(TheIndependentStar.com) – In one of the funnier episodes of today’s technology-enhanced dating scene, a California man has filed a lawsuit against over 50 women because they shared negative reviews about their dates with him on a Facebook page called “Are We Dating The Same Guy.”
Stewart Lucas Murrey is demanding $2.6 million in damages because of the native stories shared about him, The New York Post reports.
At the same time, Murrey is said by the women to be using the lawsuit as a means to intimidate them. They have petitioned the court to dismiss his claims.
Recently, a Los Angeles civil court judge ruled in favor of Vanessa Valdez, one of the women sued by Murrey.
The judge decided that Valdez was within her rights to express her opinion of Murrey in the widely followed online forum.
Another defendant, Kelly Gibbons, recounted her unsettling first real-life encounter with Murrey when he personally delivered the lawsuit to her home while recording the event on his phone, an experience she found quite disturbing.
“It was pretty eerie. He was filming with his cellphone, walking in. I don’t know who wouldn’t get creeped out by that,” she is quoted as saying.
The women involved in this lawsuit are hopeful that this judicial decision will serve as a deterrent against any future attempts by Murrey to leverage the legal system in his favor.
They are resorting to California’s anti-SLAPP statutes, which are designed to prevent frivolous lawsuits aimed at suppressing free speech.
The judge, having found no proof of a conspiracy against Murrey, approved an anti-SLAPP motion.
This legal move blocks the misuse of the legal system to silence the accused women, according to FOX 11 LA. Anti-SLAPP stands for “strategic lawsuit against public participation.”
Kelly Gibbons initiated the discussion regarding Murrey on the Los Angeles branch of the “Are We Dating The Same Guy?” Facebook group following a brief interaction with him via a dating application and subsequent text messages.
After a phone conversation with Murrey that left Gibbons feeling uneasy, she chose not to meet him in person and felt compelled to warn others about his objectionable behavior.
The “Are We Dating The Same Guy” Facebook group, established in New York City in 2022, is a component of a broader network of forums where women exchange stories about negative dating experiences in their cities.
The Los Angeles chapter alone boasts around 53,000 members. At the time Gibbons made her post, the group had approximately 10,000 members.
Her post prompted other women to share their adverse encounters with Murrey, including screenshots from dating apps and descriptions of in-person dates.
The judge presiding over Murrey’s case concluded on Monday that, based on the evidence presented, it was unlikely that Murrey would succeed in his legal claims against the defendants.
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