Legal Defense Fund for Women of LA

Hi, thank you for taking the time to read this account of what has been our unfortunate reality over the past several months. This GoFundMe is for the currently named and active defendants in our Los Angeles defamation case.

We are a collective of female Defendants who are being sued by one male Plaintiff. He has named multiple defendants and is targeting a core group. The Plaintiff brings forward claims of “defamation”, “libel”, “civil conspiracy”, “gender violence”, “invasion of privacy” etc.

This is not the first lawsuit in which this Plaintiff is making these claims.

The basis of his complaint is centered around a post that we commented on in the Facebook group ‘Are We Dating The Same Guy, Los Angeles’. This post referenced him based on many evidence-based, negative experiences with him.

Due to this Facebook post, he is currently claiming damages amounting to the total of $2.6M for “emotional distress”, “pain and suffering”, “medical expenses”, “future medical expenses” and “punitive damages”.

To our knowledge, the AWDTSG FB groups were made with the intent of keeping women safe while dating by allowing them to share their dating experiences with others. In this group, it is customary to post warnings of unsavory interactions with men, as well as screenshots of those men’s public photos and communications.

As you may know, there was a case filed and dismissed recently in Chicago.

Our case is completely separate, having been filed months prior by a different Plaintiff. Likewise, this GFM is not tied to the Chicago case in any way, nor have we received any funds from that campaign.

Since November, we have been forced to take valuable time out of our day-to-day lives to deal with this matter. We’re now seeking to hire suitable legal representation as we go through a series of hearings currently scheduled at the LA Courthouse.

After consulting with various law firms on cost, we’ve decided to set our initial goal to $60k.

We were simply coming together to share truthful accounts of our personal experiences. These included valid concerns pertaining to the Plaintiff’s unsettling behavior and background, all of which is public information.

To wrap this up, it is our opinion that this Plaintiff poses a legitimate danger to the women of Los Angeles. Our negative interactions with him have spanned years. We plan to finally put an end to his harassing ways once and for all, and we need your help to do it.

We truly appreciate any and all help you’re able to give. If you’re unable to contribute financially, please consider sharing this fundraiser where you can.

Any contact with us can be made via the “contact” button at the bottom of this page.

Thank you for reading, donating and sharing, we appreciate every bit of support! Please stay safe out there!

Sincerely,

Vanessa Valdes, Olivia Burger, Kelly Gibbons, Amy Blalock, Elly Shariat, and Kelyn Rodriguez.