strip, an institution since 1976, anti semitic, and called the post an example of anti-semitism without spending one minute to research what the post stated or what it was referring to. She wrote a letter demanding an apology, while simultaneously accusing the Comic Strip of being anti-semitic and anti- vaccination. Julie Menin should be apologizing for acting outside the scope of her employment in attempting to destroy a revered comedy institution. 73. The Defendants incorrectly state Comic strip is comparing vaccination with the holocaust. 74. The Defendants incorrectly try to conflate an instance of a swastika drawn on a bill, to the word “nurenberg” on an Instagram post as if they are similar in offensive nature, whereas swastika is a clear instance of antisemitism – the other is not at all related. 75. These statements by the Defendants include false assertions that Comic Strip is “anti- semitic” and that the Instagram post with hashtag “Nuremberg” is antisemitic and that anti- semitism is accepted, promoted, welcomed or condoned by the Comic Strip. 15 14 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 76. These statements by Defendants include the false assertion that Comic Strip is “anti vaccination.” 77. These statements were made and published without any privilege or authorization, including that the litigation privilege is not applicable to these claims. 78. Defendants published the statements with malice and the intent to harass, damage Comic Strip’s reputation for their own financial gain 79. Defendants published the statements with knowledge of their falsity and with a reckless disregard for its lack of truth and falsity. 80. The defamatory statements made and published by the Defendants were intentional, willful, wanton, malicious and oppressive, were motivated by the greed of the Defendants and their desire to punish and intimidate Comic Strip and were made without regard for the truth or Comic Strip’s well-being, and were based on a lack of concern and ill-will towards Comic Strip and a deliberate reckless disregard for its rights and the truth. 81. As a result of these defamatory statements, Comic Strip and its employees continue to suffer from humiliation, loss of standing in the community and public disgrace. Comic Strip has also suffered, and will continue to suffer, loss of business and revenue as a result of the defamation. 82. The statements are deemed to be defamation per se because they falsely impute racism on a comedy club by imputing from a hashtag #nuremberg in response to a vaccine mandate, that a comedy club is now anti-semitic, or anti Jewish people who are semitic. 83. Nuremberg Code was a code established in response to the medical trials against Jewish people and the code was law that was codified to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again. 16 15 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 84. How anyone, much less a journalistic news site and a sitting councilwoman can extrapolate from the word “#nurenberg” that an establishment is “anti-semitic” and is engaging in anti- semitism which has direct parallels to some of the worst atrocities in world history, is disgusting and reason why this is defamation per se. 85. Comic Strip’s future business continues and will continue to suffer tremendously as these statements continue to appear in the public domain and are accessed by millions of people every day. 86. Thus, the statements constitute defamation per se. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against the Defendants for defamation per se in an amount to be determined at trial but not less than $1,000,000.00, plus punitive damages, the costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing forth this action, and such other relief as this Court may deem just and proper. AS AND FOR THE THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION TORT OF TRADE LIBEL AND/OR INJURIOUS FALSEHOODS 87. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth in paragraphs 1 through 86 of this Complaint as is set forth fully herein. 88. Defendants’ publication of the statements was done solely with the purpose of harassing Comic Strip, injuring the Comic Strip, causing Comic Strip’s business and livelihood to suffer, punish Comic Strip, and intimidate Comic Strip to apologize. 89. These statements by the Defendants include multiple false assertions that the Comic Strip is “anti-semitic” and “anti-vaccination” because it used a hashtag #nuremberg and #fmandates. 90. Despite a private message conversation on Instagram in which the person who posted on Comic Strip Instagram stated they are not anti vaccination and they abide by the rules of New 17 16 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 York City, Uppereastsite.com still chose to publish this false information. Despite the fact the person who posted the Instagram post for Comic Strip stated unequivocally they had no intent of offending anyone and took down the post just because UpperEastSiteNY stated a Jewish person was offended, they still continued to post a false assertion that the language was antisemitic and that the club engages in antisemitism. A false and abhorrent accusation. 91. A sitting councilwoman had the audacity to call Comic Strip, an institution since 1976, anti semitic, and called the post an example of anti-semitism without spending one minute to research what the post stated or what it was referring to. She wrote a letter demanding an apology, while simultaneously accusing the Comic Strip of being anti-semitic and anti- vaccination. Julie Menin should be apologizing for acting outside the scope of her employment in attempting to destroy a revered comedy institution. 92. The Defendants incorrectly state Comic strip is comparing vaccination with the holocaust. 93. The Defendants incorrectly try to conflate an instance of a swastika drawn on a bill, to the word “nurenberg” on an Instagram post as if they are similar in offensive nature, whereas swastika is a clear instance of antisemitism – the other is not at all related. 94. 95. The statements contain false and derogatory claims about Comic Strip, including, but not limited to, Comic Strip being an anti-semitic and anti-vaccination establishment. The statements call into question Plaintiff’s character, actions, and business reputation, and the Comic Strip has incurred damages as a result of such abhorrent and false accusations. 96. Third parties have already mentioned the statements, articles, and complaints to Comic Strip, and, thus Comic Strip has incurred a decrease in her business and revenue since the publication of the statements. 18 17 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 97. As a direct result of the publication of the statements, Comic Strip has suffered a loss of revenue as of the date of filing the instant action. Comic Strip’s damages are expected to increase in the foreseeable future as a result of the statements. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against the Defendants for the tort of trade libel in an amount to be determined at trial but not less than $1,000,000.00, plus punitive damages, the costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing forth this action, and such other relief as this Court may deem just and proper AS AND FOR THE FOURTH CAUSE OF ACTION DECLARATORY JUDGMENT 98. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth in paragraphs 1 through 97 of this Complaint as is set forth fully herein. 99. A Declaratory Judgment is necessary to mitigate and alleviate the suffering and damages that Comic Strip has suffered by informing the public that Comic Strip is not anti-semitic nor anti-vaccination. 100. On its website, Instagram, twitter and facebook accounts, Uppereastsite.com repeatedly stated Comic Strip posted anti-semitic message and that their post is another instance of anti-semitism. 101. Defendants’ claims Comic Strip posted an anti-semitic message and engages in anti-semitism is unfounded and serves to publicly shame the Comic Strip, further jeopardizing Comic Strip’s business. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands a Judgment Declaring that Plaintiff is not anti-semitic and its message was not anti-semitic or anti vaccination, and such other relief as this Court may deem just and proper. 19 18 of 23 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 01/17/2022 03/31/2022 05:20 11:19 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 AS AND FOR THE FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION PERMANENT INJUNCTION 102. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth in paragraphs 1 through 101 of this Complaint as is set forth fully herein. 103. The continuing and determined efforts by the Defendants, as evidenced by the publication of the libelous statements, have demonstrated their obsessive, irrepressible and malicious desire to defame Comic Strip to the public; to cause Comic Strip to suffer ridicule, disgrace, and prejudice; to injure the Comic Strip’s good reputation, name, business reputation, and social standing, and to cause it to lose the esteem and respect of its community, friends, acquaintances, business associates, and of the public generally, as well as a loss of business and revenue. 104. The statements are false, malicious, and unsupported by any proof. However, that is no impediment to Defendants disseminating the statements and to have other third parties disseminate similarly negative writings, repeating the content of the statements. 105. Based on the Defendants actions, there is no reason to believe that the Defendants will cease such conduct without an order from this Court permanently restraining their conduct. 106. Defendants continue to disseminate the defamatory content, and as a direct result, Comic Strip will continue to be irreparably harmed by such. 107. Money damages alone will be insufficient to compensate the Comic Strip from the ongoing and continuing damage to its good name, revenue, business and reputation caused by the Defendants’ conduct. 108. Balancing of the equities as between the Comic Strip and the Defendants is such that the Defendants will suffer no harm if restricted from further statements, writings and dissemination of negative and damaging false statements about Comic Strip, while Comic Strip will suffer further and increasing harm to its good name, potential revenue, and reputation if 20 19 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 the Defendants are permitted to continue their defamatory conduct toward Comic Strip and not ordered by this Court to remove the statements from all websites, and any other publications, and not to disseminate such falsehoods in the future. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands an order of a permanent injunction requiring the Defendants to remove the statements from any and all other publications, and such other relief as this Court may deem just and proper. AS AND FOR THE DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury pursuant to CPLR §4101. RESERVATION OF RIGHT TO AMEND PLEADINGS Plaintiff reserves the right to amend these pleadings to add any and all claims that it determines are just and appropriate 21 20 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38 01/17/2022 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/31/2022 WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against Defendant, as follows: (i) on the first cause of action, awarding Plaintiff damages against Defendants for defamation in an amount to be determined at trial but not less than $1,000,000.00, plus punitive damages, the costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing forth this action; (ii) on the second cause of action, awarding Plaintiff damages against Defendants for defamation per se in an amount to be determined at trial but not less than $1,000,000.00, plus punitive damages, the costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing forth this action; (iii) on the third cause of action, awarding Plaintiff damages against Defendants for the tort of trade libel in an amount to be determined at trial but not less than $1,000,000.00, plus punitive damages, the costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing forth this action, (iv) on the fourth cause of action, awarding Plaintiff a Judgment declaring that Plaintiff is not antisemitic and its message was not antisemitic or antivaccination, and such other relief as this Court may deem just and proper. (v) On the fifth cause of action, awarding Plaintiff an order of a permanent injunction requiring the Defendants to remove the statements from any and all publications (iii) such other and further relief as to this Court may seem just and proper in favor of Plaintiff, together with costs and disbursements of this action. Dated: New York, New York January 11, 2022 MARK YOSEF, ESQ. By: ____/s/ Mark Yosef__________________ Mark Yosef, Esq. Attorneys for Plaintiff 25 Clinton Street, 301 New York, New York 10002 (917)254-6983 22 21 of 23 01/17/2022 11:19 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/31/2022 05:20 PM INDEX NO. 150484/2022 1 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 38