Full disclosure: YouTube personality Smash JT is represented by Ron Coleman and the Dhillon Law Firm, whose lead attorney is nominated for Assistant Attorney General of the United States. That Park Place, WDW Pro and Valliant Renegade are likewise legally represented by Mr. Coleman. Furthermore, That Park Place is a subsidiary of a company which has provided monetary donation towards The Dhillon Law Group.
By filing her lawsuit against YouTuber Smash JT (while subsequently revealing his home address to the world), Alyssa Mercante was caught in a potential mistruth that could prove important legally. To make matters worse for the former Kotaku Senior Editor, the gaming community rallied around Smash JT, helping him raise the $25,000 he needed to mount his legal defense with attorney Ron Coleman of the Dhillon Law Group.
When Alyssa Mercante announced that she was leaving the struggling gaming news site Kotaku this fall, the controversial writer and editor made it clear that she was walking out on her own accord.
Alyssa Mercante on X
READ: Alyssa Mercante Sues Smash JT: YouTuber Alleges Doxing and Family Endangerment
“After exactly two years, I’ve decided to leave Kotaku,” she said.
That would seem to be a definitive statement. Mercante was leaving her employer and she was doing so for no other reason than because she had decided it was time to move on… at least that’s what a reasonable reading of the statement might be.
She reiterated these claims in the wake of a series of layoffs at Kotaku.
Alyssa Mercante on X
“This decision was made before the layoffs,” she insisted. “But now I’m even more glad I made it.”
Again, that’s pretty straightforward. Leaving Kotaku was, by her admission, her decision. Perhaps we’re wrong, but as of now we just can’t seem to find another interpretation.
However, when she released her lawsuit against Smash JT, citing stochastic behavior, defamation, bias-related violence or intimidation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and tortious interference, there was an interesting bit of information dropped into page forty-seven.
An excerpt from page forty-seven of Alyssa Mercante’s lawsuit against Smash JT that shows she was fired from Kotaku – Gov.UScourts.NYED
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“Alyssa Mercante lost her job and had her contract bought out by her now-former employer,” it reads.
So, it would seem that Mercante wasn’t being truthful when she told the world that she had decided to leave Kotaku to seek new opportunities. It wasn’t her decision after all, as she claimed in two separate X posts. At least, that’s how it very much appears based on the evidence.
Adding to Mercante’s woes is the fact that the gaming community instantly rallied around Smash JT. In order to afford the services of an attorney of Ron Coleman’s caliber, Smash JT needed to raise $25,000 for a legal retainer. The YouTube star posted a GiveSendGo campaign to raise the necessary funds and in less than a day, JT managed to raise in excess of $43,000.
That means Smash JT retained Ron Coleman’s services, and the attorney was very clear in his official response to Mercante’s cease and desist letter that he’s playing to win.
Ron Coleman via WDW Pro YouTube channel
“Your assertion that Ms. Mercante would prevail if ‘this matter were taken to court’ is not only unfounded, but is a transparently empty threat,” Coleman wrote to Mercante’s attorney. “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.”
Did you believe Alyssa Mercante when she claimed she had left Kotaku voluntarily? What do you think the result of this lawsuit will be? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
