William Stephen (Dare?) Griffin

[spuwho]

I guess I will wait and see what the counterclaims are.

If it in fact makes it to a jury, I would like to sit and watch.

[ProjectMaximus]

I am another poster who disappeared

Wow, another valuable contributor who was run away! I remember you well, stjr. Hope you will stick around.

[Midway ®]

It seems there are two sides to this story. This is the lawsuit that was filed:

http://wickershamdocs.com:5000/sharing/cdsFH57pX

I have no personal involvement in any of it, got it from the clerk's site. I hope this stuff isn't true, if it is, it obviously looks, uh...not good.

Thanks for identifying yourself.

I just got to wondering why you felt it necessary to deny any involvement in this matter.

http://imgur.com/a/1gakI? 


I guess this is why.

Also got to wondering why Stephen identifies himself by a "pen name"? Started browsing through the Duval County Core system https://core.duvalclerk.com/CoreCms.aspx?mode=PublicAccess and his repeated interactions with law enforcement may offer some insight into his reluctance to identify himself by his true name.

I also noticed that Mike Yokan represented you as counsel in your writ of Replevin wherein you attempted to regain possession of the Wickersham family heirloom Rolex that you lost.

Furthermore, it would appear that you share an office with Mike Yokan.

It appears that your denial of personal involvement could be construed as "less than truthful".

It seems that Stephen is constructing a house of cards and you have moved in as a tenant. Cant wait to see the finale when the evictions start.

[johnnyliar]

It seems there are two sides to this story. This is the lawsuit that was filed:

http://wickershamdocs.com:5000/sharing/cdsFH57pX

I have no personal involvement in any of it, got it from the clerk's site. I hope this stuff isn't true, if it is, it obviously looks, uh...not good.

Thanks for identifying yourself.

I just got to wondering why you felt it necessary to deny any involvement in this matter.

http://imgur.com/a/1gakI? 


I guess this is why.

Also got to wondering why Stephen identifies himself by a "pen name"? Started browsing through the Duval County Core system https://core.duvalclerk.com/CoreCms.aspx?mode=PublicAccess and his repeated interactions with law enforcement may offer some insight into his reluctance to identify himself by his true name.

I also noticed that Mike Yokan represented you as counsel in your writ of Replevin wherein you attempted to regain possession of the Wickersham family heirloom Rolex that you lost.

Furthermore, it would appear that you share an office with Mike Yokan.

It appears that your denial of personal involvement could be construed as "less than truthful".

It seems that Stephen is constructing a house of cards and you have moved in as a tenant. Cant wait to see the finale when the evictions start.

This is some pro level snooping. damn. Bravo!

[spuwho]

According to this article, Stephen is quoted as saying, it was about the "general direction of the site", not about finances. Also the courts have upheld that a blog post is not owned by its "poster", it becomes the intellectual property of blog itself (unless the blog poster has a prior copyright on the posted material) .

Issue here is that Stephen was a board member during all of those posts.  If he is in fact a former 23% shareholder, he would be in line to be compensated in some form for his "contribution" to the collective IP of the company.  But if he violated a board mandate or a bylaw of the corporation and was in turn removed for cause due to violation of those bylaws, then he might not be entitled to anything at all.

I am armchair QB'ing here and have no info beyond what has been reported.  I am looking at it purely from a legal perspective.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/community/future-of-metro-jacksonville-uncertain-after-feud-among-owners/422844420

The future of a longtime website and community discussion forum is up in the air after a feud among the founders of Metro Jacksonville prompted a corporate split and threats of legal action.

For the past 11 years, Metro Jacksonville has been a locally influential website with a focus on urban planning. It's known for its lively discussion threads on everything from food truck trends to politics to code enforcement complaints.

But last year, co-founder Stephen Dare was removed from Metro Jacksonville's articles of incorporation. Dare, a fixture on Jacksonville's cultural scene and driver of considerable content on MetroJacksonville.com, also has been scraped from the site, his articles removed, along with what he estimates to be some 46,000 discussion posts. His account was suspended in December. He attributed the split to a difference of opinion about the direction of the site. He called the situation "sad," and told First Coast News he plans to sue his former partners (though no litigation has been filed).

"It's turned nasty and mean," Dare told First Coast News.

Ennis Davis, co-owner, declined to get into the weeds of the dispute, but acknowledged the future of the site and its forums is up in the air. In a statement from the remaining corporate officers of Metro Jacksonville, he says it's the organization versus Dare. "We are working to create some type of resolution to separate the rest of us from him."

For fans of Metro Jacksonville, news of the split was an unwelcome surprise. Tony Allegretti, director of downtown engagement for the Jacksonville Chamber and co-founder of Burrito Gallery, says,  "it's disappointing news to hear. Over the years Metro Jacksonville provided history -- things that the mainstream media may not pick up, but were important to neighborhoods."

He adds that Dare and Davis will continue to be part of the larger city conversation, even if they aren't working together. "I know they want the same things for the city. So I would say I wish them both well. I hate that it's going down bitterly."

Abel Harding, a former political columnist for the Florida Times-Union and board member of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, says the site was especially important before the age of social media.

"Metro provided a forum for people to talk about what's going on in the city," he says. "There were some great conversations about transportation and downtown development and city priorities."

He adds that Davis and the site's staff did great work on the history of Jacksonville.

The internal dispute recently spawned a thread on one of the site's discussion forums. Some users expressed suspicions that it is connected to a new, competing website Modern Cities, which Davis helped create. Others say they are happy to see Dare gone. Quite a few said commenters should reserve judgment and see what happens.

Some content from Metro Jacksonville now links directly to Modern Cities, a site started in 2016 by Davis and a few others from Metro Jacksonville. Davis says Modern Cities is about urban development on a national level.

He also points out while he's been instrumental in the founding of Modern Cities, Dare has also started a website of his own - MetroJaxNews. Neither have a direct relationship to Metro Jacksonville, he says.

Metro Jacksonville, Inc. released a statement in response to a request for comment, which references Dare by his given name, William Stephen Griffin. It reads:

"Metro Jacksonville, Inc. regrets the recent actions by Mr. Griffin that caused his removal as an officer/director of the corporation. There is an active investigation into associated financial discrepancies so we cannot comment any further on the situation with Mr. Griffin."

The statement has since been posted to the Metro Jacksonville website.

Dare denies any wrongdoing. A letter from his attorney Mike Yokan says, "a suit will be filed within days to address the wrongdoings of Mr. Ennis, Mr. Herbin, Mr. Fields and Modern Cities, LLC."

[Adam White]

I've got no dog in this fight or horse in this race or whatever.

I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to "plump with pleasure".

[spuwho]

In full disclosure, AOL Online was sued by a large entertainment conglomerate due to a posting I made about a movie.

I was advised by AOL General Counsel that I would not be liable since they would simply remove the blog post as they were the "owner" of the post. But per AOL rules, my true identity was never revealed to the conglomerate, only my avatar.

AOL and the conglomerate settled out of court and my post was eventually removed as part of the settlement.

So that is where I get the "owner of the blog post" perspective, personal experience in case anyone asks.

I know what Project Maximus is going to say already!

[spuwho]

I've got no dog in this fight or horse in this race or whatever.

I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to "plump with pleasure".

Ok, now I am curious or maybe I am just blind. "Plump with pleasure"? Is that part of the suit?

If you look at Midway's link, its shows a Twitter post by Stephen after a meeting with a couple of friends.  At the end he says "plump with pleasure"

I thought Midway was drawing the connection, though Adam says he is too.  Confused yet?

[Adam White]

I just thought it sounded dirty.

[spuwho]

I've got no dog in this fight or horse in this race or whatever.

I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to "plump with pleasure".

Ok, now I am curious or maybe I am just blind. "Plump with pleasure"? Is that part of the suit?

If you look at Midway's link, its shows a Twitter post by Stephen after a meeting with a couple of friends.  At the end he says "plump with pleasure"

I thought Midway was drawing the connection, though Adam says he is too.  Confused yet?

Thanks. I didn't follow the link. Interesting phrase.
I think if SD wins the suit he should stand in front of the MJ defendants and declare " I drink your milk shake!" and now I am 'Plump with Pleasure!"

    That made me laugh.

[BridgeTroll]

I've got no dog in this fight or horse in this race or whatever.

I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to "plump with pleasure".

Ok, now I am curious or maybe I am just blind. "Plump with pleasure"? Is that part of the suit?

If you look at Midway's link, its shows a Twitter post by Stephen after a meeting with a couple of friends.  At the end he says "plump with pleasure"

I thought Midway was drawing the connection, though Adam says he is too.  Confused yet?

Thanks. I didn't follow the link. Interesting phrase.
I think if SD wins the suit he should stand in front of the MJ defendants and declare " I drink your milk shake!" and now I am 'Plump with Pleasure!"

    That made me laugh.

We need a Plump with Pleasure emoticon... 

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I've got no dog in this fight or horse in this race or whatever.

I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to "plump with pleasure".

Ok, now I am curious or maybe I am just blind. "Plump with pleasure"? Is that part of the suit?

If you look at Midway's link, its shows a Twitter post by Stephen after a meeting with a couple of friends.  At the end he says "plump with pleasure"

I thought Midway was drawing the connection, though Adam says he is too.  Confused yet?

Thanks. I didn't follow the link. Interesting phrase.
I think if SD wins the suit he should stand in front of the MJ defendants and declare " I drink your milk shake!" and now I am 'Plump with Pleasure!"

    That made me laugh.

We need a Plump with Pleasure emoticon... 

Have someone code it in...

[ProjectMaximus]

I know what Project Maximus is going to say already!

What? That you should teach a course on...everything? Sign me up for the class!

[ChriswUfGator]

It seems there are two sides to this story. This is the lawsuit that was filed:

http://wickershamdocs.com:5000/sharing/cdsFH57pX

I have no personal involvement in any of it, got it from the clerk's site. I hope this stuff isn't true, if it is, it obviously looks, uh...not good.

Thanks for identifying yourself.

I just got to wondering why you felt it necessary to deny any involvement in this matter.

http://imgur.com/a/1gakI? 


I guess this is why.

Also got to wondering why Stephen identifies himself by a "pen name"? Started browsing through the Duval County Core system https://core.duvalclerk.com/CoreCms.aspx?mode=PublicAccess and his repeated interactions with law enforcement may offer some insight into his reluctance to identify himself by his true name.

I also noticed that Mike Yokan represented you as counsel in your writ of Replevin wherein you attempted to regain possession of the Wickersham family heirloom Rolex that you lost.

Furthermore, it would appear that you share an office with Mike Yokan.

It appears that your denial of personal involvement could be construed as "less than truthful".

It seems that Stephen is constructing a house of cards and you have moved in as a tenant. Cant wait to see the finale when the evictions start.

I know Stephen and most of the other board members of MJ socially, which is why I didn't get involved. I never denied this, so I don't know what you think you're accomplishing this tinfoil-hat stuff. I said I'm not involved in the case, because I'm not involved in the case.

[RattlerGator]

It seems there are two sides to this story. This is the lawsuit that was filed:

I have no personal involvement in any of it, got it from the clerk's site. I hope this stuff isn't true, if it is, it obviously looks, uh...not good.

Hmmm. The looks, Chris, seem to suggest you *do* have some personal involvement. Further, a serious argument can be made that accepting every allegation by Stephen as true, there's nothing to firmly base a recovery upon *and* he didn't protect himself *nor* was he obviously taken advantage of. Hell, he may very well have been *the* most experienced individual in the corporation. The clear implication? He shoulders an expectation that he knew or should have known the depth of his exposure given the admitted business practices he clearly signed off on.

That thing reads like a he said - he said in an entirely informal business arrangement. He gets nuttin.