I received this Demand to Cease and Retract Libel from Enso Naturals after my last post.

Sent on behalf of Enso Naturals
Sent by:
Kirckpatrick & Braunstein L.L.P. via enso naturals
Los Angeles, CA 90214 – Los Angeles County
Recipient Information:
(I removed my name)

CC:
Desiree Cole – Owner & Operator of Enso Naturals
Glam Media LLC – Representative of Nicole Crowe A.K.A Moptop Mavan

Sent via: Electronic Delivery
Re: Demand to Cease and Desist and Retract Libel

Dear         :

I represent Desiree Cole of Enso Naturals. Many of your
statements about Enso Naturals in your blog and Twitter postings are
untrue and defamatory. You made them maliciously to
injure Enso Naturals, its trade, office and profession. As
such, they are defamatory per se. Under O.C.G.A.
51-5-11, this letter constitutes a demand for
immediate retraction in writing of these false and
libelous statements. In accordance with O.C.G.A
51-5-11(b)(1)(C), Desiree Cole demands that your retraction
and correction be accompanied by an editorial in which
you specifically repudiated your libelous statements.

Your web postings and conduct also constitute
tortious interference with the business and
contractual relations of Enso Naturals. As such, they are
actionable and expose you to the imposition of
compensatory as well as punitive damages.

Below, we have noted some of the more patent,
malicious, and libelious comments made by you in your
various web postings, some of them also evidence your tortious
interference. If Enso Naturals is forced to file suit to stop
your wrongful conduct, it will also seek an award of
its attorney fees and litigation expenses.

(Note: Complaints were not numbered in the original
letter-I have done so here so each can be easily
addressed)

1. In your postings, you consistently and falsely stated that
Nicole Crowe of “Moptop Mavan” is affiliated with and/or owns shares of
Enso Naturals. This is patently false.

2. As a result of your repeated false statements, Nicole Crowe has threatened legal action against Enso Naturals and Desiree Cole respectively for “falsely using her likeness to establish/and or promote business”. This is categorically untrue as we have never used Ms. Crowe’s likeness to promote Enso Naturals or any of it’s subsidiaries. Any legal action threatened by Ms. Crowe is directly as a result of your slanderous and false comments.

Many of the concerns you had regarding company structure have been previously brought to your attention and addressed via email. Your failure to correct your erroneous and false statements and their repitition after notice of their falsehood constitutes further publication of libel. It also confirms your malicious intent.

If you do not immediately publish the requested retraction, and cease and desist from tortious interference and making false and malicious comments about Enso Naturals, it’s officers, and its programs, we will
file suit against you without further notice. Please govern accordingly.

Sincerely,
Bob Braunstein

I made an appointment with JAG and a local attorney. This is what I was told:

There is “nothing defamatory in this at all”

You “didn’t state she was affiliated with the company, you just questioned it”

In turn, they started sending this email to their customers who inquired about the company:

Thank you very much for your concern. We were just made aware of the issues late this morning, yet we don’t have many details as we have minimal information as to what was posted. We have a very small in house staff (myself, an accountant, and a second chemist) which is not privy to topics discussed in hair forums, and our customer service questions are outsourced via a secure third party vendor, so we’re currently playing catch up.

I can say that we are taking this matter very seriously, as we value the trust of our patrons. In addition, we have our legal team addressing the person(s) suspected of making these erroneous allegations, and are awaiting her response/action. Please understand that we have to conduct ourselves in a responsible manner and follow proper protocol should this matter be taken to court, as we will not tolerate false, malicious, libelous statements regarding Enso Naturals. I can advise you that a Cease & Desist of Slander & Libel has been sent to the person (s) we believe are responsible for making such statements.

I wanted to address you personally to let you know that we are working as dilligently as possible to get this issue rectified in a responsible manner.

Let me also address and confirm that web blogger Ms. Nicole Crow does not own, represent, work for, or endorse Enso Naturals, nor has she ever been affiliated directly or indirectly. We have never used her likeness to sell, promote or endorse our products, and in conjunction with her editorial agent, we hope to have her address this issue as soon as possible.

If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding the aforementioned response, please let me know.

Very truly yours,
Dee Cole

And, this is my response to Enso Naturals:

1.       I deny that I have made slanderous/libel statements.

2.       My lawyer has checked into the credentials of your lawyers, Kirckpatrick & Braunstein L.L.P. It is not a legitimate company in the state of CA. Those lawyers are not certified to practice law in the state of CA.

3.       There are several issues with your Demand to Cease and Retract Libel Order:

a.      There are a number of misspellings: Nikole Crowe, Maven, and Kirckpatrick. It is highly unusual for a professional attorney to send a letter with so many misspellings.
b.      The letter was purported to have been sent by Bob Braunstein from Los Angeles, CA. Upon checking the website for the California Bar Association, the only Bob Braunstein listed was a Robert Braunstein whose license was suspended in 1990 and was never reinstated.
c.       The letter also cites the Official Code of the State of Georgia (OCGA), not California.
d.      It is also very similar to a Sample Cease and Desist Letter on FaceBook, that states the same Official Code of the State of Georgia (OCGA) and was written nearly verbatim as my Demand to Cease and Retract Libel Order.

4.       I have not said/written anything defamatory or libel against your company. I reasonably raised questions about Enso Naturals’ business practices. In turn, you have falsely accused me of making “malicious and libelous comments.” Furthermore, that accusation has been published to 3^rd parties making it false, libelous, and defamatory towards me. If you continue to publish these fallacies I will pursue charges.