In the Circuit Court of Berkeley County, West Virginia
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E-FILED | 5/7/2019 4:26 PM CC-02-2019-C-114 Berkeley County Circuit Clerk Virginia Sine IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF BERKELEY COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA KASEY MURPHEY, as mother and next friend of O.R., a minor, and FLORENCE BLOUNT, as mother and next friend of A.D., a minor, Plaintiffs, v. CIVIL ACTION NO. 19-C-114 BERKELEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, MANNY ARVON, DAVID BANKS, AMBER BOECKMAN, CHRISTINA LESTER, JUNE YURISH, KRISTIN DOUTY, MICHELLE TOST, and KAREN PETRUCCI, Defendants, and JUNE YURISH, and KRISTIN DOUTY, Cross Complainants, and BERKELEY COUNT BOARD OF EDUCATION, Cross Defendant. and JUNE YURISH, and KRISTIN DOUTY, Third Party Complainants, and SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP, INC., BARRINGTON BROADCASTING GROUP, LLC, CUNNINGHAM BROADCASTING CORPORATION, DEERFIELD MEDIA, INC., GOCOM MEDIA OF ILLINOIS, LLC, GRAY TELEVISION, INC. HOWARD STIRK HOLDINGS, LLC, ROBERTS MEDIA, LLC, NEW AGE MEDIA, NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC., SHENANDOAH COMMUNICATIONS, INC., TEGNA, INC., E.W. SCRIPPS COMPANY, THOMAS BROADCASTING COMPANY, WAITT BROADCASTING, INC., GREER INDUSTRIES, INC., RSV NG, LLC., PRESTON AND SALANGO, PLLC, BOWLES RICE, LLP, and ADRIAN WOOD, Third Party Defendants. THIRD PARTY COMPLAINT Comes now Defendants and Third Party Complainants Kristen Douty and June Yurish (hereinafter “Complainants”), by counsel, who files the instant Third Party Complaint against the following Third Party Defendants (“hereinafter “Defendants”): Barrington Broadcasting Group, LLC; Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation; GOCOM Media of Illinois, LLC; Gray Television, Inc.; Howard Stirk Holdings, LLC; KMTR Television, LLC; New Age Media, LLC; Nexstar Media Group, Inc.; Shenandoah Communications, Inc.; Sinclair Broadcasting Group, Inc.; Tegna, Inc.; The E.W. Scripps Company; Thomas Broadcasting Company; Waitt Broadcasting, Inc.; Greer Industries (WEPM and W.Va. Radio Corp); RSV NG LLC (Nancy Grace and Crimeonline.com); Preston and Salango, PLLC; Bowles Rice, LLP; and Adrian Wood for violations of The West Virginia Wire Tapping and Surveillance Act (“West Virginia Wire Tap Act”), W.Va. Code §62-1D-1 et seq., and Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (“Federal Wiretap Act”), 18 USC §§2510-22. Complainants aver that assertion of liability against the above named third parties is proper under Rule 14 because the claims are derivative of the same transaction, occurrence, or nucleus of operative fact as Complainants’ underlying claim, to wit, the creation and dissemination of the unlawful recording created by Amber Pack on or about October 5, 2018, and therefore impleader under Rule 14 is proper pursuant to Cava v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, 232 W.Va. 503, 752 S.E.2d 1 (W.Va. 2013). Additionally, pursuant to Rule 18(a) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, Complainants Douty and Yurish assert against the above named Defendants additional claims maintained by Complainants against said Defendants. WHEREFORE, Complainant’s Douty and Yurish Complain as follows: 1. At all times relevant, Complainants Yurish and Douty were residents of Berkeley County, West Virginia. 2. At all times relevant, Complainants Yurish and Douty worked at Berkeley Heights Elementary School, located in Berkeley County West Virginia. 3. At all times relevant, the various Defendants named in the instant Third Party Complaint were either media companies, law firms, or bloggers who published stories targeted at Complainants, Berkeley Heights Elementary School, and the Berkeley County Board of Education, all of which are located in Berkeley County. 4. On or about October 5, 2018, Amber Pack, mother and next friend of the infant A.P., violated the West Virginia Wiretap Act by placing a secret audio recording device in her daughter, A.P.’s, hair. 5. A.P. was not legally capable of consenting, was not offered the opportunity to give her consent, and did not, at any point, give actual consent. 6. A.P. then went to school at Berkeley Heights Elementary and, unbeknownst to her, recorded all ambient noise, conversations had, and statements made within audible range of her hair, regardless of whether such statements were being had to her, to other students, or between teachers and other school staff. 7. Thereafter, Ms. Pack, or another individual on her behalf, edited approximately sixty to one hundred a twenty seconds of clips from the unlawful audio footage, captured over an entire eight-hour school day, and unlawfully disseminated said edited footage to various media groups. 8. In February of 2019, Defendant Barrington Broadcasting Group, LLC, on 10 separate occasions, broadcast edited clips of the unlawful recording at various locations, including: a. February 7, 2019 in or around Quincy, Illinois b. February 7, 2019 in or around Kirksville, MO c. February 7, 2019 in or around Harlingen, TX d. February 7, 2019 in or around Rio Grande Valley, TX e. February 7, 2019 in or around Columbia, SC f. February 7, 2019 in or around Albany, GA g. February 7, 2019 in or around Toledo, OH h. February 7, 2019 in or around Syracuse, NY i. February 7, 2019 in or around Traverse City, MI j. February 7, 2019 in or around Abilene, TX k. February 9, 2019 in or around Amarillo, TX 9. On or about February 7, 2019, Defendant Bonten Media Group (owned now by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc), on 4 separate and discrete occasions, broadcasted edited clips of the unlawful recording in or around locations including the following: a. Abilene, TX b. New Bern, NC c. Tri-Cities (Kingsport, Johnson City, Bristol) TN d. Tri-Cities, TN 10. On or about February 7, 2019, Defendant Cunningham Broadcasting, on 4 separate and discrete occasions, broadcasted edited clips of the unlawful recording in or around the following locations: a. Portland, ME b. Columbus, OH c. Dayton, OH d. Reno, NV 11. On or about February 7, 2019, Defendant Deerfield Media, on three separate and discrete occasions, broadcasted edited clips of the unlawful recording in or around the following locations: a. Amarillo, TX b. Rochester, NY c. Mobile, AL 12. On or about February 7, 2019, Defendant GOCOM Media of Illinois, LLC broadcasted clips of the unlawful recording in or around its Springfield, IL location 13. On or about February 7th, 8th, and 9th, 2019, Defendant Gray Television, on nineteen separate and discrete occasions, broadcasted edited clips of the unlawful recording at the following locations: a. February 7, 2019 in or around Harrisonburg, PA b. February 8, 2019 in or around New Orleans, LA c. February 9, 2019 in or around Charlotte, NC d. February 9, 2019 in or around Sarasota, FL e. February 9, 2019 in or around Lufkin/Nacogdoches, TX f. February 9, 2019 in or around Cape Girardeau, MO g. February 9, 2019 in or around Shreveport, Louisiana h. February 9, 2019 in or around Charlotte, NC i. February 9, 2019 in or around Louisville, KY j. February 9, 2019 in or around Jackson, MI k. February 9, 2019 in or around Montgomery AL l. February 9, 2019 in or around Amarillo, TX m. February 9, 2019 in or around Evansville, IN n. February 9, 2019 in or around Lake Charles, LA o. February 9, 2019 in or around Richmond, VA p. February 9, 2019 in or around Huntsville, AL q. February 9, 2019 in or around Biloxi, MS r. February 19, 2019 in or around Harrisonburg, PA 14. On February 7, 2019 Defendant Howard Stirk Holdings, LLC broadcasted edited clips of the unlawful recording on its Clio, MI television station. 15. On February 7, 2019, Defendant KMTR Television, LLC broadcasted the unlawful recording on its Springfield, OR television station. 16. On February 7, 2019, Defendant New Age Media, LLC broadcasted the unlawful recording, on two separate and discrete occasions, at its Gainsville, FL television station. 17. Between February 8, 2019 and March 5, 2019, Defendant Nexstar Media Group, Inc., on 9 separate and discrete occasions, broadcasted edited clips of the unlawful recording on or about the following dates and at or around the following locations: a. February 8, 2019 in or around Beckeley, WV b. February 8, 2019 in or around Hagerstown, MD c. February 9, 2019 in or around Charleston, WV d. February 9, 2019 in or around Huntington, WV e. February 9, 2019 in or around Beckley, WV f. February 9, 2019 in or around Wheeling, WV g. February 10, 2019 in or around Johnson City/Bristol TN/VA h. March 5, 2019 in or around Hagerstown, MD i. March 5, 2019 in or around Hagerstown, MD 18. On or about February 9, 2019, Defendant Raycom Media, on 8 separate and discrete occasions, broadcasted edited clips the unlawful recording on or about the following dates and in or around locations including the following: a. Tyler, TX b. Columbus, Georgia c. Cincinnati, OH d. Batton Rough, LA e. Tucson, AZ f. Montgomery, AL g. Lubbock, TX 19. On February 18, 2019, Defendant Shenandoah Communications, Inc. broadcasted edited clips of the unlawful recording at its Martinsburg, WV television station. 20. From February 7, 2019 to March 11, 2019, Defendant Sinclaire Broadcasting Group, Inc., on at least 86 separate and discrete occasions, broadcasted edited clips of the unlawful recording on or about the following dates and in or around locations which include the following: a. February 7, 2019 in or around Charleston, SC; b. February 7, 2019 in or around Birmingham, AL; c. February 7, 2019 in or around Tulsa, OK; d. February 7, 2019 in or around Lynchburg, VA; e. February 7, 2019 in or around Dayton, OH; f. February 7, 2019 in or around St. Louis, MO; g. February 7, 2019 in or around Mobile, AL; h. February 7, 2019 in or around Pensacola, FL; i. February 7, 2019 in or around Seattle, WA; j. February 7, 2019 in or around Columbus, OH; k.