Alyssa Mercante declared she will “be pursuing legal remedies” against YouTuber Smash JT after his lawyer, Ron Coleman, rejected her initial demand for an apology upon threat of a lawsuit.
Alyssa Mercante via Smash JT YouTube
Mercante through her lawyer Lane Haygood sent a Smash JT a cease and desist letter accusing him of defaming and harassing her.
Here is the letter in full (2/2) pic.twitter.com/1smRy0fJBc
— Smash JT (@SmashJT) September 27, 2024
In response to these accusations and the threat of a lawsuit, Smash JT hired Ron Coleman of the Dhillon Law Group who rejected Mercante’s accusations and her demands for an apology.
Coleman wrote in a letter to Mercante, “We will not rebut your assertions point by point. None of the statements you attribute to Mr. Tarzia in Section (I) of your letter is defamatory under New York or California law because they are either true or are protected opinion or polemic. Additionally, your speculation as to what Mr. Tarzia ‘knew’; what motivated any comments he may have made; and the financial operation of Mr. Tarzia’s social media are incorrect and baseless.”
Ron Coleman via WDW Pro YouTube channel
He continued, “For these reasons and many others, your assertion that Ms. Mercante would prevail if ‘this matter were taken to court’ is not only unfounded, but is a transparently empty threat. In fact, as you are doubtless aware, if these claims were litigated in either New York or California they would not only be dismissed, but it is your client who would be exposed to potential liability under the anti-SLAPP laws in both states.”
“The ‘harassment’ claims described in Section (II) of your letter are just as meritless — a daisy chain of fallacious reasoning, both legal and factual, undergirded by yet more speculation about Mr. Tarzia’s mindset and activities and an overblown depiction of the centrality of your client to his work. Mr. Tarzia bears no responsibility, moreover, for any harm your client may have suffered as a result of ‘Kiwi Farms.’ Your client’s ire and her lawyers’ condescending letters should be directed to that entity, not to Mr. Tarzia.
Smash JT via Smash JT YouTube
Coleman then declared, “Your demands, in sum, are rejected. There will be no apologies or retractions from Mr. Tarzia to your client.”
“There will also be no further personal, ethical, or career ‘advice’ — much less veiled references to our client’s family, which are not well taken — from your office to Mr. Tarzia. All further correspondence or communications concerning this matter are to be addressed to me,” he concluded.
Here’s the full letter sent by Ron to Alyssa’s Lawyer: pic.twitter.com/r9hjFpVyD6
— Smash JT (@SmashJT) September 28, 2024
In response to this letter, Mercante wrote on X, “I was hopeful that Jeff Tarzia would take my letter as an opportunity to be more mature, but in the absence of his good sense I will be pursuing legal remedies and have given my team permission to pursue those.”
Alyssa Mercante on X
READ: Lawyer Representing Kotaku Senior Editor Alyssa Mercante Threatens Kiwi Farms With Litigation
In subsequent posts, she added, “Please do not direct anything hateful or harassing towards him and do not reach out to him in any capacity. Let’s let the courts handle this. Thanks for the support all!”
Mercante concluded, “I can’t speak to this any further at the moment!”
Alyssa Mercante on X
What do you make of Mercante claiming she will “be pursuing legal remedies” against Smash JT?
