IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
SAMUEL JOHNSON )
and JILL JOHNSON, )
Plaintiff )
v. )
KATHY GRIFFIN, )
Defendant )
Complaint
* * *
4. Plaintiff
Samuel Johnson (“Samuel”) is a citizen of Franklin, TN. Prior to late April 2023, Samuel was the CEO
of VisuWell, Inc., a Tennessee healthcare tech start-up with its principal
place of business in Nashville, TN.
5. Plaintiff
Jill Johnson (“Jill”) is a citizen of Franklin, TN.
6. Defendant,
Kathy Griffin (“Griffin”), is a California citizen; she has resided there for
more than 40 years and owns a house in Los Angeles County, California. She has
not resided outside of Los Angeles County since moving to California in 1979.
She is a comedian, actress, celebrity, and political activities. She has more
than two million Twitter followers, an unknown number of whom are in Tennessee;
she posts about everything from comedy to politics. She has a long career doing
comedy tours, returning from all tours to her home Los Angeles County,
California; her comedy touring has stopped since 2019, when her Twitter post
suggested violence against then-President Donald Trump, by depicting her
holding the president’s severed head. Prior to 2019, Griffin performed at
colleges and comedy clubs across the United States, including in Nashville,
Knoxville, and Memphis.
* * *
8. On
April 24, 2023, Samuel and Jill were having dinner at a hotel in Franklin. A
group of forty to fifty teenagers from a Nashville high school were taking prom
pictures in a courtyard near the restaurant.
9. When
the noise level disturbed Samuel and other customers, he approached the group’s
chaperone and asked him to get the teens to settle down.
10. One
of the teens, a young male student from the school wearing a red prom dress,
overheard the request and confronted Samuel. Another student, apparently the
first student’s boyfriend and also student at the school, video-recorded the
encounter.
11. During
the encounter, Samuel told the student who confronted him that he “looks like
an idiot in that dress.” Samuel regrets the comment, although the student
clearly sought to goad him into a negative reaction.
12. Samuel
and Jill left the hotel soon after to have dinner elsewhere.
13. The
student’s boyfriend posted the video to TikTok, from which users downloaded the
video and reposted it to other social media sites, including Twitter.
14. On
April 25, the chairman of VisuWell, having become aware of the video, assured Samuel
the company would stand by him.
15. On
the morning of April 26, Griffin retweeted the video to her two million
followers, adding the comment “If this is Sam Johnson of Nashville, Tennessee,
the CEO of VisWell, healthcare-tech growth strategist, married to Jill Johnson
where they reside in Franklin, Tennessee, it seems like he’s dying to be online
famous.” The retweet included a caption from a previous post reading
“Homophobic POS in Tennessee harasses a teenager for wearing a dress to prom.”
The tweet tagged VisuWell’s Twitter account (tags send a tweet to the tagged
user and allowed readers to link directly and comment to the company’s Twitter
feed).
16. Later
on April 26, the student’s boyfriend (who recorded the incident) tweeted at
Griffin, thanking her for helping the video go “viral.” Griffin responded that
she was “grateful” he filmed and said she would do anything she could to help.
17. Two
hours later, Griffin tweeted two pictures of Samuel’s face with the caption
“Who is? THIS Sam Johnson of Franklin Tennessee.”
18. Several
VisuWell customers—via social media and other methods of
communication—condemned Samuel and threatened to reevaluate their business
ties.
19. Later
on April 26, VisuWell fired Samuel and announced the firing in a reply to
Griffin’s original tweet.
20. Griffin
responded in the same thread, asking if VisuWell had removed Samuel from the
Board of Directors and what “measures” VisuWell was taking. Her tweet added
“keeping him on the Board suggests VisuWell intends to rehire him” and “the
nation will remain vigilant.”
21. VisuWell
responded to that with a new tweet stating that VisuWell no longer employed Samuel
Johnson in any capacity.
22. Some
of Griffin’s social-media followers tweeted that they had “succeeded” in having
Samuel removed as CEO.
23. Griffin
doxed Samuel and Jill by disclosing and emphasizing to her two million
followers the private information that they lived in Franklin, TN.
24. As
a result, Samuel and Jill received and continued to receive threats and
harassment from Twitter users online and by phone and mail in their Franklin,
TN home. The threats and harassment began before VisuWell fired Samuel on April
26 and continued after the firing.
25. As
of April 2023, VisuWell was a fast-growing tech start-up. Its commercial
success was due in large part to proprietary software Samuel developed.
26. During
Samuel’s three years as CEO, VisuWell sales increased by 1,200 %.
27. Prior
to Griffin’s tweets, VisuWell had offered Samuel support and promised to stand
by him. VisuWell fired him after Griffin’s tweets about his encounter with the
teens.
First Cause of Action
Tortious Interference with Employment
Contract
Second Cause of Action
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Third Cause of Action
Invasion of Privacy
In response to the Complaint, Griffin moves
to dismiss under FRCP 12(b)(2) and 12(b)(3). For purposes of both motions:
•
Franklin is a suburb of Nashville; both are in the Middle District of Tennessee.
• Los
Angeles County—which includes Los Angeles, Hollywood, and other cities—is in
the Central District of California.
• Tennessee’s Long Arm Statute provides as
follows: Courts of this state may exercise jurisdiction on any basis not
inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of
Tennessee.
Section A: For Johnson, respond to the FRCP 12(b)(2) motion, including whether
Griffin waived the defense of lack of personal jurisdiction by litigating improper
venue.
Section B: For the court, decide the FRCP 12(b)(3) motion, including whether
Griffin waived the defense of improper venue by litigating lack of personal
jurisdiction.(You
want to build a complete record, so analyze all possible bases for venue).
