Quackwatch ringleader Stephen Barrett in desperate, 'calamitous' defense in defamation lawsuit, says activist

Thursday, August 29, 2013 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: quackwatch, Stephen Barrett, defamation lawsuit

(NaturalNews) He continues to be one of the most obsessively outspoken critics of all things natural, often emerging unannounced from the outmoded realms of the internet-based "skeptics" world to bash the latest advances in alternative medicine. But former psychiatrist and ringleader of the widely-debunked anti-science website, QuackWatch.org, Stephen Barrett, is finally getting a taste of his own conventional medicine with a defamation lawsuit, which consumer health advocate and freedom fighter Tim Bolen is convinced could be Barrett's undoing.

Barrett is perhaps most known across the internet for his constant trashing of alternative treatment methods that he most likely never learned anything about in medical school way back when. These methods include things like acupuncture, chelation-based detoxification, nutritional supplementation, chiropractic -- you know, the very things that are actually helping to bring real relief and healing to a sick nation drowning in needless surgeries and dangerous pharmaceutical drugs. Barrett has actually made it one of his primary missions in life to "expose" these viable alternative treatments and warn people about their alleged ineffectiveness.

But in expressing his opinions, Barrett has also apparently crossed the defamation line by spreading all sorts of lies and misinformation about specific alternative treatments and falsely accusing companies that offer them of ripping off and deceiving their customers. These are serious accusations, and one such company aggressively targeted by Barrett in recent years, Doctor's Data, has decided to force this self-appointed "quackbuster" to put his money where his mouth is by taking him to court. And according to Bolen, Barrett is failing miserably to mount any sort of legitimate legal defense, as his attorney wastes time badgering Doctor's Data employees with useless questions.

The 'skeptics' and their ongoing war against natural medicine

It all began when Illinois-based Doctor's Data sent a letter to Barrett back in 2010 urging him to stop "transmitting false, fraudulent and defamatory information" about the company, which, according to its later-to-be-filed lawsuit, was intended to "intentionally ... harm its business and its relationship not only with doctors but also with the public." The letter went on to accuse Barrett of "conspir[ing] with and encourag[ing] individuals to seek litigation against [Doctor's Data]" and also of filing "false complaints at various government and regulatory agencies" against the company.

In other words, Barrett launched his own personal vendetta against Doctor's Data, according to the company, for the purpose of destroying its reputation and, ultimately, its business. Barrett has denied these accusations, of course, claiming that everything he has done and said with regards to Doctor's Data is within the realms of free speech. He has even stated his belief that the suit will eventually be dismissed by the court, assuming, of course, that Barrett and his legal team are successful in conjuring up a solid defense.

But this is exactly what Bolen says is not actually occurring. Barrett and his legal team, unable to defend their actions against Doctor's Data, according to Bolen, are currently engaged in a "Desperation Deposition," where they are basically interrogating Doctor's Data employees with nonsense questioning to delay the case. Barrett et al. have even gone so far as to petition the court to allow these time-wasting efforts to continue on longer in order to prolong what, according to Bolen, will be an inevitable failure.

"There is no question in my mind that Doctor's Data has already won this case," writes Bolen in a recent report. "Barrett et al. have no defense ... Their attorney Michael K. Botts, Esq. shows by his 'discovery' actions a visceral fear ... of what's coming. I would guess, from reading the court documents, that it is very unpleasant to even be in the same enclosed room with Botts."

Barrett can run, but he can't hide

According to the most recently available information concerning the case, Botts actually shut down a deposition after being called out for abusing Doctor's Data employees with "useless, meaningless, repetitive questions" while directing his client not to answer. Now, Botts has filed a motion to get more deposition time to continue delaying the case, which Bolen believes serves as proof that Barrett simply does not have any defense whatsoever and is basically now just engaging in stalling tactics. The suit itself, it should be noted, calls for more than $10 million in compensatory and punitive damages from Barrett, a lofty sum.

"The hard part will be collecting any money from any of these useless, worthless posers," adds Bolen in his sharp criticism. "As I said about an earlier quackbuster, Victor Herbert ... after ten years of Herbert and his attorney Michael K. Botts, Esq.'s losing litigation attempts to destroy the 'Alternative Medicine' movement, the courts had awarded the Defendant's 'costs,' but collecting those costs was another thing."

You can read a portion of the original lawsuit filed by Doctor's Data against Barrett here:
http://bolenreport.com

You can read the full 71-page lawsuit here:
http://bolenreport.com

Sources for this article include:

http://bolenreport.com

http://www.bolenreport.com