Minnesota lawyer Nick Rekieta started the GoFundMe for Dragon Ball Super star and anime voice actor, Vic Mignogna, in order to help him accrue the legal fees to fight back against the defamation that cost him work within the voice acting business. Initially the goal was to garner $100,000, but the funds have gone way past that, and are now just above $205,000 heading into the court hearing scheduled to take place on August 8th, 2019.
The news comes courtesy of a post made over on the GoFundMe page by Nick Rekieta, who informed the #IstandWithVic community about the current progress of the lawsuit and where they are at the moment, writing…
“We have hit the goal for a second time at $200,000. I’ll be increasing the goal again in the next few days, but I want it to sit as a message to everyone for at least 24 hours.
“The fans support Vic.
“The fans, at the end of the day, are the lifeblood of the industry; they are the economic engine that permits the existence of your positions.
“The lawsuit itself is still moving along. Currently, all defendants have responded, depositions have occurred for Vic and two of the defendants, and one defendant has filed a TCPA (Anti-SLAPP) motion.
“This motion puts the case on a sort-of hold for about 60 days. It’s possible that it will move faster, and a hearing is currently scheduled for August 8th.
“This TCPA motion is the first major hurdle to the suit, and the results will be indicative to all parties about the eventual outcome.”
The Anti-SLAPP motion is oftentimes used to dismiss frivolous cases. It stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, and can be used by the courts to throw out cases where the claims hold no merits or it looks like someone is making a case just to milk the defendant. However, if the case does have merit the plaintiff is tasked with providing evidence to prove that the case is not frivolous, and damage has been done by the defendant(s).
Rekieta talks more about it in the latest livestream that was posted up on his YouTube channel, which you can view below.
The GoFundMe was originally started back in February of 2019, shortly after Mignogna was fired by Funimation and Rooster Teeth. However, talks of a lawsuit became serious when it was revealed that some of the allegations against Mignogna were fabricated. It only took one month for the GoFundMe to reach $100,000.
Mignogna’s lawyer then filed the lawsuit back in April. Some people thought that Funimation and the people who were part of the #KickVic movement would relent, let go of the grudge and attempt to make amends, but everyone familiar with #GamerGate and #ComicsGate obviously knew that wasn’t going to happen.
In fact, just days before the lawsuit became official, Funimation had the Vic Mignogna content cut from the Dragon Ball Super Blu-ray and DVD extras. Obviously firing him wasn’t enough. That’s not to mention that the #KickVic group continued to go after Mignogna and his supporters, and continued to attempt to get him barred from anime conventions.
Now that the funds have exceeded $200,000, it gives Mignogna a lot of leeway to keep the pressure on Funimation and the rest of the defendants, assuming they can get over the Anti-SLAPP motion. We’ll find out how things go when August 8th rolls around and the court hearing takes place.
(Thanks for the news tip Iswear12)
