Lemberg Law has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against it by Oracle Financial Corp., alleging that the consumer protection law firm has made false and defamatory statements against the collection agency.
Oracle filed the suit in late September. In its complaint, it alleged that Lemberg Law violated the Lanham Act, which protects against trademark infringement and false advertising.
A copy of the motion in Oracle Financial Corp. v. Lemberg Law can be accessed here.
Oracle cites a number of statements made on Lemberg Law’s website that are “likely to deceive consumers as to the nature of Oracle’s business practices.” Lemberg countered: “Yet, apart from bare assertion that those statements are false, Oracle’s complaint is devoid of any factual allegations demonstrating those statements are literally or implicitly false.”
The statements made on Lemberg Law’s website fall outside of the Lanham Act because they do not fall under the definition of commercial advertising or promotion, Lemberg Law claims in its motion. Because Lemberg’s website does not cater to possible customers of Oracle, the “statements are not ‘commercial advertising or promotion’ as they were not made for the purpose of influencing buyers of Oracle’s services and such statements were not targeted at debt sellers.”
Oracle fails to make a direct connection between the contents of Lemberg Law’s website and any harm that has been caused to the agency’s business, Lemberg claims in its motion.
“Oracle failed to plead special damages where it has not named individuals who ceased to be customers or who refused to retain Oracle’s debt collection services, and does not plead with specificity any actual lost dealings.”
