Jan
24
SpecPub Sued Over Titan DVD Offer
January 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment
[Edited 1:50 pm, 2:34 pm.] Specialty Publications√¢‚Ǩ‚Äùpublisher of Freshmen, Men, [2] and Unzipped Monthly gay adult magazines√¢‚Ǩ‚Äùhas been sued in federal court by the family of a 12-year-old girl in Knoxville, Tennessee who allegedly opened a subscription offer from the company, addressed to her father, that contained an offer for a gay porn DVD, said to be Titan Media‘s FARM FRESH. Per a newspaper report, attorneys for the family have accused SpecPub of “negligently and flagrantly violating laws and rules governing the mailing of sexually oriented advertisements.” The subscription offer was received on May 28 of last year “in a white envelope…bearing Specialty Publications’ address. The envelope contained on the outside the message ‘New! Free DVD enclosed!’. There were no warnings on the envelope that the envelope contained sexually oriented advertising.” By law, such a warning is required. Click here for more details…
The girl’s father, Kent Blackwelder, contends the subscription and DVD offers were unsolicited and that he had no prior business with Specialty Publications. (By coincidence, Mr. Blackwelder is a former contestant on the CBS reality series Big Brother.)
The lawsuit alleges that “(a)s a result of the negligence of Specialty Publications, the (Blackwelders) have sustained great pain of body and mind and emotional stress, including shock, horror, humiliation and embarrassment as well as anxiety.”
Blackwelder is seeking $350,000 in compensatory damages and another $3.5 million in punitive damages. He is also asking a federal judge “to issue an injunction against the company to ensure it complies with mailing rules for sexually explicit material.” There is no indication in this initial newspaper report as to why the Blackwelders filed suit nearly eight months after the alleged incident.
A SpecPub attorney has declined to comment for the moment. I have put in a call to Titan Media, and will run their response should they choose to issue one I called Titan Media and they also declined to comment. (Full disclosure: I was a SpecPub employee and editor of Unzipped Monthly from 2000-2002.)
KnoxNews.com: “Porn offer prompts lawsuit”
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Fucking closet case and weasel. Eight months is what is took his to go “oh, I might be able to sue”.
What ever happened to disciplining your child when that have acted in such a way or done something wrong?
A prime example of of today’s parents and society not willing to take responsibility for one’s own actions! Freaking ridiculous!
If me or one of my siblings had done something of this nature when I was a kid. One or both of my parents would have busted my butt, lectured me and then probably grounded me for a period of time to insure the punishment sank in!
>G
Lee — I do wonder why they waited eight months to sue SPLLC.
Grant — Nor would I have EVER opened my father’s mail when I was a kid. Unthinkable!
Something doesn’t add up; I’ve never received anything from SpecPub that didn’t clearly indicate it was sexually explicit material. It’s possible the company in charge of sending out that mass mailing neglected to pack it properly.
Regards,
JCA
I remember this guy on Big Brother. He was a BIG President Bush supporter and Republican, so I don’t believe a word out of his lying mouth. Who knows if a word from this right-wing nutjob’s mouth is true? Even if it’s true, what he needs to do is teach his daughter not to open OTHER PEOPLE’S mail.
“The Blackwelders have suffered great pain of mind, body, emotional stress” etc.
The Blackwelders are a joke, they should each take a xanax- if it is true about the packaging, reprimand the kid and tell her to get over it – she will forget all about it in time and then get on with their lives. Stop looking for a reason for a ridiculous lawsuit to make some quick cash!
Given his gung-ho Bush-supporter self, I’ll bet this is more about his anti-gay political agenda than cash.