Case: Doc 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 1 of 32. PagelD 81 EXHIBIT A DocuSign Envelope ID: 07B51158-36E9-4BEE-AFBE-1B2BC56BC50C Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 2 of 32. PageID #: 82 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO ELLORA’S CAVE PUBLISHING, INC. and JASMINE-JADE ENTERPRISES, LLC Case No: 5:14-cv-02331 Plaintiffs, v. DEAR AUTHOR MEDIA NETWORK, LLC and JENNIFER GERRISH-LAMPE Defendants. DECLARATION OF JENNIFER GERRISH-LAMPE IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS’ OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION I, Jennifer S. Gerrish-Lampe, having personal knowledge of the matters set forth herein and being competent to testify about them if called to do so at trial, state as follows: 1. I co-founded Dear Author in April 2006. In 2010, Dear Author Media Network LLC was formed and is in good standing with the State of Iowa where it is incorporated. I am the sole principal of Dear Author Media Network LLC. 2. Dear Author Media Network LLC does business as a website or “blog” known simply as “Dear Author” focusing on the subjects of romance books, digital technology, and publishing news. 3. Since its inception, Dear Author has published over 11,000 posts and over 2,000 of them have been industry news pieces. The industry news covered at Dear Author includes, but is not limited to, the different paths of publishing, author royalty rates, issues of literary critique and financially troubled publishers. DocuSign Envelope ID: 07B51158-36E9-4BEE-AFBE-1B2BC56BC50C Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 3 of 32. PageID #: 83 4. Dear Author has reported on issues at publishing houses such as the now defunct Triskelion Publishing which went bankrupt in 2007, author complaints at Wild Rose Publishing, author unhappiness at Samhain Publishing, bankruptcy filing of Mardi Gras Publishing, bankruptcy of Silk Vault, author complaints of Aspen Mountain Press, the financial problems at the now defunct Borders and many others. 5. In short, Dear Author has been reporting on the financial status of publishers from the very early stages of its existence. 6. Much of Dear Author’s news is gathered from posts around the Internet but some of the news pieces are provided by tipsters and other confidential sources. 7. Dear Author is known for its staunch support of anonymous and pseudonymous protection to allow individuals who are fearful of reprisal to speak freely. 8. Dear Author is known for its willingness to keep confidential information. 9. A number of authors and editors that previously or then-currently worked with Ellora’s Cave reached out to me, providing copies of emails, electronic correspondence, and memos that were circulated from executives of Ellora’s Cave. 10. A number of authors and editors also reached out to me to explain that they were still owed money for contracted work or royalties that had not been paid. 11. The injunction and lawsuit filed against me personally and against the Dear Author Media Network LLC is for the precise purpose of chilling free speech, shutting down discussion over the Plaintiff’s troubled business status, and exposing the identities of those who have the temerity to assert their grievances. 12. In the petition, the Plaintiff attempts to mislead the court by restating, inaccurately, the alleged defamatory statements. DocuSign Envelope ID: 07B51158-36E9-4BEE-AFBE-1B2BC56BC50C Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 4 of 32. PageID #: 84 13. Patty Marks, CEO, of Plaintiff, perjures herself repeatedly in the affidavit filed in support of the motion for temporary injunction. 14. The petition and affidavit erroneously states that the affiant stated “That employees of Ellora’s are going unpaid when in fact they are being paid.” 15. The accurate statements of the blog post include “Despite authors, editors, and cover artists going unpaid, Engler is in the process of launching at least one, if not three, different businesses.” And “It rankles to see Ms. Engler post on her Facebook page of high end shopping sprees while individuals who make money for her company go without.” There is no reference to any employees of the Defendant who may or may not be paid. Artists, editors, and authors are independent contractors. At the time of the September 15, 2014 blog post, artists, editors, and some authors had not been paid. 16. The petition and affidavit erroneously states that the affiant stated “That the contract authors (Authors) have not received royalty payments in over six months when in fact they are being paid.” The term “Authors” refers to all contracted authors. 17. The accurate statements of the blog post include “There is a set of authors who have not received royalty payments in over six months.” 18. I investigated this issue by reaching out to a number of authors who write for Ellora’s Cave, and confirmed that there are quite a few authors who have not received royalty checks dating back months. 19. Statements of editors, cover artists, and authors regarding non-payment will be filed under separate cover. Several of those independent contractors received undated checks in October, at least two weeks after the initial blog post, and were backdated to August 31, 2014. DocuSign Envelope ID: 07B51158-36E9-4BEE-AFBE-1B2BC56BC50C Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 5 of 32. PageID #: 85 20. I investigated this issue by reaching out to freelance editors that previously worked for Ellora’s Cave, and they confirmed late payment for contracted work, undated or back-dated checks, mailed in envelopes that were not postmarked. 21. The petition and affidavit erroneously states that the affiant stated “That Ellora’s is liquidating assets when in fact it is not.” 22. Plaintiff advertised a “Huge Warehouse Sale” wherein they sold decorations, office supplies, art props, office equipment, and more. 23. I have received confirmation for other authors and editors that they were aware of the warehouse sale, in addition to other items being posted for sale on Ebay by Ellora’s Cave. 24. Attached as Exhibit 1 is a true and correct copy of the advertisement for the warehouse sale, noting the address of the sale is the address of Ellora’s Cave Publishing. 25. The petition and affidavit erroneously states that the affiant stated “That the author portal shut down was to prevent Author’s from checking on their royalties when in fact it was not.” 26. The accurate statements of the blog post include “The author portal has been shut down where a select few authors could check their royalties.” 27. On September 10, 2014, Raelene Gorlinksy, Publisher of the Plaintiff sent out the following email: Dear Author Portal authors, To my great regret, EC no longer has the staff to maintain or use the Author Portal system. No new files will be uploaded. You will receive new ebook files and contracts via email, as was done previously. I do not know how long the AP system will stay online (it requires monthly support payment to the software company). Therefore, I strongly urge you to download all DocuSign Envelope ID: 07B51158-36E9-4BEE-AFBE-1B2BC56BC50C Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 6 of 32. PageID #: 86 your files from your Author Portal account before end of the month. Please let me know if you have any questions. (Please don't ask me about royalty statements--I have no information, I know probably less than you do now. I'm instructed to just tell authors to email Royalties@ellorascave.com.) 28. I was provided with a copy of a message from Ralene Gorlinsky to the members of the Author’s Portal. 29. Attached hereto as Exhibit 2 is a true and correct copy of this message. The identity of the individual who forwarded the message to me has been redacted. 30. I have spoken other authors who also received this message. 31. The Plaintiff knowingly and repeatedly made these false assertions about the affiant’s statements in order to abuse the judicial process and use the process in order to intimidate the affiant and any other critic into silence. 32. The Plaintiff knowingly and falsely place the blame for its financial difficulties on the September 15, 2014, blog post. 33. In August, Plaintiff severed contracts with its freelance editors and cover artists. “For that reason, for the foreseeable future almost all manuscripts will be edited by in-house editors, and covers designed by in-house artists.” Patty Marks, CEO of the Plaintiff admitted that there is managing editor, three in-house editors and two inhouse artists. The managing editor has since resigned. 34. In investigating this, I was provided with a copy of that email by multiple editors that were with Ellora’s Cave, and all confirmed that they were laid off. 35. Attached hereto as Exhibit 3 is a true and correct copy of that email, the identity of the individual who forwarded it to me has been redacted. DocuSign Envelope ID: 07B51158-36E9-4BEE-AFBE-1B2BC56BC50C Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 7 of 32. PageID #: 87 36. In an interview with Publishers Weekly, Patty Marks, CEO of the Plaintiff admitted that Amazon is their biggest retail account and that sales there are down 75%. 37. Attached hereto as Exhibit 4 is a true and correct copy of that article. 38. In an email to authors, Patty Marks, CEO of the Plaintiff admitted that there are no damages as a result of the September 15, 2014, blog post because “the drastic drop in sales has resulted in large net short term variable production losses and slow and often negative return on investment for EC on almost every new book we publish, with the exception of a handful of the highest sellers.” 39. I was provided a copy of that email from Ellora’s Cave CEO, Patty Marks to the authors, by one of the authors who directly received the email. See Exhibit 3. 40. I was contacted by a number of other authors who also received that email. 41. Plaintiff knows that its financial instability is the result of its own business decisions and not the single blog post from Dear Author. 42. Tina Engler, co-founder of Plaintiff, has stated publicly that problems stem from authors rather than the blog post “What motive would authors have to spread lies? Many actually, but the most prevalent reason we’re seeing (and screenshotting) is they want their rights back to an edited book so they can self-pub it & not have to share the profit with the house that published them. This is also the reason those same authors are telling ppl not to buy their books… Bc if their sales fall below a certain number of copies sold, they get the rights to their books back free of charge. Again, they can then self-pub them.” And “The initial gossip was started by authors who wanted their rights back to EDITED & CONTRACTED books for FREE. Presumably, given the current publishing climate, this is so they could turn around and self-publish them without EC getting any cut in profit. Never mind that we DocuSign Envelope ID: 07B51158-36E9-4BEE-AFBE-1B2BC56BC50C Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 8 of 32. PageID #: 88 contracted the books (work/money) and edited the books (more work/money) and publicized the books (yet more work/money) and took a chance on their unknown names (money.) The sense of entitlement being displayed is as immoral as it is illegal…Given the illegalities of it, some authors started spreading the rumor that EC doesn't pay its authors and pleaded with the public to not buy their titles since they weren't getting paid anyway. Why would they do this when they were/are getting paid? Because the only way to get their rights back both free and legally is to sell under a certain number of copies within a specific timespan. Never mind what those rumors would do to their fellow EC authors—they are apparently only collateral damage in the war of self-entitlement.” 43. Tina Engler has also threatened others with lawsuits. “It should be noted that EC has never—not once in 14 years—sued an author. Can I say that record will remain intact, given the cyber-bully smear campaign we’re enduring? No. It’s difficult to say what position we’ll be forced into.” 44. Attached as Exhibit 5 is a true and correct copy of Engler’s blog post. 45. Plaintiffs claim that the assertion that “Engler recently purchased a home in the West Hollywood Hills when in fact she did not” is false and defamatory. However, on Ms. Engler’s own Facebook page, she made multiple mentions of moving to West Hollywood, stating “today I found out I got the house I want so I’ll be saying buhbye to Venice Beach & hello there to West Hollywood!!” 46. Attached hereto as Exhibit 6 is a true and correct of Ms. Engler’s Facebook post. 47. At the time that I wrote the article, I harbored no doubts as to the accuracy and veracity of the article. DocuSign Envelope ID: 07B51158-36E9-4BEE-AFBE-1B2BC56BC50C Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 9 of 32. PageID #: 89 48. At this time, after having spoke to even more authors, editors, and cover artists, I believe that the financial condition of Ellora’s Cave may be even worse than previously articulated. 49. With the benefit of additional research since originally publishing my article, I still believe in the truth of the statements contained therein. 50. I engaged in fact checking and research to ensure that my publication was truthful at the time it was published. 51. If the injunction were to be imposed and commenters identities to be revealed as well as the sources of my article, Dear Author would be shut down, as it cannot operate without being able to write about publishing topics as it has in the past or maintain confidentiality in your sources. 52. Dear Author has revenues in excess of $75,000. 53. If the injunctive relief requested is granted, it will force Dear Author to shut down completely. I cannot, in good conscience, maintain a blog about this subject without being free to report on all publishing houses. 54. Therefore, the cost of compliance with the injunctive relief is in excess of $75,000. 55. If I am forced to reveal all of my sources, as requested, under current conditions, this would independently require me to shut down, as sources would no longer trust my publication. This, independently, makes the cost of compliance greater than $75,000. 56. To date, between October 1, 2014, the date of the filing of the state court petition and the declaration on October 21, 2014, the undiscounted attorney’s fees incurred are approximately $30,000. DocuSign Envelope ID: 07B51158-36E9-4BEE-AFBE-1B2BC56BC50C Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 10 of 32. PageID #: 90 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. Executed this __________________, in West Des Moines, Iowa. ______________________ Jennifer Gerrish-Lampe Case: Doc 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 11 of 32. PageID 91 EXHIBIT 1 Case: 5:14-Cv-0233m 32. PageID 92 bar. Emmwm'm-B' Loaln Home I YamealeelnAkron,OH I HugeWarenoueeSaie Sale Details Sale Photos ?3 i Huge Warehouse Sale 0 Tallmadgc Ave Tellmadge Ave 10mm 9 a T. a; 11m Nonl- Ava, Anon, on 3 Saturday, July 19, 2014 - Sunday' July 20. 2014 El 10:00am :1 1056 Home Ave, Akron, OH Huge-Warehouse-Sale!!il!! When: Saturday July 19, and Sunday July 20. between the hours of 10 em. and 4 pm. Where: 1056 Home Ave. Akron OhioI 44310 "Both cash and credil will be awepted Items for Sale- Decorations -Christmas lights -Wigs -Peaoock Feathers Decorative tables -Hookah's -Arts and Crafts supplies -Rancilio Espresso machine Design Toscano Statues and statuettes Background displays 'Arabian city scape 'Jazz Band Retro Car New York City Soaps Costumes .Headdresses? >Pmps Scarves Of?ce Equipment 'Wooden 2 drawer mail sorter 32 slot 'Metal mail sorter 62 slot '2 5 drawer metal cabinets with optional base ?Computer cert ?Server Rack Designjet 5500ps poster printer ?Laminator 'Business Card slitter -Bulk Boxes '17 1/2 11 1/2 '1 3x13x4 ?1 7x13x5 Plus much. much more. Come on down. and get yourseli a good \?ew all 20 photos I Save to routo v- Report nla Akron Yard Sales Nearby Photo: Sales City Date: Distance Garage Sale on Akron 07/19/14 - 1.19 mi Linden Ave 07/20/14 Something for Akron 07/16/14 1.43 mi everyone 07/18/14 Moving Sale Akron 07/19/14 - 1.47 mi 07/20/14 YARD SALE THIS Akron (17/18/14 - 1.63 mi WE KEND 07/20/14 West Lowell Street Akron 07/19/14 1.80 mi Sale Rain or Shine GARAGE SALE - Akron (17/19/14 - 1.88 mi 7/19-7/20 (17/20/14 Yard Sale 374 Akron 07/19/14 1.95 mi Roulawn Avenue Yard sale 7/16/14 Akron (17/19/14 2.21 mi YARD SALE Akron 07/18/14 2.22 mi everythings gotta go yard nle misc. Iteml Akron 07117/14 - 2.32 mi I (17/19/14 . one ?am ?m a mum ?on? - Saturday 5 a Contact About Privacy Terms Site Map 2012-Present Treasure Listings. LLC. All Rights Reserved Case: Doc 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 13 of 32. PageID 93 EXHIBIT 2 Jane Litte Comment from Dear Author From: Sent: Monday, August 18, 2014 10:10 AM To: - Subject: [EC_authors_chat] Announcement from CEO Patty Marks To All Ellora?s Cave authors: You are probably aware of the quick, sharp decline of ebook sales via Amazon in recent months. EC is not the only publisher experiencing this sudden decrease, and interestingly, we are not seeing the same drastic dip from other vendors. But Amazon is our largest vendor, so we are having to make some fairly large changes quickly to deal with the situation until we can understand it and turn it around. We have already cut staff, special EC projects and other expenses, but the drastic drop in sales has resulted in large net short-term variable production losses and slow and often negative return on investment for EC on almost every new book we publish, with the exception of a handful of the highest sellers. For that reason, for the foreseeable future almost all manuscripts will be edited by in?house editors, and covers designed by in-house artists. We know that many of you love your current editors and covers, and we are very sorry to lose this dedicated group of talented people (and hope to be able to offer them other opportunities in future). The good news is that our staff editors and designers are highly skilled and deeply experienced, and will bring new perspectives to your books. We are looking fonNard to this creating a more direct relationship with our authors so we can be more aware of and thus more quickly responsive to your needs, questions and concerns. If you have a book currently in edits or awaiting edits with a freelance editor, Managing Editor Whitney Mihalik will contact you within the next few weeks about its status. Ellora?s Cave has weathered storms before and we will this one as well. We are aggressively adjusting our business to the current publishing environment. We will ?ll you in with our endeavors as they are unveiled- hopefully with the ?rst exciting news later this week. 1860f92 1/3 10/2 l/2014 Gmail - Comment from Dear Author In the pm?r?y kate? ?ga tBQQEdPr?6%ur readers to purchase ebooks from the Ellora?s Cave site because it bene?ts you and your readers. Prices of books on our site are often lower, your royalty rate is higher and you get paid faster for books purchased through our site. You and your books are also much easier to ?nd on our site. Even readers with Kindles and Nooks can purchase on our site and load onto their devices. The process is not dif?cult. Our site has instructions on how to do it: We are also working on some fun videos to show people how to do it and will put them on YouTube so you can link to them when they are done. it is also important to support and promote Barnes Noble and All Romance Ebooks as well until we are able to determine the reasons for Amazon?s declining sales. Hopefully we will be able to work with Amazon to correct the inconsistencies quickly. However, in the short run your net royalties per book are consistently higher in the following order: 1) Ellora?s Cave, 2) Barnes and Noble, AllRomance, and probably Kobo 3) Amazon, and 4) Google. It would certainly make ?scal sense for you to send your fans to those ?rst venues. This is by no means meant to be a statement about Amazon. We are not at this time coming to any conclusions regarding the many negative rumors and articles about Amazonthe Gazelle Project, their disputes with Disney and Hachette, and the 900 authors? open letter in the New York Timeswhich we have been made aware of over and over again. For many years we have had a reasonable business relationship with Amazon, up until this drastic drop in sales, and we are certainly hoping that it will all be resolved as we present discrepancies that we are identifying. We have not completed our analysis at this point and therefore have not had any direct communication with Amazon regarding these issues. We are just saying in the meantime that it makes sense for you to promote your books to be purchased through the venues that are most profitable to you on a per-copy basis (and of course to Ellora?s Cave). This bene?ts all of us. That way you will make more per sale and, in the unthinkable event that the sales at Amazon continue to decline, your fans will be aware of other venues that are out there for them. Hopefully though, this is temporary and not a continuing trend and Amazon will go back to being as pro?table for us as it has been in the past. I know that there has been some discussion and concern about a new project announced by Jaid Black. We will make an announcement soon with details, but please be assured that no EC funds are being invested in this venture, that it is in no way a publishing company, and that my full attention and loyalty remain to Ellora?s Cave and its authors. We are looking at the new venture as a means to enhance the opportunities and options that are available to our authorsnot to take away funds from Ellora?s Caveand are very excited about releasing the news to you soon. We are always looking at new projects and interests as they present themselves to ussome connected to the publishing industry and some not. Please be assured, however, that EC always has been and remains our main focus. With the help of our fantastic staff and authors, we are working very hard to adjust to the current publishing environment and remain the premier publisher of erotic romance. Also, please note that almost all the royalty checks have been mailed, with the exception of a handful that should be out by end of week. We are not bankrupt (rumors) and are not in any kind of shape to even file bankruptcy. While we have had some issues getting the royalty checks out as quickly as we have in the past, we are still within our contracts. We certainly understand why you are concerned and appreciate those of you who have asked questions rather than spreading conspiracy theories and propagating rumors that are only detrimental to fellow authors. We hope all of this does not detract from what all of you do Rumors are distracting and disconcerting and all of you deserve better. Thanks for your support and understanding. We do appreciate all of you and respect your talents, your pride in your work and your concern for your careers. Please do not EVER sell yourselves short! What you do is valuable l47e99587 860f92&siml=l47e99587 860f92 2/3 10/2 l/20l4 Gmail - Comment from Dear Author to evewonemo?ie?i?mh?mu Wh?rg??gs. 10/21/14 18 0f 32- Page?) #3 98 Sincerely, Patricia L. Marks, CEO In accordance with our vendor and staff contracts and author contract Confidentiality and Disclosure of Information clause: The contents of this message are con?dential and may not be distributed, copied, posted, shared, or otherwise made available to other persons without the express prior written permission of an authorized agent or of?cer of Ellora's Cave. l860f92 3/3 Case: Doc 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 19 of 32. PageID 99 EXHIBIT 4 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 20 of 32. PageID #: 100 Ellora’s Cave CEO Confirms Amazon Sales Drop 10/21/14, 12:18 PM Home > Digital > Retailing Ellora’s Cave CEO Confirms Amazon Sales Drop By Calvin Reid Aug 25, 2014 Ellora’s Cave CEO Patty Marks confirmed the house is downsizing in the wake of what she described as “drastic’ and unexplained declines in its e-book sales via Amazon. Marks confirmed the layoffs of freelance editors, and said the house continues to have discussion with Amazon to find the cause of the sales dropoff. Marks sent a letter to Ellora’s Cave authors about the major sales dip, and the note was then re-posted online. Marks said Ellora's Cave sales via Amazon have dropped by as much as 75%. "We’re talking to Amazon and trying to figure out why this is happening,” Marks explained, noting that Amazon is the biggest sales channel for the digital-first erotic-romance publisher. RELATED STORIES: More in Digital -> Retailing More in Digital -> Content / ebooks More in News -> Bookselling Want to reprint? Get permissions. FREE E-NEWSLETTERS Enter e-mail address PW Daily Tip Sheet More Newsletters According to Marks, the issue is likely related to a change in Amazon’s search algorithm. Many of Ellora’s Cave’s bestselling authors and titles simply don’t show up in the Amazon search engine anymore. She pointed to one of the house's most popular authors, Laurann Dohner, whose books are New York Times bestellers, noting that a search for her titles on Amazon initially retrieves only free giveaways. Marks also wanted to emphasize that Ellora’s Cave is paying all royalties on time and, contrary to some rumors, is not considering bankruptcy. Asked if Ellora's Cave, which does a limited number of POD titles, might consider more print releases in the future, Marks said print sales have never been very significant for the publisher. “We’re looking at print, but we don’t want to invest in big print runs,” she explained. Marks said Ellora’s Cave e-book sales began spiking upwards in 2012. She said she “expected sales slack off eventually," and that she put money aside, while adding new customers, to limit losses from the dropoff. "Sales have dropped before, but not like this," Marks http://www.publishersweekly.com/paper-copy/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/63779-ellora-s-cave-ceo-confirms-amazon-sales-drop.html Page 1 of 2 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 21 of 32. PageID #: 101 Ellora’s Cave CEO Confirms Amazon Sales Drop 10/21/14, 12:18 PM elaborated. "It’s been a drain.” http://www.publishersweekly.com/paper-copy/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/63779-ellora-s-cave-ceo-confirms-amazon-sales-drop.html Page 2 of 2 Case: Doc 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 22 of 32. PagelD 102 EXHIBIT 5 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 23 of 32. PageID #: 103 For the Silenced Victims... Jaid Black "The Queen of Steam" Home Sci-Fi ▼ Alternate Reality ▼ Paranormal Contemporary ▼ Historical ▼ 10/21/14, 12:19 PM WeHo Blog For Ben We're nowhere near our goal :( Please consider contributing $5 toward giving Pam's For the Silenced Victims... my son dear friend a dignified burial & small memorial service. October 4, 2014 I keep receiving the same emails and PMs every single day, just from different people. What every message has in common is this: anyone who shows even minimal public support for EC is getting viciously cyber-bullied into terrified silence. Never in my lifetime have I seen such a phenomenon. Until now I'd only read about it in history books concerning the Salem Witch Trials and the communist red-hunts of the McCarthy era. Some book review sites (blogs basically) have gone so far as to blacklist EC titles. Ironically enough they started this campaign during "Banned Books Week" and are encouraging readers to not buy any book published by EC or the books of authors supporting EC. They claim to be doing this in the name of freedom of speech, yet conversely they stifle dissenting opinions with vicious attacks en masse. I literally can't count how many screenshots I have taken—and that's just me!—of authors and readers being cyber-bullied into silence. The very first person to take a massive, public hit was #1 NYT Bestselling author Jamie McGuire. Mind you, Ms. McGuire does not write for EC, Black on Black Bio Blog Off! Contact Facebook Instagram Media Pinterest Twitter Yelp Ellora's Cave has no connection to EC, and our paths have never crossed online or offline. She made one supportive tweet and was so viciously attacked with McCarthyist "you're a traitor" tweets that she later removed it. http://jaidblack.com/entries/general/for-the-silenced-victims- Page 1 of 8 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 24 of 32. PageID #: 104 For the Silenced Victims... Jaid Black "The Queen of Steam" 10/21/14, 12:19 PM To Ms. McGuire's credit, however, she didn't allow herself to be silenced for long. Jamie McGuire is only one of many. I applaud her for having the strength of character to not shut up and sit down at the back of the bus... and I'm glad RomantiCon® her following is too strong and loyal to be swayed into not buying her books. For many EC authors, though, their entire livelihoods are at stake. They're literally damned if they do and damned if they don't. JB Productions So why is this happening to EC at all? I'm not sure there is one solid answer, but there is a definite and noticeable trend: The initial gossip was started by authors who wanted their rights back to EDITED & CONTRACTED books for FREE. Presumably, given the current publishing climate, this is so they could turn around and selfpublish them without EC getting any cut in profit. Never mind that we contracted the books (work/money) and edited the books (more All Hail The Queen work/money) and publicized the books (yet more work/money) and took a chance on their unknown names (money.) The sense of entitlement being displayed is as immoral as it is illegal. Missing Plug-in Given the illegalities of it, some authors started spreading the rumor that EC doesn't pay its authors and pleaded with the public to not buy their titles since they weren't getting paid anyway. Why would they do this when they were/are getting paid? Because the only way to get click twice to see large video their rights back both free and legally is to sell under a certain number of copies within a specific timespan. Never mind what those rumors would do to their fellow EC authors—they are apparently only collateral damage in the war of self-entitlement. Let's take a look at this September 25th post from author Cat Grant, wherein she garners sympathy for herself by claiming she isn't getting paid her royalties: http://jaidblack.com/entries/general/for-the-silenced-victims- Page 2 of 8 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 25 of 32. PageID #: 105 For the Silenced Victims... Jaid Black "The Queen of Steam" 10/21/14, 12:19 PM But then two days later, on September 27th, she posts completely different information on yet another blog: So she's not getting paid, but she's getting paid? The truth will definitely catch up with her, so Ms. Grant is now throwing in the red herring of "but God only knows if they're accurate." She previously stated on her own blog: We warned our authors that sales at Amazon are down, she admits her self-pubbed books at Amazon are down, but then... http://jaidblack.com/entries/general/for-the-silenced-victims- Page 3 of 8 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 26 of 32. PageID #: 106 For the Silenced Victims... Jaid Black "The Queen of Steam" 10/21/14, 12:19 PM Basically we're being accused of cheating her because her sales are down at EC, but her sales directly through Amazon/Kindle are also down per two of her own posts and she's not accusing them of anything. So why us? Oh right... The sad and sick part to all her online reindeer games is that NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON HAS CALLED HER OUT ON THEM. On the contrary, other authors are coming to her defense and claiming the same sorts of things as this author. Paradoxically, while some authors (mind you this is maybe 15-20 out of 800+ playing this game) are saying they too aren't getting paid, they are also publicly claiming they are afraid of being sued by us for speaking their twisted "truths." Here's a groundless tweet from another author: http://jaidblack.com/entries/general/for-the-silenced-victims- Page 4 of 8 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 27 of 32. PageID #: 107 For the Silenced Victims... Jaid Black "The Queen of Steam" 10/21/14, 12:19 PM It should be noted that EC has never—not once in 14 years—sued an author. Can I say that record will remain intact, given the cyber-bully smear campaign we're enduring? No. It's difficult to say what position we'll be forced into. What I can say with all certainty is I'm not going to be a victim of female on female misogyny, their male recruits, and the resulting childish harassment tactics being leveled at me. When I suggested that spectators take the time to gather facts before jumping to conclusions, my extremely reasonable request was followed up with tweets like this: http://jaidblack.com/entries/general/for-the-silenced-victims- Page 5 of 8 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 28 of 32. PageID #: 108 For the Silenced Victims... Jaid Black "The Queen of Steam" 10/21/14, 12:19 PM She also sent a photo of her giving me the finger, but you get the point without me posting that. And then came this... One author in particular, an author I've never published, met, or even heard of until the cyber-bullying smear campaign began, decided it would be fun to make the attacks even more personal: Not only is she throwing thinly veiled jabs at my hair and multicultural / multi-racial family (re: cultural appropriation,) but she's attempting to trivialize the civil rights work I've been doing since my early twenties. I've marched in countless protests against police http://jaidblack.com/entries/general/for-the-silenced-victims- Page 6 of 8 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 29 of 32. PageID #: 109 For the Silenced Victims... Jaid Black "The Queen of Steam" 10/21/14, 12:19 PM brutality in the inner city, the continued disenfranchisement of poverty-stricken women and their children who direly need help (welfare,) the right to choose (though I've never had an abortion,) and was the media spokesperson for Tampa NOW (National Organization for Women.) To this day, a photo of me protesting cuts to welfare remains on the banner of "herstory" on Florida NOW's website. I'm the curly-haired one on the upper-left: Oh and FYI: Courtney Milan called me "Tina Englero" because I spelled her name "Milano" when referencing earlier posts by her. The very self-important author apparently thinks everyone knows—or cares—who she is and that I purposely misspelled her name to be disrespectful. (I'm not quite certain how "Milano" is disrespectful, but whatever.) Interestingly, MilaN has been tweeting and posting all over the internet about me and she has (a) never met me, (b) isn't one of my authors, and (c) knows literally nothing about me other than whatever gossip she's heard. The thing is, Milan, you and your bizarro followers neither frighten nor intimidate me with all the misogynist, bigoted ramblings. Because of my civil rights work, the work you attempted to trivialize and denigrate, my skin is as thick as my ass is fat. I've had more death threats than a few because of my activism so you're as scary to me as a shit under my shoe. You dared me to sue you. Why would I? You're entitled to your opinion, however abominable it might be. Anyway, enough of her and back to the important heart of the matter: Right now EC's loyal authors are afraid to speak up because they've seen what happens to everyone who does. That will pass soon enough. Eventually they will be pushed past the breaking point by those attempting to stifle their freedom of speech and their right to earn an honest living by the MCCarthyist tactics being thrown at them. Until they are prepared to show themselves, I'm here to give them a http://jaidblack.com/entries/general/for-the-silenced-victims- Page 7 of 8 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 30 of 32. PageID #: 110 For the Silenced Victims... Jaid Black "The Queen of Steam" 10/21/14, 12:19 PM voice... and I, for one, will not be harassed into silence. Jaid / Tina General Share © Jaid Black 2000-2014 http://jaidblack.com/entries/general/for-the-silenced-victims- Page 8 of 8 Case: Doc 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 31 of 32. PagelD 111 EXHIBIT 6 Case: Doc 7-1 Filed: 10/21/14 32 of 32. PageID 112 JaId Black March 2 9 My week was shitty, but my weekend was phenom I spent a lot of yesterday with Christian Boeving, which was great he I don?t see him every day like I used to, then today I found out I got the house I want so I'll be saying buh-bye to Venice Beach hello there to West Hollywood!! lg 13' feeling excited at Venice Beach. Like - Share ?7 Melvina Davis and 101 others like this. View 15 more comments Suz DeMeIlo Enjoy! March 3 at 12:35am - Like '61 Connle Steggell Congratulations! March 3 at 8:27am - Like C71 .3.. Mary Everett You belonged in Hollywood anyway. You are a star. 3. March 3 at 2:01pm - Like - Carolyn Davis Congrats! March 3 at 7:27pm - Like . 01 Case: Doc 7-2 Filed: 10/21/14 1 of 3. PageID 113 EXHIBIT DocuSign Envelope ID: B96F9FE6-40A0-4575-92A2-2E491C67DAA1 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-2 Filed: 10/21/14 2 of 3. PageID #: 114 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO CIVIL DIVISION ELLORA’S CAVE PUBLISHING, INC. and JASMINE-JADE ENTERPRISES, LLC Case No: CV-2014-09-4421 Plaintiffs, v. DEAR AUTHOR MEDIA NETWORK, LLC and JENNIFER GERRISH-LAMPE Defendants. DECLARATION OF BRIANA LAMBERT IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS’ OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR ENTRY OF A TEMPORARY INJUNCTION I, Briana Lambert, having personal knowledge of the matters set forth herein and being competent to testify about them if called to do so at trial, state as follows: 1. I began working with Ellora’s Cave in August 2002 as a volunteer proofreader. Beginning February 2003, I became a paid contract employee. In 2007, I became an author with Ellora’s Cave as well. 2. As an editor, I was typically paid for my work every two weeks. 3. However, beginning in August 2014, I began experiencing problems with receiving timely payment from Ellora’s Cave. 4. I was not paid for the projects I completed between August 23, 2014 and September 1, 2014, and was owed $7,346.28. 5. On September 28, 2014, I received an envelope in the mail that contained no postmark, with a check dated August 8, 2014, for $1,838.05. 6. On October 4, 2014, I received a check in the mail, which was dated August 22, 2014, for $3,426.67. 7. At the time of this writing, I remain unpaid for project submitted between August 14, 2014 and September 1, 2014 for $2,081.56. 8. Over the past few months, payment has been significantly delayed, with no communicated expectation of a realistic payment timeline. Many emails were sent to DocuSign Envelope ID: B96F9FE6-40A0-4575-92A2-2E491C67DAA1 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-2 Filed: 10/21/14 3 of 3. PageID #: 115 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. management, including a number of emails to Courtney Thomas, CFO of Ellora’s Cave. I received one delayed email in response from the CFO that promised that payment would happen, but never established a timeline and never stated that the checks would be in the mail. I was simply told to be patient. On August 18, 2014, I received an email along with the fourteen other freelancers, informing us that we were all being laid off. We were told that to receive payment for the projects we were already working on, we would have to have it turned in by September 12, 2014, or our payment for these projects would be docked and delayed. In my 12 years with Ellora’s Cave, I have never seen layoffs before. Over time, some editors would come and some would go, and sometimes, small groups of two or three would leave together to form their own publishing company. But I have never seen 15 editors terminated at the same time. I have still not been paid for work I completed, in the timely fashion imposed in our layoff notice. The writing is on the wall that the company is simply not in a good financial position and may not last much longer. At this point, I am ashamed to have been associated with Ellora’s Cave, having witnessed the financial decline and the terrible treatment of authors, freelancers, and staff. I was frustrated and shocked that a company that seemed to have it all had fallen apart so quickly. I cannot say the Dear Author article changed my opinion, as my opinion was already rather poor, well before the article came out. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. Executed this _____________________. Briana Lambert Case: Doc 7-3 Filed: 10/21/14 1 of 4. PageID 116 EXHIBIT DocuSign Envelope ID: 78C9A536-EE9E-4EC6-8D8E-207140FEE3C2 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-3 Filed: 10/21/14 2 of 4. PageID #: 117 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO CIVIL DIVISION ELLORA’S CAVE PUBLISHING, INC. and JASMINE-JADE ENTERPRISES, LLC Case No: CV-2014-09-4421 Plaintiffs, v. DEAR AUTHOR MEDIA NETWORK, LLC and JENNIFER GERRISH-LAMPE Defendants. DECLARATION OF DEE SCHEFFLER IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS’ OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR ENTRY OF A TEMPORARY INJUNCTION I, Dee Scheffler, having personal knowledge of the matters set forth herein and being competent to testify about them if called to do so at trial, state as follows: 1. I am an author. I signed my first contract with Ellora’s Cave in 2006, and published my first book with them in 2007. 2. From the time I first started with Ellora’s Cave, I was issued a royalty check monthly, beginning in the second month after each accounting period. 3. However, over the past few years, my royalty checks often arrived two or three weeks after they were issued. I doubted the veracity of the explanations Ellora’s Cave offered as to why they were late. But the real problems began in November 2013. 4. Since November 2013, my royalty checks have arrived later and later. 5. I was not issued a royalty check at all for January 2014. DocuSign Envelope ID: 78C9A536-EE9E-4EC6-8D8E-207140FEE3C2 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-3 Filed: 10/21/14 3 of 4. PageID #: 118 6. Over the past year, I have received royalty checks backdated as much as five weeks before I actually received them. 7. As of today, I have not received royalties for the accounting periods of June, July, and August of 2014, which according to Ellora’s Cave’s payment schedule should have all been mailed no later than September 30, 2014. Based on my recent payment history, or lack thereof, I believe I am still owed approximately $6,000 for those three months. 8. Ellora’s Cave has claimed that since November 2013, late payments were caused by a new royalty accounting system. They said that because the new system was causing errors in statements, the accounting department had to manually check every statement to ensure its accuracy, which took extra time. 9. Back in November and December, I believed it was possible that problems with the new accounting system had contributed to the lateness of the checks, but that could not be the sole cause. However, I did not believe their explanation when they missed January’s payment. I believe cash flow problems were the primary cause, and that skipping one month of royalty payments gave Ellora’s Cave some financial breathing room. 10. From February through June 2014, the accounting department had less trouble getting my monthly checks mailed out to me in a more-timely manner, although still at least one month behind schedule. When checks that were supposedly mailed by July 31, 2014 did not arrive, authors were not informed of any new glitches with the accounting system. In fact, we were not given any information at all until CEO Patty Marks emailed the Author’s Loop on August 18, 2014. This was four days after we were allowed to email the accounting department to report checks that were lost in DocuSign Envelope ID: 78C9A536-EE9E-4EC6-8D8E-207140FEE3C2 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-3 Filed: 10/21/14 4 of 4. PageID #: 119 the mail. Patty’s email discussed “the drastic drop in sales” but did not actually address why we were not getting paid on schedule, why checks had not been mailed out on time, and why “a handful” of checks still had not been mailed as of August 18. 11. This led me to believe that Ellora’s Cave is on the verge of insolvency and that the owners are lying about it to the authors, to the public, and possibly even to themselves. 12. When I first began publishing with Ellora’s Cave, I believed it was an innovative company. But I stopped submitting manuscripts to them after 2011 because I seriously doubted that the owners and the management had the training, skills, discipline, and stability required to properly manage the kind of money their authors earned. I believed Ellora’s Cave was sliding downhill financially and I did not want them to be my sole source of writing income. 13. Since January 2014, I have believed that Ellora’s Cave’s closure or bankruptcy filing was inevitable. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. Executed this _________________________. Dee Scheffler Case: Doc 7-4 Filed: 10/21/14 1 of 4. PageID 120 EXHIBIT DocuSign Envelope ID: 9AAC63E8-8A67-4259-9195-D48FC6F74A79 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-4 Filed: 10/21/14 2 of 4. PageID #: 121 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO CIVIL DIVISION ELLORA’S CAVE PUBLISHING, INC. and JASMINE-JADE ENTERPRISES, LLC Case No: CV-2014-09-4421 Plaintiffs, v. DEAR AUTHOR MEDIA NETWORK, LLC and JENNIFER GERRISH-LAMPE Defendants. DECLARATION OF ROSLYN HOLCOMB IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS’ OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR ENTRY OF A TEMPORARY INJUNCTION I, Roslyn Hardy Holcomb, having personal knowledge of the matters set forth herein and being competent to testify about them if called to do so at trial, state as follows: 1. I began working with Ellora’s Cave on January 20, 2013 as an author. 2. My book was released on July 26, 2013, yet I did not receive my first check until October 2013. The amount was small, but I expected that, because it was the first check after release. 3. Most books through Ellora’s Cave are sold through third party vendors, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ARe, and the like. These vendors pay two months in arrears. So, for a book that was released in July, I understood that I would not receive the bulk of the royalties until November. 4. However, when I received my November check, it was less than $50 and did not include any third party vendor sales. DocuSign Envelope ID: 9AAC63E8-8A67-4259-9195-D48FC6F74A79 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-4 Filed: 10/21/14 3 of 4. PageID #: 122 5. On December 7, 2013, I sent an email inquiring about third party vendor checks. I was told that the third party vendor checks actually pay three months in arrears, and the check would instead be mailed in December. 6. I am an experienced self-publisher, and I have nine books with another e-publisher. I know that third party vendors always pay two months in arrears. 7. I did not receive a check at all in December. 8. On January 14, 2014, I sent an email to Ellora’s Cave to inquire as to why I had not received my December check, which I had been told previously would be mailed in late December. 9. I received no response to that email, so I sent another on January 18, 2014. I received a response on January 22, 2014, which indicated that I should refer to a post on the business loop. This post made reference to problems with a new accounting system and being short staffed. 10. Even though I had been inquiring as to the status of my check for two months, they never previously made mention of these technical difficulties. 11. My check finally arrived March 5, 2014 – three months after the date I was supposed to have been paid. Payments have been erratic since then. 12. I believe that these excuses about the new accounting system, and being short staffed are lies. 13. I think Ellora’s Cave is a woefully mismanaged company that benefitted from the stagnant business model in the publishing industry, and then fell prey to the same stubborn inability to change with the times. I also believe they have lied and engaged in deceptive business practices. DocuSign Envelope ID: 9AAC63E8-8A67-4259-9195-D48FC6F74A79 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-4 Filed: 10/21/14 4 of 4. PageID #: 123 14. I was very put off by an interview Ms. Engler did years ago, defending her marriage to a man who had murdered a woman and tried to kill her daughter, and her campaign to get him released from prison. I chose to not work with such a woman. 15. Before this book, I had never submitted anything to Ellora’s Cave because they had a well known reputation for being “difficult” to work with. I only submitted my story when I was advised that Ms. Engler no longer had anything to do with the day-today operations of the company. 16. In January 2014, I posted an article to another blog warning other authors of Ellora’s Cave’s business practices. 17. The Dear Author article did not tell me anything I did not already know. Ellora’s Cave had been lying to me for more than six months before the Dear Author article was published, my opinion of them was already very low. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. Executed this _________________________, in Dunwoody, GA. Roslyn Hardy Holcomb Case: Doc 7-5 Filed: 10/21/14 1 of 6. PageID 124 EXHIBIT DocuSign Envelope ID: 959365CE-989C-4884-BE71-7B13998F5E79 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-5 Filed: 10/21/14 2 of 6. PageID #: 125 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO CIVIL DIVISION ELLORA’S CAVE PUBLISHING, INC. and JASMINE-JADE ENTERPRISES, LLC Case No: CV-2014-09-4421 Plaintiffs, v. DEAR AUTHOR MEDIA NETWORK, LLC and JENNIFER GERRISH-LAMPE Defendants. DECLARATION OF JULIE NAUGHTON IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS’ OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR ENTRY OF A TEMPORARY INJUNCTION I, Julie Naughton, having personal knowledge of the matters set forth herein and being competent to testify about them if called to do so at trial, state as follows: 1. I began working with Ellora’s Cave Publishing in December 2012 as a content/acquiring editor. I was hired by Kelli Collins, who at the time was Ellora’s Cave’s Editor in Chief. 2. I was typically paid every two weeks in the pay periods during which I had submitted work. Ellora’s Cave’s policy with content editors was to have editors submit a final edited manuscript in any given pay period and then receive a check two weeks later. 3. I personally began experiencing payment problems with Ellora’s Cave in July 2014. I was not paid in the typical time period for “Coming for Midnight” by Jessica Shin, a manuscript edited and submitted for final copy editing in July 2014. Repeated emails sent to Ellora’s Cave Chief Financial Officer Courtney Thomas through mid-September went unanswered. 4. I was paid the $225.19 owed to me for the editing of Ms. Shin’s book with a check dated August 22, 2014 but with a Cleveland, Ohio postmark of October 2, 2014, which was received in Hoboken, New Jersey, where I live, on October 8, 2014. I took an iPhone video of myself showing the date on my computer, the postmark on the envelope, DocuSign Envelope ID: 959365CE-989C-4884-BE71-7B13998F5E79 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-5 Filed: 10/21/14 3 of 6. PageID #: 126 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. opening the envelope and drawing out the pre-dated check as proof of this statement on October 8, 2014. I’ve been told by several other editors that they have had similar experiences. Ellora’s Cave Publishing currently owes me $381.26 for the editing of the manuscript “Hands All Over” by Kacey Hammell, submitted in the August 18 through 21, 2014 pay period. I have written verification of this amount owed in an email from former Managing Editor Whitney Mihalik dated September 10, 2014. To date, I have received no guidance on when I can expect this money, and multiple emails to Ms. Thomas have gone unanswered. On August 18, 2014, Ellora’s Cave Publisher Raelene Gorlinsky sent all content editors working as independent contractors an email on behalf of Ellora’s Cave Chief Executive Officer Patricia Marks, stating that due to a dispute with Amazon, book sales via Amazon had dropped sharply and that Ellora’s Cave was experiencing a negative return on investment with most of its books, and could not afford to continue to employ the independent editors. I have written verification of this statement in the form of the email from Ms. Gorlinsky and written by Ms. Marks. There was no notice whatsoever to editors or to authors that we would all be laid off. Ms. Marks noted in that email that payment would be delayed but gave no time frame in which to expect payment. She also stated that all remaining books submitted and contracted would be edited by in-house editors. At that time, I believe there were three staff editors, and hundreds of manuscripts. I have verification of these claims in email form, in the email written by Ms. Marks and distributed by Ms. Gorlinsky. Part of that email appeared in an article written by Calvin Reid, which appeared in the August 25, 2014 issue of Publishers Weekly: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/bytopic/digital/retailing/article/63779-ellora-s-cave-ceo-confirms-amazon-sales-drop.html I had heard concerns from several of my authors that royalties were late and/or much lower than was usual beginning in January 2014. I had referred these questions/concerns to Ms. Gorlinsky at that time. Due to increasingly late payments and the abrupt dismissal of all content editors on August 18, 2014 (independent contractor cover artists were dismissed the week prior), as well as Ms. Marks’s statement about the company’s financial problems, my opinion as of August 18, 2014 was that Ellora’s Cave was in dire financial straits. My feeling that Ellora’s Cave was in dire financial straits was further compounded by public records I accessed before and on the day of my termination. These records, on the website of the Summit County Clerk of Courts, indicated that Ms. Engler-Keen and Ellora’s Cave have an unpaid tax June 26, 2014 lien judgment from the Ohio DocuSign Envelope ID: 959365CE-989C-4884-BE71-7B13998F5E79 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-5 Filed: 10/21/14 4 of 6. PageID #: 127 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Department of Taxation in the amount of $105,819.92 on as well as a judgment from the City of Akron for unpaid taxes in the amount of $29,679.52. I further noted that Ms. Engler-Keen’s pattern of tax lien judgments extended to several prior years. I was also dismayed to read the court filings of Ms. Engler-Keen’s and Ms. Marks’s conduct in the case of Christina M. Brashear vs. Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc., case number CV-2008-042729, especially the documents which detail Ms. Engler-Keen’s and Ms. Marks’s defamatory behavior in detail with the document: http://www.cpclerk.co.summit.oh.us/PublicSite/Documents/civzzze700002F5D.pdf My concerns about the future health of the organization were underlined on September 12, 2014, when during a phone conversation with Ms. Mihalik, she revealed to me that she had resigned from the company. Later that day I heard that Chief Operating Officer Susan Edwards had also tendered her resignation. When I read the Dear Author post entitled The Curious Case of Ellora’s Cave on September 14, 2014, I remember thinking that it was well-researched and sourced, as pretty much everything stated in the post was backed up by official communications I’d received from Ms. Marks, Ms. Gorlinsky, and Ms. Mihalik, or was an opinion or issue stated to me by an Ellora’s Cave author or employee. I respected Ms. Gerrish-Lampe’s comprehensive and impartial reporting, although I was already aware of everything she stated, as were many others, especially those who had been independent contractors and full-time staff members of Ellora’s Cave. My opinion of Ellora’s Cave was very negative due to the reasons above well before Ms. Gerrish-Lampe’s post on September 14, 2014. Aside from the fact that I believe what Ms. Gerrish-Lampe wrote is true, I have been a working professional journalist for the past 23 years in New York City, and the First Amendment is critically important to me. I am also of the opinion that if Ohio had an anti-SLAPP law, this suit would not continue: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publishernews/article/64178-ellora-s-cave-files-libel-suit-against-dear-author-blog.html My opinion of Ms. Engler-Keen was further negatively influenced by rambling Facebook posts and offensive Twitter posts that were posted under Ms. Engler-Keen’s pseudonym, Jaid Black. Ms. Engler-Keen has since deleted all offensive postings — including a Facebook post on September 14 calling those editors and authors who were speaking up about non-payment “stone-cold, batshit fuck nuts” — screenshots are available of multiple offensive postings, including Ms.Engler-Keen’s Facebook profile picture of September 23, 2014, in which she “flips the bird” to her audience with her DocuSign Envelope ID: 959365CE-989C-4884-BE71-7B13998F5E79 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-5 Filed: 10/21/14 5 of 6. PageID #: 128 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. middle finger extended. I have a screencap of this and it has also been all over Twitter and Facebook via other people. I have multiple screenshots of said offensive posts. There has been at least one suspicious new Twitter account, which I would classify as a sockpuppet—or fake account—founded since this suit was filed. One in particular, @Pubnt, has repeatedly posted Ms. Gerrish-Lampe’s name, fully aware that she writes her blog under the pseudonym of Jane Litte, and has repeatedly made defamatory comments about Ms. Gerrish-Lampe and positive ones about Ms. Engler-Keen. By repeatedly broadcasting Ms. Gerrish-Lampe’s real name, it is my opinion that whomever is behind this account is attempting to intimidate Ellora’s Cave authors—most of whom write under pseudonyms— by indicating their real names could be revealed at any time. This would be disastrous for some of these authors and could lead to dismissal from day jobs. While writing erotic romance is certainly not illegal, there are many employers who might not look kindly upon employees who write it. On October 12, 2014, the @pubnt account referred to Ellora’s Cave authors as ‘trash who don’t know how to behave.’ I have a screenshot of this as well. In clear violation of court filings dated October 2, 2014 — http://www.cpclerk.co.summit.oh.us/PublicSite/Documents/sumr000000A6A.pdf — Ms. Engler-Keen continues to post both on her own blog, jaidblack.com, and on other websites, about the case and its merits. http://jaidblack.com/entries/general/for-thesilenced-victimsUpon further research, seeking independent documentation of the alleged “defamation” in Ms. Gerrish-Lampe’s statements, I found a Craigslist posting advertising the Ellora’s Cave office building at 1056 Home Avenue in Akron, Ohio, for rent. http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/off/4628577164.html. This was posted to Craigslist on August 20, 2014 at 1:30 pm. This is the address listed in the court filings and on my checks from the business as the address of Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc. While the ad was deleted on or about October 12, 2014, I have a screenshot demonstrating that it did, at one time, appear. I also found miscellaneous items for sale here: http://stores.ebay.com/Elloras-CavePublishing and had been told by a former employee that there was a warehouse sale at the company headquarters in July. Several authors have reported to me that they got statements in October 2014 saying royalties had been overpaid over 13 months and the amount deducted from the current checks. These authors further state that checks were being mailed with undated meter strips until it was mentioned on Twitter that this practice is illegal, in fact a federal DocuSign Envelope ID: 959365CE-989C-4884-BE71-7B13998F5E79 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-5 Filed: 10/21/14 6 of 6. PageID #: 129 offense for the United States Postal Service. Then envelopes began arriving with postmarks. 23. Ms. Marks repeatedly, in both official communications and in statements to Publishers Weekly, stated that the company’s financial problems were due first to a software glitch and then to Amazon’s algorithms. The “software glitch” excuse has been used for more than a year and was alluded to in an article written by Calvin Reid which appeared in the May 15, 2014 issue of Publishers Weekly. I strongly believe that if any software had that many problems, a qualified chief financial officer and chief executive officer would have cut their losses and switched to another type of program. Certainly such problems should not last most of the year, in my opinion. It is my opinion that improper spending of author royalties, coupled with a lack of cash flow to pay authors, began at least as early as late 2013. 24. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publishernews/article/62296-ellora-s-cave-blames-software-for-royalty-problems.html I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. Executed this ______________________, in Hoboken, New Jersey. Julie Naughton Case: Doc 7-6 Filed: 10/21/14 1 of 4. PageID 130 EXHIBIT DocuSign Envelope ID: 504DDACC-C768-4694-9288-12A02A254CB5 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-6 Filed: 10/21/14 2 of 4. PageID #: 131 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO CIVIL DIVISION ELLORA’S CAVE PUBLISHING, INC. and JASMINE-JADE ENTERPRISES, LLC Case No: CV-2014-09-4421 Plaintiffs, v. DEAR AUTHOR MEDIA NETWORK, LLC and JENNIFER GERRISH-LAMPE Defendants. DECLARATION OF MARY HARRIS IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS’ OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR ENTRY OF A TEMPORARY INJUNCTION I, Mary Harris, having personal knowledge of the matters set forth herein and being competent to testify about them if called to do so at trial, state as follows: 1. I began working for Ellora’s Cave February 24, 2014. 2. I applied for and was accepted as a development/content editor, beginning as a junior and later promoted to senior. 3. In the past, I was typically paid within 2 weeks of the end of the pay period. 4. I began experiencing payment problems with Ellora’s Cave with the submission of my July 24, 2014 invoice. 5. I have not been paid in full for the invoice I submitted on September 15, 2014. I am still owed $4541.59 DocuSign Envelope ID: 504DDACC-C768-4694-9288-12A02A254CB5 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-6 Filed: 10/21/14 3 of 4. PageID #: 132 6. The way I have been paid since July, 2014 is different than how I was paid in the past in terms of lateness. I received my first check in a timely manner. My second July 24, 2014 invoice was not paid until September 22, 2014. 7. I am not an author with Ellora’s Cave, nor do I or have I worked in any capacity other than junior and senior development/content editor with Ellora’s Cave. 8. I am still owed $4541.59. 9. I received several communications from persons at Ellora’s Cave regarding late payments due to: “a delay, but checks went out late last week”; “the checks went out last Thursday, however, after looking at the payroll, you didn’t report anything that pay period”; declining sales due to Amazon; “payment for editing these books might be delayed,”; several emails requesting me to also notify others at Ellora’s Cave about my lack of payment; and a final note that “to be frank, these emails from you are just being deleted unread. … things not yet paid are NOT put on the next payment – that would cause duplicate account. … So Accounting will pay when they can, by the two-week period. The emails from you would just confuse the issue and delay payment…” (this last in reference to my updated invoice reflecting payment on 9/22/14 and the balance due of $4541.59). 10. My belief in the validity of those explanations for late payment is that most were a lie in order to defer actual payments, and the last was an attempt to blame me for causing any confusion which would result in delayed payments. 11. My opinion of Ellora’s Cave is that it was a viable company at one point. But, my observation is that the money which was coming in was not used to pay editors. I decline to speculate on whether freelance cover artists or authors were paid in a DocuSign Envelope ID: 504DDACC-C768-4694-9288-12A02A254CB5 Case: 5:14-cv-02331-JRA Doc #: 7-6 Filed: 10/21/14 4 of 4. PageID #: 133 timely and fully sufficient manner. I look rather to how I have been paid – I have not been paid in a timely and fully sufficient manner. 12. My opinion of Ellora’s Cave between end of July, 2014 and the publication of the Dear Jane article is the same as it is now. The article did not change my perception. I knew that Ellora’s Cave was not meeting its financial obligations, and most people who did business with Ellora’s Cave knew the same thing. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. Executed _____________________, in Chicago, Illinois. ________________________________ Mary Harris Case: Doc 7-7 Filed: 10/21/14 1 of 8. PageID 134 EXHIBIT COPY Case: Doc-#1: 7-7 Filed: 10/21/14 7270f8. PagelD#: 135 mmcwE DATE 09-06-08 COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF SUMMIT COUNTY STATE OF OHIO DANIEL M. HORRIGAN DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION SUMMIT CTY CLERK OF COURT 205 SOUTH HIGH STREET 44308 PLAINTIFF - VS. TAX TYPE: WITHHOLDING TAX JASMINE JADE ENTERPRISES LLC 1056 HOME AVE CRN: 3080201956 44310?3502 ACCOUNT NO.: 7441206 DEFENDANT THE AFOREMENTIONED ASSESSMENT HAS BECOME FINAL BY OPERATION OF LAW FOR THE PURPOSES OF HAVING A JUDGMENT LIEN RECORDED c? a. .51.: TO THE CLERK OF COMMON PLEAS COURT: :f a E: ENTER JUDGMENT AND RECORD MD ;r CERTIFICATE OF JUDGMENT. RETAIN (3E3 ED ONE COPY AND RETURN ONE COPY TO THE 2K ?g OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL g?fg c" is JUDGMENT RECORDED ON: DJ DATE: AMOUNT 11,836.95 CASE NO.: DOCKET: PAGE: I hereby certify the foregoing to be a true and correct copy of the action of the Tax Commissioner taken this date with respect to the above matter. Richard A. Levin Tax Commissioner COPY Case: DOC 7-7 Filed: 10/21/14 3 Of 8. PageID 136 PRECIPE UANJEL M. HOHHIGAN DATE 10-10-09 8: COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF SUMMIT COUNTY I (T: {j SUMMIT CTY CLERK OF COURT 205 SOUTH HIGH STREET 44308 STATE OF OHIO DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION PLAINTIFF VS. TAX TYPE: PERSONAL INCOME TAX ENGLERKEEN, TINA CRN: 2084 YELLOW CREEK RD 02200914098310 44333 ACCOUNT NO.: 8330490 DEFENDANT THE AFOREMENTIONED ASSESSMENT HAS BECOME FINAL BY OPERATION OF LAW FOR THE PURPOSES OF HAVING A JUDGMENT LIEN RECORDED THEREON. TO THE CLERK OF COMMON PLEAS COURT: ENTER JUDGMENT AND RECORD CERTIFICATE OF JUDGMENT. RETAIN ONE COPY AND RETURN ONE COPY TO THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL JUDGMENT RECORDED ON: DATE: AMOUNT 26,972.74 CASE NO.: 0 us, i DOCKET: J4009 PAGE: I hereby certify the foregoing to be a true and correct copy of the action of the Tax Commissioner taken this date with respect to the above matter. Richard A. Levin Tax Commissioner .- Case: Doc 7-7 Filed: 10/21/14 4 of 8. PageID 137 M. HORRIGPA he ZDIHDEC I2 RH 9= November 26, 2013 summ COUNTY 0759 1500 2700 4403 Tina Englerkeen 4 1056 Home Ave Akron OH 44310 Re: Lien Satisfaction Account 10880913 County: SUMMIT Dear Sir or Madam: This is notification of your Satisfaction of Judgment for the above claim. This satisfaction pertains to the Judgment we obtained under Ohio Law related to your Ohio Department of Taxation claim. This lien was obtained pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code. This Judgment placed a lien on all real property owned by you in SUMMIT County indicated on the release. Please take this notification to the office of the Clerk of Common Pleas Court in SUMMIT County. At the time of filing the release, you will be required to pay any filing fee and court costs that may be involved. It is recommended that you contact the Clerk of Courts office immediately to take care of this matter. If you fail to file the release at the Clerk of Courts, the liens against your real estate and personal property will not be discharged. th Joseph W. Testa Tax Commissioner Department of Taxation JUDG. DATE: 07-12-12 CASE: J20127885 DOCKET: 5265432 PAGE: 0 Original Name 1: ENGLERKEEN, TINA . Original Name 2: ACCOUNT NO. 10880913 Lien Original Address 1: 2084 YELLOW CREEK RD Lien Original Address 2: Lien Original City State 44333 U-76 .- A 10880913C Case: Doc 7-7 Filed: 10/21/14 5 of 8. PagelD 138 COPY DATE 11?14?09 COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF SUMMIT COUNZWWEE 1031115565 9 1 0 0 5 6 STATE OF OHIO CLEFRAUAEMUMEORRIGAN DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION SUMMIT CTY CLERK OF COURT 205 SOUTH HIGH STREET 44308 PLAINTIFF VS. TAX TYPE: PERSONAL INCOME TAX ENGLERKEEN, TINA 2084 YELLOW CREEK RD . CRN: 02200920435390 44333 ACCOUNT NO.: 8495180 DEFENDANT THE AFOREMENTIONED ASSESSMENT HAS BECOME FINAL BY OPERATION OF LAW FOR THE PURPOSES OF HAVING A JUDGMENT LIEN RECORDED THEREON. TO THE CLERK OF COMMON PLEAS COURT: ENTER JUDGMENT AND RECORD CERTIFICATE OF JUDGMENT. RETAIN ONE COPY AND RETURN ONE COPY TO THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL JUDGMENT RECORDED ON: AMOUNT 83,586.11 100% DOCKET: PAGE: I hereby certify the foregoing to be a true and correct copy of the action of the Tax Commissioner taken this date with respect to the above matter. ?722L114yk?g7 Richard A. Levin Tax Commissioner 1 CO Case: DOC 7-7 Filed: 10/21/14 6 Of PagelD 139 PRECIPE DATE 12?25?10 COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF SUMMIT 201?! JAN PH 35 50 STATE OF OHIO \.1Fth??y M. HORRIGAN DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION SUMMIT CTY CLERK OF COURT 205 SOUTH HIGH STREET 44308 PLAINTIFF VS. TAX TYPE: PERSONAL INCOME TAX ENGLERKEEN, TINA - 2084 YELLOW CREEK RD CRN: 02201023068186 44333 ACCOUNT NO.: 9497339 DEFENDANT THE AFOREMENTIONED ASSESSMENT HAS BECOME FINAL BY OPERATION OF LAW FOR THE PURPOSES OF HAVING A JUDGMENT LIEN RECORDED THEREON. TO THE CLERK OF COMMON PLEAS COURT: ENTER JUDGMENT AND RECORD CERTIFICATE OF JUDGMENT. RETAIN ONE COPY AND RETURN ONE COPY TO THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL JUDGMENT RECORDED ON: DATE: AMOUNT 29,271.98 J2011-3599 DOCKET: PAGE: I hereby certify the foregoing to be a true and correct copy of the action of the Tax Commissioner taken this date with respect to the above matter. Richard A. Levin Tax Commissioner Case: DOC 7-7 Filed: 10/21/14 7 Of 8. PageID 140 . ?1 DANIEL Mftf??ft?i??r?": 63 '1 DATE 06-25?11 COURT OF COMMON A STATE OF OHIO SUMWT LLOUNTY DANIEL M. HORRIGAN DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION SUMMIT CTY CLERK OF COURT . 205 SOUTH HIGH STREET 44308 PLAINTIFF VS. TAX TYPE: PERSONAL INCOME TAX ENGLERKEEN, TINA 2084 YELLOW CREEK RD CRN: 02201103292240 44333 ACCOUNT NO.: 9977172 DEFENDANT THE AFOREMENTIONED ASSESSMENT HAS BECOME FINAL BY OPERATION OF LAW FOR THE PURPOSES OF HAVING A JUDGMENT LIEN RECORDED THEREON. TO THE CLERK OF COMMON PLEAS COURT: ENTER JUDGMENT AND RECORD CERTIFICATE OF JUDGMENT. RETAIN ONE COPY AND RETURN ONE COPY TO THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL JUDGMENT RECORDED ON: DATE: AMOUNT 44,391.84 CASE NO.: DOCKET PAGE: I hereby certify the foregoing to be a true and correct copy of the action of the Tax Commissioner taken this date with respect to the above matter. Marcia Macon?Bruce Chief, Collections Enforcement Case: Doc 7-7 Filed: 10/21/14 8 of 8. PageID 141 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO CASE NUMBER: CV-2014-03-1269 CITY OF AKRON vs JASMINE JADE ENTERPRISES, LLC Judge: THOMAS TEODOSIO ORDER FILED: 04/15/2014 NOTICE TO: TINA ENGLER-KEEN 1056 Home Avenue Akron, OH 44310 Pursuant to Civil Rule the Clerk Of Courts is required to notify you the the following order has been filed with our office: JUDGMENT GRANTED IN FAVOR OF THE PLAINTIFF, AND AGAINST DEFENDANTS, JASMINE JADE ENTERPRISES AND TINA ENGLER-KEEN, IN THE AMOUNT OF $29,679.52. TAT 04/ 16/ 2014 Daniel M. Horrigan Summit County Clerk Of Courts