An Odd Response from One of the Lawyers in the Kelly Hyman v. Alex Daoud Case

As I mentioned in my post below, a Florida court issued an overbroad takedown order, which someone is using to try to vanish mainstream media articles about the Hyman v. Daoud daughter-vs.-father property lawsuit. (Kelly Hyman is a lawyer and an occasional political commentator; Alex Daoud, her father, is the former mayor of Miami Beach.) The overbroad order was apparently directly adapted from the proposed order submitted by Ms. Hyman's lawyers, Bernard Lebedeker and David Sholl.

I e-mailed the lawyers yesterday morning to ask whether they had a comment on the situation:

Dear Messrs. Lebedeker & Sholl:  I'm writing an item about the Hyman v. Daoud deindexing order [which I attached to the e-mail -EV], and in particular its purporting to bind not just Mr. Daoud (who agreed to it) but search engines and other site operators (which didn't).  I also noticed that Ms. Hyman (or someone working on her behalf) had apparently asked Google order – on the strength of this order order – to remove not just material that Mr. Daoud had posted, but also articles on the Miami Herald, CBS Miami, and The Real Deal sites, as well as some criticisms of Judge Paul Hyman that don't seem to come from Mr. Daoud.  See https://lumendatabase.org/notices/22289871?access_token=PmqlvB2uV55U65_hZwOt6A and https://lumendatabase.org/notices/22299229?access_token=akdiWrDzTNNkECqFuJpDzA .  Can you tell me a bit more, please, about the thinking behind the attempt to bind nonconsenting third parties, and to remove legitimate news coverage of the dispute?  Please let me know.  (I'm asking you given that the order was proposed as an attachment to your Oct. 30, 2020 motion.)  Many thanks,

Eugene Volokh

Author, Reason Magazine site, http://reason.com/volokh  Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law, http://www.law.ucla.edu/volokh

Here's a response I got this afternoon from Mr. Lebedeker:

I'm sorry, I don't know who you are or why you are sending this.  I am placing you on my block sender's list, please do not contact me again.

Bernard A. Lebedeker, Esq.

Well, all right then, though I'm not sure how I could have been clearer about who I was and why I was sending my message.

Comments

[Libertymike]

Classic "Do you know who I am?".

[Eugene Volokh]

Libertymike: Isn't classic "do you know who I am?" when someone doesn't identify himself, but expects people to know who they are?

[Libertymike]

Yes, what you describe often manifests itself amongst the scions of wealthy Democrat solons, B list celebrities, officious party panjandrums, and certain creatures of the kritarchy apprehended for suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

OTOH, the phenomenon I describe is also real.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

I see the problem. You addressed it to Messrs. Lebedeker & Sholl. You should have addressed it to Mr Streisand.

[MaverickNH]

My Blocked Senders List and our Corporate SPAM filters lets through emails entitled “Hot Girls are Waiting for You to Call." So, it’s worth another try...

[Eric VonSalzen]

According to Lebedeker's professional website, he's one of the "Best Lawyers in America". I bet that within a day or two there will be a lot of Volokh readers who will NOT be impressed by that claim. He's not on my short list.

[Will Nonya]

Careful, they might try and erase you from the interwebs.

[Dilan Esper]

This is the point at which Prof. Volokh unsheaths his sword and says "so be it!".

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Or sweeps his hat towards thr ground, bows, and says "As you wish".

[Alpheus W Drinkwater]

At least he apologized for not knowing who you are even though you told him, and not knowing why you sent the email even though you told him that also.

[James K. Polk]

I'll bet he unfriended you as well.

I recommend Solarcaine® for the burn.

[Kazinski]

If they don't know they better axe somebody.

[Bill R]

I believe this is the "blah blah blah I can't hear you" approach to reasoned debate.

[Beth M]

So the morning after this is posted, it is the 38th item to appear on a Google search for “ Bernard A. Lebedeker”. I’m going to enjoy watching it rise in the rankings via the Streisand effect. Can it get to #1?

[2A Supporter]

3:20 PM Eastern it is #2 on DuckDuckGo, and now 37th on Google

[gormadoc]

Their entire website is in small caps. I can't believe anyone could stand reading it long enough to employ them.

[Dilan Esper]

I am rarely a fan of the people who immediately rush to make bar complaints about people in public disputes. State Bar regulation is important for a lot of reasons- but they don't exist to strip the bar license of anyone who conducts themselves badly in a political debate or public controversy.

But sending that e-mail in response to an affected party raising a complaint about a legal process initiated by the addressee lawyer- I'm sorry, that's just egregious. Indeed, I could see judges sanctioning a lawyer who did that.

A complaint to the State Bar attaching the e-mails and the relevant documentation would seem to me to be justified. At the very least, it might earn that lawyer a private reproval.