1 2 Mark Punzalan ( SBN: 247599) Email: markp@punzalanlaw.com Ft191) Heidi Kim (SBN: 247699) 3 SAN MATEO COUNTY Email: heidik@punzalanlaw.com PUNZALAN LAW, P. C. FEB 16 2010 4 600 Allerton St., Suite 200 5 Redwood City, CA 94063 6 Facsimile: 650- 362- 4151 7 Todd G. Cole ( to be admitted pro hac vice) 0", pi'- Telephone: 650- 362- 4150 COLE LAW GROUP, PC 8 9 10 750 Old Hickory Blvd. Building Two, Suite 202 Brentwood, TN 37027 Telephone: 615- 490- 6020 Facsimile: 615- 942- 5914 11 Counsel for Plaintiffs Jason Cross, a/ k/a Mikel Knight, 12 13 1203 Entertainment, LLC, and MDRST Marketing/Promotions, LLC 14 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 15 FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO 16 17 18 Unlimited Jurisdiction) JASON CROSS a/k/ a MIKEL KNIGHT; 1203 ENTERTAINMENT, LLC; and VERIFIED COMPLAINT FOR: MDRST Marketing/ Promotions, LLC; 19 1. 2. Plaintiffs, 20 3. VS. 21 22 23 FACEBOOK, INC., and DOES ONE through FIFTH, inclusive, Defendants, 4. 3344; and 5. Violation of Rights of Publicity, 6. California Common Law Unlawful and Unfair Business Practices in Violation of California 24 Business & Professions Code § 17200 25 26 Breach of Written Contract; Negligent Misrepresentation; Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Relations; Violation of California Civil Code § JURY TRIAL DEMANDED 27 28 COMPLAINT I 2 Plaintiffs Jason Cross Entertainment"), and a/ MDRST k/ a Mikel Knight (" Knight"), 1203 Entertainment, LLC (" 1203 Marketing/ Promotions, 3 LLC (" MDRST"), allege as follows: PARTIES 4 1. Plaintiff Jason Cross, a/ k/ a Mikel Knight, an individual, is a citizen and resident of 5 Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Knight is an American recording artist in the music genre of Country Rap, 6 and his stage name is Mikel Knight. 7 2. Plaintiff 1203 Entertainment is a Tennessee limited liability company with its 8 principal place of business at 14919 Lebanon Road, Suite B, Old Hickory, Tennessee 37138. 9 1203 Entertainment is in the business of managing and promoting recording artists, including 10 Knight. 11 3. business Plaintiff MDRST is a Tennessee limited liability company with its principal place 12 of 13 of 1203 Entertainment and handles 1203 Entertainment' s marketing, promotions, and distribution. 14 at 14919 Lebanon Rd, Ste E, Old 4. Hickory, Tennessee 37138. MDRST is a subsidiary Defendant Facebook, Inc. (" Facebook") is a corporation formed under the laws of 15 the State of Delaware with its principal place of business at 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, 16 California. 17 18 STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION 5. This Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to the California Constitution 19 Article XI, §10 20 Defendant transacted business and committed the alleged acts in California. Defendant is 21 headquartered in California and has systematically and continually conducted business in this 22 County. Additionally, the circumstances giving rise to this action occurred whole or in part in the 23 county in which this Court sits. 24 25 and under the California Code of Civil Procedure (" C. C. P") § 410. 10 because ALLEGATIONS COMMON TO ALL CAUSES OF ACTION 6. Mikel Knight is an American recording artist in the genre of Country Rap / Urban 26 Country. Knight' s music is available on streaming music services such as Spotify, and his music 27 videos are available on music video services such as Vevo. 28 1 COMPLAINT 1 7. As part of their marketing efforts, Knight and his record label, 1203 Entertainment, 2 have promoted and marketed Knight' s music and other 1203 Entertainment artists by selling 3 music directly to consumers. Toward this end, 1203 Entertainment, through its subsidiary now 4 known as MDRST, hired independent contractors to travel across the country to sell Knight' s 5 compact discs and merchandise to the public. These independent contractors sell merchandise 6 from vans distinctly emblazoned with the name and logo of the " Maverick Dirt Road Street Team,', 7 a reference to one of Knight' s stage names " The Maverick." 8 8. On or around June 9, 2014, in Daggett County, Utah, one of 1203 Entertainment' s 9 MDRST vans was involved in an accident. The van' s driver, an independent contractor for 1203 10 Entertainment, purportedly fell asleep while driving and crashed into a tree. The passenger, who 11 was also an independent contractor for 1203 Entertainment, sustained significant injuries. 12 One week later, on June 16, 2014, another 1203 Entertainment van was involved in 9. 13 an accident in Texa.s. Similar to the June 9th accident, the van' s driver, also an independent 14 contractor for 1203 Entertainment, fell asleep while driving, which led to accident in which the 15 vehicle rolled over. The two passengers, both of whom were also MDRST independent contractors. 16 were killed. 17 - 10. Although Knight was not present at the site of the June 2014 accidents, in June 18 2015, several relatives of the persons that died in these accidents filed lawsuits against Knight in 19 Tennessee state court. These lawsuits were later removed to the Middle District of Tennessee and 20 are currently pending. 21 Users Create Facebook Pages Inciting Violence Against Knight 22 11. Shortly after the June 2014 accidents, without Mikel Knight' s consent or 23 authorization, a Facebook group page using Mikel Knight' s name and likeness was created 24 entitled " 25 official Facebook page, which 1203 Entertainment created in August 2010. 26 Families Against Mikel Knight." 12. This page was entirely separate from Mikel Knight' s Based on information and belief, this unauthorized Facebook page was created by 27 persons related to the injured and deceased independent contractors in the June 9th and June 16th 28 accidents discussed above. The creators of the unauthorized Facebook page used the page as a 2 COMPLAINT 1 forum to post comments inciting violence and death threats against Knight and members of 1203 2 Entertainment. While many statements contained threats of physical violence, some statements 3 rose 4 Knight 5 also posted 6 commenter stated 7 the comments posted on the unauthorized Facebook page ( the names and pictures of the 8 commenters have been redacted). a to the level needed of death threats. to be " Took that if Knight 13. out," came For example, one commenter on the Facebook page stated that apparently a slang term for being murdered. One commenter to her state ( North that Knight " needs to be shot." Carolina), " they would be done." Another Attached hereto as Exhibit A is an example of In addition to the threats, many of the comments posted on the unauthorized 10 Facebook page contained false and derogatory statements about Knight and 1203 Entertainment. 11 For instance, commenters falsely claimed that Knight and 1203 Entertainment' s treatment of 12 independent 13 profit organization to which Knight donated as accepting " blood money" and falsely accused 14 Knight of exploiting " young kids." 15 contractors amounted 14. to " human trafficking." The commenters also attacked a non- As a direct result of the violent threats and false accusations on the unauthorized 16 Facebook page, MDRST independent contractors driving the MDRST vans across the country 17 have not only been verbally threatened but also physically assaulted. 18 15. For example, on June 22, 2015, in Mobile County, Alabama, Jason Richardson, a 19 1203 Entertainment independent contractor was working in a van emblazoned with the MDRST 20 logo. At approximately 11: 00 pm that evening, a group of people began rocking the MDRST van 21 and yelled at the persons inside the van. Persons within the mob of people asked Richardson if he 22 wanted to fight" and stated that MDRST was " doing stuff to kids" and that they " heard about it 23 on Facebook." 16. 24 In another incident on June 25, 2015, Mark Pena, another 1203 Entertainment 25 independent contractor in a MDRST van, was accosted at a gas station in Meridian, Mississippi by 26 a group of people in three trucks. The men yelled at Mr. Pena to get out of town within ten 27 minutes and called Pena and the other MDRST independent contractors " human traffickers" based 28 on information they " heard on Facebook." Mr. Pena also saw that one of the drivers had a pistol 3 COMPLAINT 1 on his lap. These were just two of the many examples of the assaults and threats encountered by 2 MDRST independent contractors. 3 The Unauthorized Facebook Page Hampers Knight' s Business Deals 4 17. In addition to these threats, the unauthorized Facebook page also severely impacted 5 Knight and 1203 Entertainment' s business deals. As one of the pioneers in the Country Rap / 6 Urban Country music genre, Knight created MDRST to market and promote Knight' s music. 7 MDRST has secured a number of lucrative business deals on behalf of Knight. The marketing and 8 promotions plan executed by MDRST was designed to build on its previous successes. Knight 9 laid down the foundation for MDRST to visit potential sales markets by performing 256 shows in 10 26 months. He then created the MDRST sales and marketing team, which sold an average of 11 40,000 CDs during each 26 -day sales cycle and was the quarterly average for the first three 12 quarters of 13 lucrative business deals involving his music. 14 2015. 18. In 2014 and 2015, Knight was in negotiations with numerous companies to sign However, a number of those companies halted business discussions with Knight 15 after viewing the false information on the unauthorized Facebook page. In November 2014, 1203 16 Entertainment began negotiating 17 record sales. 18 and music video products in the United States. Also, because SoundScan is the sales source for 19 the Billboard music charts, SoundScan is the largest source of sales records in the music industry. 20 19. with Nielsen SoundScan (" SoundScan") to track Mikel Knight' s SoundScan is one of the leading information and sales tracking companies for music SoundScan had been involved discussions with Knight and 1203 Entertainment to 21 buy a mobile application from 1203 Entertainment that could track sales from Knight' s mobile 22 record stores. After significant negotiations lasting months, SoundScan pulled out of the deal and 23 specifically stated that it could not do business with Knight because of the allegations on the 24 unauthorized Facebook page. Because SoundScan would not do any business with Knight, 25 Knight' s music stayed off the Billboard charts for an entire year. Had it not been for the 26 allegations on the unauthorized Facebook page, Knight' s music would have placed in the Top Ten 27 on the Hip Hop and Country charts and appeared in Billboard magazine. Instead, Knight' s music 28 was denied this prestigious recognition, resulting in the loss of publicity and sales. 2 COMPLAINT 1 20. Moreover, in December 2014, Knight was in the negotiations with the Dallas 2 Cowboys, the National Football League team, to play Knight' s hit song " Cowboy Way" at the 3 Cowboys' home games. As part of this deal, Knight would also give out 50, 000 iTunes cards to 4 Cowboys fans to download " Cowboy Way" for free. However, based on information and belief, 5 the Cowboys viewed the unauthorized Facebook page during negotiations and decided to halt 6 further negotiations. One person from the Cowboys organization also specifically told Knight and 7 stated, " 8 Cowboys again. 9 We don' t 21. want to business with people like you," and instructed Knight to not call the Additionally, the unauthorized Facebook pages contained comments inviting 10 people to look out for the MDRST vans by falsely claiming the vans were involved in apparent 11 kidnapping attempts. For example, in one post, a commenter posted a picture of an MDRST van 12 and informed the public to call the police because persons in the van were " taking snatching [ sic] 13 people 14 distinctive branding, were stopped by law enforcement in numerous states, including Georgia, 15 Michigan, and Alabama. Although none of the MDRST independent contractors were involved in 16 any wrongdoing, law enforcement expressed their anger with MDRST independent contractors 17 with the number of calls. In one incident in Alabama, one police officer angrily told a 1203 18 Entertainment that " if we get another call, we will take you straight to jail." 19 up." 22. As a result of these false comments, numerous MDRST vans, because of their Moreover, numerous police departments were forced to issue warnings on social 20 media (including Facebook) that the kidnapping accusations were false and for citizens not to call 21 911. 22 " In Nahunta, Georgia, the Brantley County police instructed people to not call 911 because the Facebook warning that is circulating about this van involved in a kidnapping is false." See 23 Exhibit B. 24 Facebook Refuses to Disable the Unauthorized Mikel Knight Page In Violation of Its 25 Terms of Service 26 23. In August 2010; Knight created his own authorized Facebook page. When he 27 created his page, Knight accepted Facebook' s Terms of Service; which specifically prohibit the 28 type of harassing and violent speech Knight encountered. Specifically, the Terms of Service state: 5 COMPLAINT I a. " You will not bully, intimidate, or harass any user." 2 b. " You will not post content that: is hate speech, threatening, or pornographic: or] incites violence..." 3[ 4 C. " 5 or discriminatory." d. " 6 8 e. " 12 " If you repeatedly infringe other people' s intellectual property rights, we will disable your account when appropriate." 9 11 You will not post content or take any action on Facebook that infringes or violates someone else' s rights or otherwise violates the law." 7 10 You will not use Facebook to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious, 24. Moreover, the Terms of Service also specifically incorporates " supplemental terms' associated with the Facebook application. In another supplemental term found in Facebook' s Community Standards" section, Facebook also states the following: 13 We remove content, disable accounts, and work with law enforcement when we believe 14 15 16 there is a genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety." 25. As part of the supplemental terms, Facebook also prohibited the creation of pages using another user' s likeness without the user' s authorization. As the supplemental terms state: 17 18 You agree to use your authentic name and identity. You may not publish the personal information of others without their consent. 19 20 21 Facebook also prohibits users from infringing on the Intellectual Property of other users. 26. Despite these representations, Facebook has refused to disable the unauthorized Facebook page. On June 5, 2015, Knight and 1203 Entertainment, through their counsel, sent a 22 letter to Facebook demanding that Facebook remove the unauthorized Facebook page pursuant to 23 24 25 26 the Terms of Service. Plaintiffs contacted Facebook to stem the physical harm to 1203 Employees and to halt the significant impact on Knight and 1203 Entertainment' s business. 27. As of June 22, 2015, Facebook had not responded to the June 5th letter. To prevent further harm, Knight and 1203 Entertainment filed a Petition for Pre -Litigation Discovery 27 28 6 COMPLAINT I( 2 hereinafter, the " Petition") in the Circuit Court of Davidson County, Tennessee, to obtain information about the individuals that had incited violence against Plaintiffs. 3 28. On June 30, 2015, Facebook responded to Plaintiff' s June 5th letter and stated that 4 it 5 response, Plaintiffs sent a response to Facebook providing affidavits and evidence detailing the 6 physical harm faced by Knight and MDRST independent contractors. 7 8" 9 10 11 was " not 29. in a position to act on the reported content," and refused to remove the page. In On July 8, 2015, Facebook told Plaintiffs that the unauthorized Facebook page had already been removed from Facebook." However, this was entirely false. As of July 9, 2015 the unauthorized Facebook page was not removed from Facebook and was completely available for public access, even to persons without a Facebook account. 30. On July 15, 2015, Facebook sent another letter informing Plaintiffs that it should 12 seek recourse against the parties that posted the comments inciting violence. However, Facebook 13 would not provide the names of the perpetrators. Again, Facebook refused to take down the 14 unauthorized Facebook page. 15 31. By December 2015, it appeared that Facebook had disabled the original 16 unauthorized Facebook page. However, as of the filing of this Complaint, Facebook two 17 unauthorized Facebook pages using Knight' s likeness continue to be accessible to the public: 18 19 " 20 " 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Jason cross aka mikel knight" https:// www.facebook.com/ pao,es/ Jason- cross- aka-mikel- kni.ght/ 8063972093 85065 Prove yourself Jason Cross aka Mikel Knight" https://, Aww.facebook. com/ paties[. rove- yourself.-Jason- Cross- aka- Mikel- Kni ght/ ]51027849918 63 06 32. In comparison, other social media sites have taken down content that has harassed or incited violence against Knight. For example, on June 5, 2015, Plaintiffs also requested that Pinterest, an interactive computer service ( like Facebook), take down similarly violent threats to Knight. On June 24, 2015, Pinterest removed this content. Plaintiffs alerted Pinterest on August 4. 2015, that additional violent comments were posted to Pinterest, and Pinterest immediately removed the new content on August 11, 2015. 28 7 COMPLAINT 1 33. By refusing to disable the unauthorized Facebook pages, Facebook has engaged in 2 conduct that has and will continue to cause significant physical harm to Knight and MDRST 3 independent contractors. Indeed, Plaintiffs have informed Facebook with affidavits stating the 4 level of physical harm. But by refusing to disable the pages, Facebook acted with a willful and 5 conscious disregard for the safety of Knight and MDRST independent contractors. 6 34. Moreover, it appears that Facebook has refused to take down the unauthorized 7 Facebook pages because of the potential loss of advertising revenue. Facebook generates 8 approximately 80% 9 in advertising revenue. Because Facebook continues to place ads on all the unauthorized of its revenue from advertising, and in 2014, Facebook generated $ 10 billion 10 Facebook pages, Facebook has refused to disable the unauthorized Facebook pages to continue 11 generating revenue at the expense of Knight' s likeness. 12 FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION 13 14 15 16 Breach of Written Contract by Plaintiff Knight) 35. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate by reference all paragraphs above, as though fully set forth in this cause of action. 36. In exchange for Knight signing up with Facebook, Knight and Facebook entered 17 into a contract as a Facebook user and accepted Facebook' s Terms of Service. These Terms of 18 Service provided numerous prohibitions to protect and benefit Knight, other Facebook users, and 19 others who interacted with Facebook. These prohibitions included, among other things: 20 21 22 23 a. The bullying, intimidation, and harassment of other users; b. Hate speech, or other speech that would invite violence; c. Actions that are unlawful, misleading, or malicious; d. The infringement or violation of someone else' s rights or otherwise violates 24 the law; and 25 26 27 e. 37. The infringement of other people' s intellectual property rights. The Terms of Service also specifically incorporate supplemental terms by which Facebook expressly promised Plaintiff to remove content and disable accounts where there is a 28 8 COMPLAINT 1 risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety. The supplemental terms also prohibit the 21 creation of pages of using another user' s likeness without the user' s information. 3 38. By refusing to disable the unauthorized Facebook pages, Facebook has violated the 4 Terms of Service and has breached the Terms of Service. This failure to meet the promises and 5 obligations of Facebook' s written promises constitutes an express breach of contract. 6 39. As a result of Facebook' s breach, Plaintiff has suffered damages. 7 SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION 8 9 10 11 12 Negligent Misrepresentation by Plaintiff Knight) 40. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate by reference all paragraphs above, as though fully set forth in this cause of action. 41. In August 2010, Facebook represented to Knight in its Terms of Service that the following types of conduct were prohibited: 13 14 15 16 a. The bullying, intimidation, and harassment of other users; b. Hate speech, or other speech that would invite violence; c. Actions that are unlawful, misleading, or malicious; d. The infringement or violation of someone else' s rights or otherwise violates 17 the law; and 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 e. 42. The infringement of other people' s intellectual property rights. Facebook also expressly promised Plaintiff that it would remove content and disable accounts where there is a risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety. The supplemental terms also prohibit the creation of pages of using another user' s likeness without the user' s information. 43. Facebook' s representations, however, were not true. As a Facebook user, Knight experienced bullying, intimidation, and harassment from other users, the infringement of his likeness, and language intended to incite violence. Facebook has not removed the content or disabled accounts with this speech. 27 28 9 COMPLAINT 1 At the time in made these representations, Facebook had no reasonable grounds for 44. 2 believing it would remove content or disable accounts where users experienced the prohibited 3 conduct. 4 5 45. Facebook intended that Knight rely on its representations when Knight signed up for Facebook. 6 46. 7 Facebook. 8 47. As detailed herein, Knight has been harmed and has suffered damages. 9 48. Knight' s reliance on Facebook' s representation was a substantial factor in causing 10 Knight reasonably relied on Facebook' s representation when signing up for his harm. 11 THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Relations 12 ( by Plaintiffs Knight and 1203 Entertainment) 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 49. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate by reference all paragraphs above, as though fully set forth in this cause of action. 1 50. As detailed in Paragraphs 17 and 18 above, Knight and 1203 Entertainment were involved in various business negotiations involving SoundScan and the Dallas Cowboys organization. Both deals would have resulted in a future economic benefit to Knight and 1203 Entertainment. 51. Because Knight was a recording artist, Facebook knew or should have known about these business relationships. 52. Facebook should have known that these relationships would be disrupted if it failed to act with reasonable care. 53. Facebook failed to act with reasonable care by not disabling the unauthorized Facebook pages. 54. Facebook engaged in wrongful conduct in not removing or disabling the unauthorized Facebook pages. 27 28 10 COMPLAINT 1 2 55. Facebook' s failure to act with reasonable care disrupted Knight and 1203 Entertainment' s business relationships. 3 56. Plaintiffs were harmed. 4 57. Facebook' s wrongful conduct was a substantial factor in causing Plaintiffs' harm. 5 FOURTH CAUSE OF ACTION 6( Violation of Deprivation of Rights of Publicity 3344 by Plaintiff Knight) California Civil Code § 7 58. 8 9 Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate by reference all paragraphs above, as though fully set forth in this cause of action. 59. 10 Facebook has knowingly and intentionally utilized Knight' s likeness on the authorized Facebook pages without Knight' s consent. 11 60. 12 Facebook has used Knight' s name and likeness for the purpose of advertising on the unauthorized Facebook pages. 13 61. 14 As a result of Facebook' s misappropriation of Knight' s publicity rights, Knight has ben injured. 15 FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION 16 Violation of Rights of Publicity, California Common Law by Plaintiff Knight) 17 18 19 20 21 62. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate by reference all paragraphs above, as though fully set forth in this cause of action. 63. Facebook has utilized and continues to utilize the names, likeness and identity of Knight in the unauthorized Facebook pages without Knight' s consent and for Facebook' s own 22 commercial advantage. 23 SIXTH CAUSE OF ACTION 24 ( Unlawful and Unfair Business Practices in Violation Code § of California Business & Professions 17200 by Both Plaintiffs) 25 26 27 64. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate by reference all paragraphs above, as though fully set forth in this cause of action. 28 11 COMPLAINT 1 2 3 "[ 4 5 65. prohibits The Unfair Competition Act (UCA), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § any " unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business practice..." 17200 et seq., Section 17203 provides that a] ny person who engages, has engaged or proposes to engage in unfair competition may be enjoined in any court of competent jurisdiction." 66. By these actions described herein, Defendant engaged in unfair competition in 6 violation of 7 17500, et seq. As. a result, Plaintiffs have suffered and will continue to suffer damage to its 8 business, reputation, and goodwill. 9 67. the statutory law of the state of California, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200 and Defendant has engaged in unlawful and unfair business practices within the 10 meaning 11 alleged herein. As a result of Defendant' s actions and omissions, Plaintiff has suffered injury -in - 12 fact and has lost money or property. 13 of 68. California Business & Professions Code § 17200, et seq. by virtue of the misconduct Defendant' s unlawful and unfair practices include, but are not limited to: 14 a. Breach of Contract; 15 b. Negligent Misrepresentation; 16 c. Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Relations; 17 d. Violation 18 e. Violation of the Knight' s Rights of Publicity under California Common 19 20 of California Civil Code § 3344; Law. 69. Defendant' s business practices are unfair because they offend established public 21 policy and/ or are immoral, unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous and or substantially injurious to 22 Plaintiffs. The justification for Defendant' s conduct is outweighed by the gravity of the 23 consequences to Plaintiff. Defendant can provide no adequate justification for its wrongful 24 conduct. 25 26 70. Pursuant to Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17203, Knight seeks equitable and injunctive relief and disgorgement of all ill-gotten gains as set forth herein. 27 28 12 COMPLAINT 1 PRAYER FOR RELIEF 2 WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray for relief and judgment against Defendant as follows: 3 A. For damages 4 B. For the restitution and disgorgement of monies unjustly retained by Defendant in 5 the amount; 6 C. For punitive damages; 7 D. For preliminary and permanent injunctive relief; 8 E. For attorneys' fees and expenses pursuant to all applicable laws; 9 F. For prejudgment interest; and 10 G. For such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper. 11 12 DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL Plaintiffs hereby demand a jury trial on all claims. 13 Dated: February 16, 2016 LAN L W, P. C. 14 G 15 16 L Mark 17 Todd G. Cole ( to be admitted pro hac vice) COLE LAW GROUP, PC 18 19 Counsel for Plaintiffs Jason Cross, a/k/ a Mikel Knight, 1203 Entertainment, LLC, and 20 MDRST Marketing/Promotions, LLC 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 13 COMPLAINT EXHIBIT A Exhibit A Page 1 of 4 This Guy [ Knight] Needs to be Took [ sic] Out[.]" ( June 29, 2015) ilist y NledsrobaTaolcQut bine 23 at 10 _SOrm Someone needs to give him [Knight] a [sic] old fashion whipping." June 27, 2015) redden am ei1lppbrd 2 • June 27 a: 11: 32pm Y] ou and your crews 0. better stay out of Henderson county Tx dope head[.]" ( June 24, 2015) you ead yovCfM b W altepaldar lienielsal ooumy Tx dope heed I live in NC and 1 • June 24 at tt:4a= I' m telling you, if these guys came this way ....They would be Done." ( June 24, 2015) r eft 1._ 7trey 1 flue to No end rMtemw you. U uleeaglrys aons vuM bs eons. f reef bad for ompaepta ftytmmb endure men W o leaf A/ GSi ` ' ,' I bn dds • blaltress'. I JUj* Continued on next 24 m 11: 35Am page) Js rest 01 i;` 1 Exhibit A Page 2 of 4 T] his guy [ Mikel Knight] needs to be shot[.]" ( June 23, 2015) FandUes AgaUat Mel Knight cold the NDRST shafwd ININWOMMt Pte. Am 23 at 3: 51 t m nQNSIMM ftardfies Agahat erifite! KnlWd and the tNOIW name to 1 am 21 years aid tmm Jettarsan Cay mo, l reoerdly got oda a bkftd % th mcney, and I bund a ad an CFWgdtat tot a job working in the music business and as I applied. l got the job tmm a guy by the Mello my MUM at Allen be, they paid for me to get up there handl Allen We. who, raid rite not to res anyorke about 4 so I agreed. When 1 gat to Nashvise 1 had to deep an the sueels before they pinked me up, they shEk ire Into a hotel nom toy t1w days batbra 1 could start aa& they had pnnrdsed to help gat a car mikd otiered a phone and hehp to get my awn place. I !body got the cell to go to woo 1 dove his ven yeaterday . we shaded at 12:30 pm yesterday and didn't gat in 4112.00 this untag, eve are parked at 99IbININNIIIIIIIIIi• united States 1 started askbtg questions I arcked crit kdd what d v= oke he said we get up at B•.so and sen CDs a9 day for 18 !fauns. Then they restock every couple days, he said that they have a quota everyday. i asked vAW hsawns it u doral get ur quota he said u altwdd just get o Wa better tar evarymue . Mtkd sails weed to the n to laeep then broke which hevesWith noUmV. Omse people are scared.! evam to help. l got out of there, this guy to crazy as two, he traps young vulnerable ratan he makes thorn work more d they don't comedian right. %itch takes away toad and shouxars . In the meanwhile this 9W is playing baaatbe8 in his huge affica wth his little buddies he nom ods heD uffli frit almost term to cell the cops and hate all these kids arrested for as the marquarum they have. . this guy needs to be stmt Lake • Comme+e • Share h, tea, What' s your and Stlttmrs due Oda. deleted> lanky < expletive gonna do other than get beat up?" ( June 22, 2015, in response to a statement made by a MDRST member) d 1rr gpnrta record usheYetbe balm m putttlu taceandrertma_ I.atrghlrtg at u tre¢ere 1 • June 22 a: t t: 0aprrk Hide is Repetla f VWhaUsyour skyangonna doother then getboo ISO 5•A . mo 22 3111 Maybe you know the group of boys that came around here in a mdrst van and got their expletive deleted> kicked then[.]" ( June 22, 20B, in response to a comment made by a girlfriend of a MDRST member) fStawwwww voybe yon k owthe group at boys Und atne 8atald t1Hfe bl B tIdIN: 1181 ardgot t11Btt 8eam11drJtad then June 22 at Y_Otpm John cross .Jason cross whatever he's a punk cowboy wanna be.who needs to be put in his place.but he' s a scared little who won't come out of the bus he has his pic plastered all over it.when they came to neosho mo.a couple of his boy wanted to fight at Exhibit A Page 3 of 4 Casey' s so I obliged them.one of me and ten of them but no mikel night they ran like scared rabbits when the cops came to escort them out of town .come on back y'all and bring mikel with you and koolwhip or donut or whatever your dumb names are .this the show deleted> me state < expletive we will be waiting[.]" ( June 20, 2015) tomJlolmaoss. k= am aA»>tam tee's a pu* an* W momma be es4toheads to bepat b ht3 o1mbut herea scared WeMede %W = ft cases aetaf the bate hn Ids pb pmatiered a9 oyer tteademe thayesraetn reeoslto mos anepia a! Ids boy euanW to tight m Cae6t/ a m t obbged tttmnawof me and tencf dwn wtemt a" bd = a" nightttteyranelmscaW rabmm she a> psemreto asoestlhmn aaotm+m. 00meon ba dc artd brh+g whh you aro kwWdp m doted cr attsmw yctadw b ass rates are ids tfa steoar me mem bi dr ote mora ba+va5h+® 16 • Jure 20 ea 7: 40prn He [ Knight] needs to be kicked in the midsection HARD[.]" ( June 20, 2015) 1PWMWW1tnWWbUC1vd11tW mileactboIMM 0 • June 20 of 6:50pm I hope this mangoes to jail soon or that these mom's against him just start looting and burning his trucks down[.]" ( June 19, 2015) 1 Irapa tltls rren goeam 1a6 soon cr tem these mom's. egaLem idtrrpmtmmt loottetg and twrebeg Itta awr®aoat Jung 19 at 10:49= In North West Arkansas we should start a " Woop MK Street Team[.]',, June 19, 2015) ttl• EMEMe in Mach Wem Aelo3 am we dhodd mart a liltaop UK Asa 8ttw Team' 3 • June 19 at t 1: 32am Yea this guy [ Knight] is trash. I worked for him I wish I woulda just ran his over." ( June 19, 2015) IS AUMMMMYeattdspryYnde. lWftdtarhltn11dsh1wcuta ptmm Ida assater. H9ftW cr had meteor hW ALOTG1 mytrtemb. We ho beat_ 2 • Jure 18 of 820am He's [ Mikel Knight] just a < expletive deleted> that hides behind his crew. I'd go toe to toe with him any day." ( June 3, 2015) Unnomew hadaw a pmsay teat tides bmdtdhas aeaa: m po we tome Va bbt owday. 2 - June 3 at 5:09pm He [Mikel Knight] threatens the boys and there family's so they are scared. I'd like to meet him and show him how a real man whoops < expletive deleted>[.]" ( June 3, 2015) stir He Reade tee boys and thme tmd ft eo than are scared Pd t+ 3tetio tneel Idrte mer! slto+o Idm hm alsel man MCtoaps aas 14 • June 3 a1 4: 29pm Exhibit A Page 4 of 4 We are doing our best to keep up with his vans and keep them ran out of Arkansas!" ( 2, 2015) YYe emdoing ota bestb beep w lr Idsvans hseptiten ren aA of RrtOatsast I - June 2 at 7:56pm That's what I am thinking y don't someone just give them a good kicking[.]" ( May 21, 2015) 7ttal'a tilted l am tlr6dun9 ydomt Samsons Arts give them a good ass were to t] tetotrat t wodc t0dap are irtt>rc stop fn Idddng-' lfteea 8 Cwftidao K%bwstm I we Umm venin 1 ungeft bdaapa 901 rid of ibsm t ank gP 2 • Mev 2 t ai 8: 14am 1. M M June EXHIBIT Brantley Beacen MS: Ngmm??a, QA w: ATTENTION: Brantiey County 911. office wouid like to notify the public that the Facebook warning that is circulating about this. van i'nvoived in a kidnapping is false. ?We understand everyane is concerned, but we. want everyone to know that this is false and there is no need to can 911*? stated a spokespersen for Brantley County 911.. . Again, the reports are false about this van, but piease call 911 if youlhave an emergency. a -- -f9r?goin'g {tingim?m ?ts truecowmm MRIFC VL ION OF 1203 ENTEP TA114MENI' LLC. 29AC I certifv and declare that I bave rea thefibregoingComplaint and know L.tk undersi 3it s contents. 1 am..tb.e President LLC a Tennes:s'e'e limited .liability .. company.,am auth6rind.to make thisx6rification for and:on its own be441f, and I make.,this verification forthat reason. dted, jn 7. I ain informedand believe and' on th6t: ground e that.the matters thc: t ore 6inl-,d6cumen t are true. Fxe6uted on Febr'uary. 2016; atHermitage, Tennessee. Ideclare undbiri)enaltyof,peijuryunder tfie laws of theStateof Californi a' that 9 fore gIQ in 9 is true andcorrect.: v-----Jason. 2 14. 16' P. 18 20 21- 23 25 26 27 13 CONVIAVNt, c the I __ VERIFICATION OF MDRST MARKETING,1 PROMOTIONS. LLC 1. the -undersigned, certify and declare that I have read the foregoing Complaint and know its contents. I am the Senior Vice President of MDRSTMarkedng/ Promotion5, LI,C., a 4 Tennessee limited liability company, both parties to this action, am authorized to make this verification for and on its behalf, and I make this verification for that reason. laminformed and 6 believe and on that ground allege that the matters stated in the foregoing document are true. 7 I-'-'xccuted on February 2016, at Hermitage, Tennessee. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the to fore. oing is true and correct. Phomas n3i eston 12 13 14 16 17. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 16 CONIPIANT