"NY Attorney General’s charges dismissed, noted ‘no entitlement to judgement,’ the People’s caselaw as ‘wholly inapposite;’ AG Spitzer does not announce press conference.

NEW YORK CITY, NY - January 10, 2006 -- The Supreme Court of the State of New York dismissed all charges against Synergy6 and Justin Champion in association with the NY State Attorney General investigation into Opt-InRealbig.com, and Delta Seven Communications, LLC for the transmission of unsolicited email. Synergy6 and Justin Champion were completely exonerated of these charges as summarized by the Honorable Judge Eileen Bransten.
In hearing a petition filed by the State for summary judgement against Synergy6, et al., Judge Bransten found:
"The evidence here is insufficient to merit the relief sought and there has been no showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Thus, the petition must be denied and the proceeding is dismissed."

"In the end, the People have not submitted evidence establishing that Synergy6 can be liable for Delta Seven’s fraud. There is no proof that Synergy6 authorized Delta Seven to act on its behalf or that it ratified Delta Seven’s conduct. Likewise, there is no possible theory under which Mr. Champion can be liable for Delta Seven’s conduct either." (Emphasis added)
When the cameras turned on for the "Spam Fighting" Press Conference announcing these charges in December 2003, they included diagrams providing explicit details of it's operation. Seemingly today the Court finds that the State has little to offer in the way of evidence in support of their claims:

“The evidence here is insufficient” ... “the proceeding is dismissed.” “The People have not adduced any evidence” ... “there is absolutely no evidence that Synergy6”... “Nor is there any evidence that Synergy6 knew that”...
“There is absolutely no evidence that Synergy6 knew Delta Seven was purporting to act on its behalf... Nor is there any evidence that Synergy6 authorized OptIn to hire any subagents...”
“This ruling is a final vindication of wrong doing,” said Synergy6 President, Justin Champion. The State of New York held a widely announced press conference in December 2003 announcing these charges. When Attorney General Eliot Spitzer was asked a question regarding the strength of evidence against Synergy6, Mr. Spitzer responded, “Let me just say this ... We have absolutely no doubt we will be able to establish liability...”

No press release has been held by the State announcing this ruling, quietly passing along the judicial decision. “Who is going to explain to the former Synergy6 employees that their jobs were eliminated through the wheels of politics?” asked Champion. “Is Mr. Spitzer going to explain to my family why he destroyed my business while unable to provide the Court with even a basic establishment of liability on the part of me or my company without ever having a chance to defend itself?”
Until the accusations, Synergy6 was one of the fastest growing agencies in the Internet Advertising Industry achieving nearly $9MM in their first year of operation, growing to over 50 employees. Serving millions of impressions daily amongst thousands of websites simultaneously. According to the court document Synergy6 was "put out of business” shortly after the suit was filed.

Howard M. Rubin, a partner at Goetz Fitzpatrick, LLP and counsel for Synergy6 and Mr. Champion stated that “the decision of Judge Bransten is very gratifying. It was clear to me upon inital review of the case that there was never any basis for claims against Synergy6 or Mr. Champion on any legal theory. The conduct of the Attorney General in ‘tarring’ all the defendants with the same brush, publicly by holding a news conference prior to any opportunity to defend themselves, is in my opinion a cowardly act.”

During said press conference, the Attorney General said he would utilize financial pressure to destroy Synergy6 and Mr. Champion while Microsoft claimed to be willing to take “whatever remains.”

“If indeed AG Spitzer indeed had a goal to end spamming, he should have done so through the use of the courts without the press conference, or he could have simply waited for a court to rule there was some basis for his claims prior to holding the press conference. It is unfair to companies, like Synergy6, to be the victim of prosecutors who put their own political agendas ahead of what is right,” finished Attorney Rubin.

Respondent Opt-In Real Big was enjoined from sending misleading emails and agreed to pay a $50,000 penalty.

About Justin Champion, Synergy6 and EyeServe
Justin Champion arrived in the dot-com days of glory and was a top sales associate at MyPoints.com. Mr. Champion began to derive incredible passion in his pursuit of the ultimate rewards program, conceptual marketing ideas and new formats and strategies to market in the new "Internet Age." Leaving to form Synergy6 with not much more than a fish tank, a couple guys with notebooks and a pocketful of dreams, Synergy6 grew to over 43 employees serving millions of impressions daily.

Today, Mr. Champion has continued to flex his online advertising expertise, developing proprietary software for use in serving co-registration offers, powering major sites earning millions of dollars annually. EyeServe, Champion's current venture, located at http://www.eyeserve.com , provides marketing solutions for Advertisers and revenue solutions for Publishers. Mr. Champion is also involved in the 'relaunch' of SixDegrees.com, the original social networking site launched in 1998, during this year." [Via Synergy6.com]

Here is the transcript from the Press Conference:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/bradsmith/12-18nyag-spam.mspx

Here is a copy of the judgement : Click Here