I agree. They have filed 75 lawsuits since March?
It sounds like they are trying to make their revenue from lawsuits. I hope they don’t keep getting away with this.
They are probably betting that most of these entities will just settle than spend money on lawyers and going to trial.
I also want to note that none of the Copyright notice notifications on that site, such as “Copyright © Stephens Media LLC 1997 - 2010” are links that describe what they consider fair use or distribution limitations. A member of the general public who wants to share the article has NO guidance from that website as to limitations of sharing. The only indication a general citizen has as to the paper’s opinion of what it limits in sharing is the links the paper provides to share the aritlce. In other words, they encourage article sharing.
This isn’t an attack on Free Republic as it is an attack on all citizens on the Internet who want to provide commentary on news.
Is there an anti-SLAPP statute in CA? You might want to check into it. Also see if your state has an office for going after people who file frivolous lawsuits. In my state they do, and they prosecute several of these malicious attorneys each year.