River_Rat_459
03-21-2012, 09:08
From the Tampa Tribune
(http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/mar/20/4/lawsuit-newest-weapon-against-fake-seals-ar-382858/)
Lawsuit newest weapon against fake SEALs
By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune
Published: March 20, 2012
Updated: March 20, 2012 - 11:47 AM
TAMPA --
A Tampa attorney on a crusade to expose those who pretend to be Navy SEALs is trying a novel approach: suing them.
Lawyer Gene Odom filed the first of what he says could be multiple similar suits on Monday. The suit, filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, targets Barry “Bear” Silverman, who runs a business called “Tactical Deterrence” in Broward County. The business’ “principal purpose is to offer training to customers seeking Navy SEAL instruction in weapons use and security deployment,” according to the suit.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of retired SEAL Don Shipley, who runs Extreme SEAL Experience, which provides students with training similar to what SEALs experience during the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training. Shipley’s training center is based in Chesapeake, Va., with an adjunct office in Hillsborough County, according to the suit.
Shipley, a 24-year Navy veteran, spent 19 years as a SEAL before retiring in 2003 as a senior chief petty officer. The suit says his business is being harmed by men falsely claiming to be SEALs; it also claims Silverman is using the likeness of the SEAL trident without permission.
“The number of new customers has decreased as a result of prospective customers associating the quality of plaintiff’s business with the Defendant’s illegitimate knockoff,” the suit claims.
The suit was filed as the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a challenge to a 2005 law, called the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime for anyone to “falsely represent himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces of the United States.”
The law was challenged by a California man, Xavier Alvarez, who falsely claimed to be a Marine awarded the Medal of Honor. Alvarez contends that the Stolen Valor Act violates his First Amendment rights to free speech.
Odom said a Supreme Court decision either way doesn’t matter.
The Stolen Valor Act, with a maximum penalty of one year in prison, is insufficient to deter those who falsely claim to be SEALs, Odom said. The lawsuit, he said, is a much stronger deterrent.
“I want to reach these guys where it hurts,” said Odom, “with a multi-million punitive damages award from a jury.”
Silverman is not in the military’s database as having attended Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, command spokesman Navy Senior Chief Michael A. Raney said in an email to the Tribune. He said that means not only did Silverman not graduate from the training program, but that he “never attempted the training,” Raney wrote in the email.
Shipley’s suit accuses Silverman of interfering with a business relationship, violating Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Practices Act and Unauthorized Publication of a Likeness for Advertising Purposes.
Silverman did not return two emails seeking comment and could not be reached by phone.
Two websites for Tactical Deterrence are no longer in use. State records show no record of that company existing. There is no listing for the company with directory assistance.
Odom also has filed a defamation lawsuit against another man he says is making false claims of being a SEAL, and the man’s publisher. He says that in an article titled “More Truth Revealed,” William Brockbrader stated that Extreme SEAL Experience “only pretends to provide actual SEAL instructor training.”
Odom said he is suing Brockbrader because he is claiming to be a SEAL and is using the defamation language as the basis of the suit because the law does not allow someone to be sued solely for falsely claiming to be a SEAL.
In the lawsuit, Shipley’s lawyers claim that by pretending to be SEALs, Brockbrader has “diminished the competitive and economic advantage of SEALs seeking to re-enter the civilian workforce” and that he has suffered economic loss as a result of Silverman misrepresenting his status as a SEAL.
Brockbrader, who denies he defamed Shipley, said he was a SEAL between 1992 and 2000. He said he has witnesses who can verify his SEAL training and that any records pertaining to his service were sealed because he served with a “classified program.”
Navy Special Operations Command said neither Brockbrader nor Silverman attended SEAL training, graduated from it or served on any SEAL team. Any claims that training records of sealed are false, according to the Navy Special Operations Command.
The lawsuit is not about mere braggarts, said Shipley, who is seeking an unspecified amount of damages, attorney fees, post-judgment interest and court costs. He said he hopes to “send a chilling message to those who pretend to be Navy SEALs.”
“We’re not interested in the barroom loudmouth,” he said. “We are never going to get rid of those guys. We are going after the worst of the worst, people who profit from it.”
In an email to the Tribune, the nation’s highest-ranking SEAL said fakers tarnish those who served and suffered and died.
“There is no responsibility I take greater pride in than leading and caring for our Special Operations Forces and their families,” wrote Adm. William McRaven, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. “After more than 10 years of combat operations, they have made tremendous sacrifices for our country and allies. Individuals who falsely claim to have served within their ranks dishonor themselves and those who continuously answer the call of duty.”
(http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/mar/20/4/lawsuit-newest-weapon-against-fake-seals-ar-382858/)
Lawsuit newest weapon against fake SEALs
By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune
Published: March 20, 2012
Updated: March 20, 2012 - 11:47 AM
TAMPA --
A Tampa attorney on a crusade to expose those who pretend to be Navy SEALs is trying a novel approach: suing them.
Lawyer Gene Odom filed the first of what he says could be multiple similar suits on Monday. The suit, filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, targets Barry “Bear” Silverman, who runs a business called “Tactical Deterrence” in Broward County. The business’ “principal purpose is to offer training to customers seeking Navy SEAL instruction in weapons use and security deployment,” according to the suit.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of retired SEAL Don Shipley, who runs Extreme SEAL Experience, which provides students with training similar to what SEALs experience during the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training. Shipley’s training center is based in Chesapeake, Va., with an adjunct office in Hillsborough County, according to the suit.
Shipley, a 24-year Navy veteran, spent 19 years as a SEAL before retiring in 2003 as a senior chief petty officer. The suit says his business is being harmed by men falsely claiming to be SEALs; it also claims Silverman is using the likeness of the SEAL trident without permission.
“The number of new customers has decreased as a result of prospective customers associating the quality of plaintiff’s business with the Defendant’s illegitimate knockoff,” the suit claims.
The suit was filed as the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a challenge to a 2005 law, called the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime for anyone to “falsely represent himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces of the United States.”
The law was challenged by a California man, Xavier Alvarez, who falsely claimed to be a Marine awarded the Medal of Honor. Alvarez contends that the Stolen Valor Act violates his First Amendment rights to free speech.
Odom said a Supreme Court decision either way doesn’t matter.
The Stolen Valor Act, with a maximum penalty of one year in prison, is insufficient to deter those who falsely claim to be SEALs, Odom said. The lawsuit, he said, is a much stronger deterrent.
“I want to reach these guys where it hurts,” said Odom, “with a multi-million punitive damages award from a jury.”
Silverman is not in the military’s database as having attended Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, command spokesman Navy Senior Chief Michael A. Raney said in an email to the Tribune. He said that means not only did Silverman not graduate from the training program, but that he “never attempted the training,” Raney wrote in the email.
Shipley’s suit accuses Silverman of interfering with a business relationship, violating Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Practices Act and Unauthorized Publication of a Likeness for Advertising Purposes.
Silverman did not return two emails seeking comment and could not be reached by phone.
Two websites for Tactical Deterrence are no longer in use. State records show no record of that company existing. There is no listing for the company with directory assistance.
Odom also has filed a defamation lawsuit against another man he says is making false claims of being a SEAL, and the man’s publisher. He says that in an article titled “More Truth Revealed,” William Brockbrader stated that Extreme SEAL Experience “only pretends to provide actual SEAL instructor training.”
Odom said he is suing Brockbrader because he is claiming to be a SEAL and is using the defamation language as the basis of the suit because the law does not allow someone to be sued solely for falsely claiming to be a SEAL.
In the lawsuit, Shipley’s lawyers claim that by pretending to be SEALs, Brockbrader has “diminished the competitive and economic advantage of SEALs seeking to re-enter the civilian workforce” and that he has suffered economic loss as a result of Silverman misrepresenting his status as a SEAL.
Brockbrader, who denies he defamed Shipley, said he was a SEAL between 1992 and 2000. He said he has witnesses who can verify his SEAL training and that any records pertaining to his service were sealed because he served with a “classified program.”
Navy Special Operations Command said neither Brockbrader nor Silverman attended SEAL training, graduated from it or served on any SEAL team. Any claims that training records of sealed are false, according to the Navy Special Operations Command.
The lawsuit is not about mere braggarts, said Shipley, who is seeking an unspecified amount of damages, attorney fees, post-judgment interest and court costs. He said he hopes to “send a chilling message to those who pretend to be Navy SEALs.”
“We’re not interested in the barroom loudmouth,” he said. “We are never going to get rid of those guys. We are going after the worst of the worst, people who profit from it.”
In an email to the Tribune, the nation’s highest-ranking SEAL said fakers tarnish those who served and suffered and died.
“There is no responsibility I take greater pride in than leading and caring for our Special Operations Forces and their families,” wrote Adm. William McRaven, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. “After more than 10 years of combat operations, they have made tremendous sacrifices for our country and allies. Individuals who falsely claim to have served within their ranks dishonor themselves and those who continuously answer the call of duty.”