A Los Angeles Superior Court judge sided with Josh Duggar in a defamation lawsuit involving his Ashley Madison profile because the lawsuit was filed in the wrong state.
According to The Daily Mail, California DJ Matthew McCarthy filed a defamation lawsuit against the disgraced 19 Kids and Counting star because he claimed Duggar used his photo on Twitter, OKCupid and Ashley Madison.
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Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet dismissed the lawsuit because it was filed in Los Angeles. However, Duggar still lives in Arkansas.
“Accordingly, there being no evidence of any relation between the controversy in this case and the two contacts Duggar had with California for business, the Court does not find personal jurisdiction to exist in this case,” the court documents read.
But McCarthy argued that Duggar’s trips to California in 2013 and 2015 were enough of a reason to proceed with the case there.
Duggar’s attorneys filed a motion to have the case dismissed, claiming that Duggar never met with anyone through the dating sites in California during those trips.
“If a visit to California creates jurisdiction, then California courts have jurisdiction over virtually everyone in the United States,” the motion to dismiss read. “[Duggar’s] two visits here in 2013 and 2015 have nothing to do with [McCarthy’s] claim that [Duggar] used his picture on the internet. Neither involved contacts related to this lawsuit.”
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Back in 2015, TMZ reported that Duggar found McCarthy’s photo by Googling “random guy.” At the time, McCarthy’s photo was the third result. He told TMZ he was already losing DJ gigs because of his connection to Duggar.
McCarthy also told Gawker in 2015 that this wasn’t even the first time his photo had been used in about two dozen catfishing schemes.
In 2015, Duggar admitted to cheating on his wife Anna, blaming it on an addition to online pornography. His parents also admitted that year that Duggar molested four of his sisters and a babysitter. TLC cancelled 19 Kids and Counting, but the Duggar family still stars in Counting On.
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