Joe Davis: Avvo Libels Me by Talking About My Sanction
We’ve been posting about the curious case of L. Joe Davis, the sanctioned St. Petersberg, FL lawyer suing Avvo. Earlier this week, our counsel received this email from Mr. Davis (click on image for larger view):
Is L. Joe Davis on to something? Are we not giving him a fair shake? Are we defaming him?
Or is he once again trying to bully Avvo into not talking about the real reasons for his meritless lawsuit?
In the interest of transparency, let’s look at each of the issues Davis claims are “false and defamatory” and see if they’re supported by the record – in this case, the stipulated facts, referee’s report and order imposing discipline on Davis.
1. Was Davis NOT twice found guilty of willfully refusing to pay court-ordered child support? Here’s once . . .
(Consent Judgment, page 2)
. . . and here’s twice.
Joe Davis Conviction 2
(Consent Judgment, page 3)
2. How about court dates? Check; after missing trial dates on two occasions, the court had to issue a bench warrant to get his attention:
(Consent Judgment, page 3)
3. Finally, what about willfully obstructing the Bar? Although the detail of his obstruction is too lengthy to recite in this post (but you can read it all here), here’s how the referee conducting the bar’s disciplinary proceeding against Davis characterized the aggravating factors behind his sanction:
(Report of Referee, page 2)
L. Joe Davis says these “false and defamatory statements made in and to the press are probably more damaging to my reputation than anything else that avvo.com has done to date.” He’s half right – his misguided lawsuit IS calling more attention to his sanction and the circumstances leading up to it.
Mr. Davis can continue his on again-off again libel threats, but we’re not going to be bullied into not talking about the real reasons for Davis’ animosity toward us.
