Homeless men took money for beatings then, sues Shefights.net

[Lamis]

A video company paid two homeless men $50 to be beaten by scantily clad women, violating Florida law, according to a lawsuit filed by the men?s attorneys.

In the complaint, the men say they were paid by shefights.net for appearing in so-called ?beatdown? videos with the women at a St. Petersburg townhouse. The lawsuit claims the beatings are illegal and fall under Florida?s Hate Crimes Act.

Southern Legal Counsel, which has represented St. Petersburg?s homeless in the past, sued for an injunction to stop the beatings and for damages to cover medical costs and emotional distress.

Jeff Williams of shefights.net said he plans to countersue, claiming the men and their advocates have lied and damaged his reputation.

ARTICLE: http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/P...s_Shefightsnet

[TeenCat]

oh man what a fucked up fun, fucking animals ...

[VikingMan]

Amazing how lawsuit press releases pay off in free advertising for the defendant's website.

[bad2rich]

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/0...ssBeatings.pdf

What's interesting is the women aren't named in the complaint. Yet wouldn't the court have access to all of that information due to 2257 laws? Looks like a possible violation of 2257 is evident as well.

[seeandsee]

what a story, thet get paid and then want more money

[Chris]

Originally Posted by bad2rich

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/0...ssBeatings.pdf

What's interesting is the women aren't named in the complaint. Yet wouldn't the court have access to all of that information due to 2257 laws? Looks like a possible violation of 2257 is evident as well.

did the women ever get nude during the fighting?

[blackmonsters]

Originally Posted by seeandsee

what a story, thet get paid and then want more money

Read the complaint.

It clearly states that on at least one occasion one person was not even paid.

The people were also tied up and unable to defend themselves during the beating.

What dumb asses to hire homeless people for $50 so they can beat them up.

Hope they go to jail, fuck a law suit.

[mizmiz]

Where can I download this shit?

[NKYKev]

Originally Posted by mizmiz

Where can I download this shit?

Shefights clips4sale store

[L-Pink]

What, homeless people aren't capable of making decisions for themselves?

.

[Quentin]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

What, homeless people aren't capable of making decisions for themselves?

.

Perhaps a a more salient question, from a legal perspective, anyway: if you were facing a lawsuit in which one of the chief issues was likely to be the validity of the release forms the plaintiffs signed, do you think it would be a good idea to publicly assert that said plaintiffs are addicted to crack?

Williams, of Shefights.net, said Rolle coaxed and bought the testimony of Grayson and 20-year-old Kyle Shaw, the two plaintiffs in the suit. He said he plans to countersue, claiming the men and their advocates lied and have damaged his reputation.

"These men are crack addicts and will say anything for money," Williams said.

Probably not the smartest move on the part of the defendant, IMO. Does it undermine their credibility to say that? I suppose so. Does it broadly suggest they might have been high when they signed the releases? Yes.

Guess which of those two possibilities is likely to matter more to the judge?

[Agent 488]

Originally Posted by Quentin

Probably not the smartest move on the part of the defendant, IMO. Does it undermine their credibility to say that? I suppose so. Does it broadly suggest they might have been high when they signed the releases? Yes.

Guess which of those two possibilities is likely to matter more to the judge?

i was following a court case where some guy pretty much got away with murder because it was at a crack house and all the witnesses were crack addicts.

so probably a sensible legal strategy.

[chaze]

Originally Posted by *******

Amazing how lawsuit press releases pay off in free advertising for the defendant's website.

No kidding and the bumb will probably lose.

[2MuchMark]

http://shefights.com's domain expired.

[sadiedazzle]

I remember a few years ago I read about a site that got busted for hiring bums to fight. Got shut down.

Sadie Dazzle

[Xer0]

Reminds me of Hobo with a shotgun.

[u-Bob]

First of all: those video's and the whole idea behind them are disgusting.

that being said, if you agree to be beaten, it is not a crime.

What's next, people who agree to have sex on camera screaming rape afterwards?

[PornoMonster]

everyone forget about BumFights? Same story Years ago!

[marlboroack]

I like watching those Bum Fight movies on PPV, but the creator need's a severe ass whippin MarlboroAck style.

[Rochard]

Originally Posted by bad2rich

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/0...ssBeatings.pdf

What's interesting is the women aren't named in the complaint. Yet wouldn't the court have access to all of that information due to 2257 laws? Looks like a possible violation of 2257 is evident as well.

Why sue a model who doesn't have anything? Follow the money.

Hate crime? Whatever. Why don't just they call it assault? They didn't beat anyone because of their color or being gay, they did it to film a video.

Didn't that guy from Bumfights sue them and win? Rufus...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_Hannah

[ShellyCrash]

Update:

http://www.baynews9.com/article/news...2c13fdd7%2 C0

[Agent 488]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/bizarre/article1166342.ece

"Sales have quadrupled since the story," said Jeff Williams, owner of Shefights.net. "You would not believe the support we've gotten. A lot of people saw this for the shakedown that it was."

[ShellyCrash]

Originally Posted by Agent 488

http://www.tampabay.com/news/bizarre/article1166342.ece

"Sales have quadrupled since the story," said Jeff Williams, owner of Shefights.net. "You would not believe the support we've gotten. A lot of people saw this for the shakedown that it was."

That article is way better.

[HomerSimpson]

sick shit...

[sperbonzo]

Originally Posted by Agent 488

http://www.tampabay.com/news/bizarre/article1166342.ece

"Sales have quadrupled since the story," said Jeff Williams, owner of Shefights.net. "You would not believe the support we've gotten. A lot of people saw this for the shakedown that it was."

"His best customers come from the Middle East, mainly Egypt and Saudi Arabia. They're also big in Norway. "




.


.

[ShellyCrash]

Originally Posted by sperbonzo

"His best customers come from the Middle East, mainly Egypt and Saudi Arabia. They're also big in Norway. "




.


.

LOL! I mised that one. Prepare for the chargebacks.

[SmokeyTheBear]

i am shocked and appalled , this does not show the top notch judgement and ethical superiority i have come to expect from homeless people

[Quentin]

Originally Posted by Agent 488

i was following a court case where some guy pretty much got away with murder because it was at a crack house and all the witnesses were crack addicts.

so probably a sensible legal strategy.

Eh -- this is a very different situation, though.

The case you're referring to was a criminal case, while this is a civil action, one in which the relevance of their being crack addicts would impact the validity of the releases they signed, at least as much as it impacts the question of whether they are reliable witnesses (or in this case, reliable plaintiffs).

The underlying facts aren't really in dispute here, outside of the question of the releases' validity. The plaintiffs were filmed, and they signed releases (or such is my understanding, at least). The salient legal question is whether those releases have any validity.

My point was that noting the fact that the plaintiffs are crack addicts might not be the smartest move if you're planning to argue that your release is valid, because a release signed by someone who is intoxicated at the moment of signing is legally shaky from the word go.

More signs that this defendant might not be too wise to the ways of the Court, from the article on baynews9.com:

The owner of Shefights.net, 58-year-old Jeff Williams, showed up to the court hearing without an attorney.

and:

The judge also entered a default against Williams for not responding to lawsuit yet.

Generally speaking, it really isn't the best idea to not respond to a complaint, and as the cliche goes "he who represents himself has a fool for a client."

[ukmistress]

Originally Posted by u-Bob

First of all: those video's and the whole idea behind them are disgusting.

that being said, if you agree to be beaten, it is not a crime.

What's next, people who agree to have sex on camera screaming rape afterwards?

no , because one , 'sex' is a legal action which doesn't stir the law like the second action - 'beating ' , which is seldom legal ....

'if you agree to be beaten , it is not a crime ' ..... Wrong ! Not sure about USA laws but here in the UK , you can not agree to something illegal to make it legal .

You can agree to sex and it's not a crime, you can agree to climb a scary cliff and it's not a crime, but you can not agree to someone chopping off your finger, or beating you up , and evade them from committing a crime simply by agreeing !

If it was that simple , I hereby agree for you guys to kill me ... Tick tock ;-)

[stocktrader23]

Punching crack addicts isn't the smartest thing in the world either.

[PR_Glen]

this thread was so awesome i'm going to come back 6 months later and bump it... shit... too late...