A man in the US has tried to sue 50 women who allegedly had discussions about his dating etiquette in a private Facebook group.
Stewart Lucas Murrey, from Santa Monica, has taken legal action against a number of women who he says made Facebook posts about him.
Women posting on the Facebook group, Are We Dating The Same Guy? which has over 50,000 members, claimed that Murrey had behaved inappropriately on dating apps.
Stewart Lucas Murrey, from Santa Monica, has taken legal action against a number of women (X/@MurreyLucas)
On a GoFundMe page set up to support his case, Murrey claimed over 200 social media accounts had ‘participated in harming me for over a year’.
He says that the defendants posted ‘provably false and defamatory’ statements about what it was like to date him.
“Some of their acts included posting my pictures without my permission, tracking my whereabouts, conspiring to harass me, fabricating entire stories, and sensationalising their unremarkable interactions with me,” he said.
“I support a safe space for women to protect themselves against being stalked, harassed or harmed, and not the other way around.
“These women exploited the concept of a safe space to gossip, defame and cyberbully anyone at whim. The acts of these defendants are hate-filled and unrelenting.”
In the group, women can share images of men they have dated – or intending to date – as a way of “warning other women about liars, cheaters, abusers, or anyone who exhibits any type of toxic or dangerous behaviour.”
The group has over 50,000 members. (Facebook)
They have said it is ‘a place for women to protect, support, and empower other women’.
There has also been a fundraiser set up to support the women being sued.
In the group, the women said: “We were simply coming together to share truthful accounts of our personal experiences.
“These included valid concerns pertaining to the plaintiff’s unsettling behaviour and background, all of which is public information.
“It is our opinion that this plaintiff poses a legitimate danger to the women of Los Angeles. Our negative interactions with him have spanned years. We plan to finally put an end to his harassing ways once and for all.”
The page claims that Murrey is suing for damages of $2.6 million (£2 million) for ’emotional distress and pain and suffering’.
“We plan to aggressively fight the lawsuit and hope to set a precedent by showing that these groups are made to keep women safe, that lawsuits meant to stifle free speech are not acceptable, that coming after volunteers for trying to help other women will not be tolerated, and to show that some individuals will cry ‘defamation’ even about true statements,” the page adds.
On Monday (8 April), the first case was thrown out by the Superior Court of California.