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Why is Actor James Woods Ruthlessly Pursuing a Lawsuit Against a Dead Guy?
by Ryan Bort
Newsweek
1/4/17

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In a prolonged act of vengeance that would likely impress even Donald Trump, actor James Woods is pressing on with a lawsuit against a man who is now dead. The deceased was a Twitter user who had remained anonymous, but on Tuesday a judge ruled that the defendant's attorney must reveal the identity of his dead client.

It all started in July 2015, when the Twitter user replied to one of Woods's tweets about the media by tweeting: "cocaine addict James Woods still sniffing and spouting.” Woods then sued this "John Doe" for defamation, asking for $10 million in compensation for alleged injury to his status as that '80s character actor who was pretty good on The Simpsons that one time.

After Woods filed his suit, the anonymous defendant's attorney, Kenneth White, filed for an anti-SLAPP motion, which argued that "cocaine addict" was a "a constitutionally protected political insult" similar to the type Woods would routinely dispense through his politically charged Twitter account. In February, the motion was rejected, only fueling Woods's drive to ruin the life of "Abe List," the name on the account whose user called Woods a coke head.

The defendant appealed the judge's ruling, but the appeal was dropped after the defendant died. This tickled Woods. "The slime who libeled me just dropped his appeal contesting my victorious SLAPP motion," he tweeted. He wasn't deterred when he discovered the appeal was dropped because of the defendant's death. “Learn this," he said in a tweet that has since been deleted. "Libel me, I’ll sue you. If you die, I’ll follow you to the bowels of Hell. Get it?”

It is nearly a year later, and Woods can still be said to be in the bowels of hell fishing around for his $10 million. In November, White refused to disclose the real identity of his client, after which Woods filed a motion to force the issue, claiming that the defendant no longer had a right to privacy because he was dead. Despite a strong opposition statement in which White wrote that Woods wants to "publicly harass and vilify a dead man and his family" and that "the motion is meritless," the judge on Tuesday ordered him to reveal the identity of his client.

"This is a significant step forward in our ability to recover the millions in damages caused by John Doe's cowardly tweet," Woods's attorney told The Hollywood Reporter. "It also sends a message to others who believe they can hide behind the anonymity of online social media to falsely accuse public figures of heinous behavior without recourse to themselves.”

White's response?

"Sometimes in law the bad guys win."

James Woods Drops Lawsuit Over "Cocaine Addict" Tweet After Getting Trophy Letter: The actor filed a $10 million libel action two years ago. Then, the anonymous defendant died.
by Eriq Gardner
Hollywood Reporter
July 19, 2017

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The actor filed a $10 million libel action two years ago. Then, the anonymous defendant died.

James Woods has received a letter that he can now frame and put on his mantel shelf alongside his Emmy and Golden Globe awards.

From attorney Kenneth White, the letter states, "On behalf of my client — the defendant referred to as 'Abe List' in the lawsuit filed by James Woods — and my client's surviving family, I acknowledge that they are not aware of any facts to suggest that Mr. Woods has ever been a cocaine addict or used any other drugs."

To earn this, Woods filed a $10 million libel action in July 2015. The target in the lawsuit was an anonymous Twitter user who responded to Woods' conservative politics by suggesting the actor was a "cocaine addict." In filing the lawsuit, Woods wanted to send a message. "AL, and anyone else using social media to propagate lies and do harm, should take note," stated the complaint handled by Michael Weinsten at Lavely & Singer. "They are not impervious to the law."

Woods then beat back an anti-SLAPP motion that attempted to make the argument that the "cocaine addict" tweet was "a constitutionally protected political insult," the type made routinely by Woods as "a well-known part of Twitter's culture of political hyperbole."

An appeal abruptly was cut short when the defendant died. That wouldn't stop Woods. The actor wrote that he hoped the defendant died "screaming my name," adding, "Learn this. Libel me, I'll sue you. If you die, I'll follow you to the bowels of Hell. Get it?"

Woods did make some efforts to pursue the defendant's estate, but that's all over now thanks to a settlement. Full terms hasn't been disclosed, but it does include White's letter.

"To be clear, my client did not intend for his July 15, 2015 tweet about Mr. Woods to be understood as a statement of fact," the letter continues. "He regretted having made the tweet, and further regrets any harm caused to Mr. Woods' reputation by the tweet. His family was not aware of the tweet until after the fact and regrets if any harm came from the tweet being taken literally."

Woods is done with this Twitter defamation case, but the tables have turned because he's a defendant in another.

Portia Boulger, an Ohio woman, is suing him for $3 million. She claims he misidentified her as a Nazi on Twitter. Specifically, the Chicago Tribune posted a photograph of a woman at a Donald Trump rally who might have been making a Nazi salute. Other Twitter users asserted it was Boulger, which led Woods to tweet the photograph along with a question: "So-called #Trump 'Nazi' is a #BernieSanders agitator/operative?"

This got retweeted by Donald Trump, Jr.

Still in court over the matter, Woods filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings last month. He argued the case was an attempt to quell his free speech rights.

"First, Plaintiff's claim for defamation fails as a matter of law because Mr. Woods' allegedly defamatory question is not a statement of fact," writes Woods' attorney. "Nor would a reasonable reader interpret Mr. Woods' question — seeking clarification — as inferring any factual content."

Later in the Woods' brief, it's argues that the word "Nazi" is "inherently imprecise and subject to myriad subjective interpretations" and that "several courts have consistently held that use of the term 'Nazi' is rhetorical hyperbole."