Today my super awesome legal team at LSKS filed a response to the Fireclean v. Tuohy lawsuit. You may read the Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss here.
To condense the positions:
– Fireclean filed in Virginia, but cannot establish a reasonable justification for a Virginia court to have jurisdiction over me;
– Most of my statements were either not defamatory or opinions protected by the First Amendment;
– Despite saying the word “malice” a lot, they are unable to allege or prove any actual malice – that is, that I published anything either knowing it was false or seriously doubting that it was true, and without actual malice (which is a specific legal term defined by the landmark Supreme Court case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan) they have no case. This may be due to the fact that I absolutely believed, and still believe, everything I published on this matter to be true.
– They claim there was a concerted action between Everett Baker and myself to injure their business, but have no facts to show that any such plan ever existed.
Donations to the GoFundMe account have been exceptionally helpful in a number of ways. Your continued donations will help ensure full victory in this great and noble undertaking.
I’ll get the popcorn.
I still haven’t received the T-shirt offered for my LAST contribution to the legal fund.
If this issue is not addressed I may be compelled to seek legal remedy.
Yes, I’m just shitting you. Good luck. 🙂
–Andrew, @LawSelfDefense
Its your own fault for an unfortunate choice of first name.
What a bunch of Frog Lube…
~Hassan
1) Fireclean submitted a patent application, as found here:
https://www.google.com/patents/CA2867869A1
2) The patent describes the mixture as containing at least 3 separate oils, with 100% of FIREclean being a mixture of these at least 3 oils.
3) The oils each have a smoke point above 200degrees fahrenheit in the following list:
almond
avocado
canola
corn
cottonseed
flax
grapeseed
jojoba
olive
peanut
ricebran
safflower
sesame
sunflower
walnut
4) HOWEVER, the smoke point MUST be between 480degrees and 580degrees
5) The ONLY oils from the above list which are in the above temperature range are:
Rice bran oil
Safflower oil
Avocado oil
Jojoba oil
Grapeseed oil
6) The above is NOT a “proprietary” mixture that they claim in their press release. Rather, the above composition is ENTIRELY defined in their patent application.
7) The above is NOT a “trade secret”. A trade secret is the composition of Coca Cola, or KFC batter recipe. These trade secrets are NOT patented, because the very nature of the patent is revealing the so-called “invention” so that you can prosecute infringers. The Suggs made the INCORRECT decision to patent their mixture, instead of keeping their formula as an undisclosed secret recipe.
8) The Suggs can not have their cake and eat it too. Either you patent something and have the formula public but protected by patent law, OR you keep it a secret and hope that nobody figures out your recipe.
Tuohy didn’t even need to do spectral analysis, all he had to do was deduce the recipe with the patent application itself, which I think is more damning.
Why would anyone buy FIREclean with a huge markup and instead just mix rice bran oil, safflower oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, and grapeseed oil?
For those wondering,
safflower $0.17/ounce
rice bran $0.21/ounce
avocado $0.37/ounce
jojoba $0.91/ounce
grapeseed $0.26/ounce
total: $0.38/ounce, ASSUMING each is 20% of the mixture. However, perhaps to save cost, perhaps it’s only 10% jojoba, 20% avocado, 30% safflower, 20% rice bran, 20% grapeseed, which changes price to:
total: $0.31/ounce
Amazon price for FIREclean two 2-ounce bottles: $30 for 4 ounces total
total: $7.50/ounce.
If the patent describes the mixture as safflower+rice bran+avocado oils, then the markup is OVER 20-times the cost of ingredients to FIREclean, and they probably have a bulk discount too, further driving down their costs.
Do people TRULY want to pay 20x what it costs to mix the above 3 oils?
I am not sure how broad their patent is, but it seems like it is very broad, and encompasses the use of a combination of 3 or more of the above oils in many different concentrations.
Does the patent even include any preservative to prevent premature oil degradation?
**************************************************
FireCLEAN might ONLY use a combination of rice bran oil, safflower oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, and grapeseed oil!!!
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With one caveat. That Fireclean filed a patent application is no guarantee that they actually sell a product that practices the claimed invention.
So, effectively, these “gentlemen” simply want to diesel you through the legal system with little hope of actually winning anything. It would appear that the malice is being directed towards you, AT. What utter lowlifes they are showing themselves to be.
Actually, by claiming that you went after them with malice in mind and as part of a “smear” campaign. They have slandered and defamed you. I would go after them, personally.
If you are being sued for so called defamation and libel based on your research and information of FireClean, then why don’t your lawyer just ask in court what is the formula of oil used in FireClean. In other words, prove it is not just vegetable oil, but some other oil formula, which they must disclose to prove you wrong in court. At that point, most likely, they will drop the case!!!