CVSA Marketer NITV Secures Default Judgment in Defamation Suit Against Dektor PSE

[George W. Maschke]

As noted on the blog, the "National Institute of Truth Verification," which markets the scientifically baseless Computer Voice Stress Analyzer (CVSA), has secured a default judgment in a federal lawsuit it filed against competitor Dektor PSE, a sole proprietorship run by Arthur Herring III.

In an order signed on Friday, 17 May 2019, U.S. Magistrate Judge Dave Lee Brannon directed Herring to immediately remove a website he created with information critical of NITV and its founder, Charles Humble:

https://nitvcvsaexposed.com/

At the moment, the above site remains online. Should it disappear, a mirror is available here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20190518135724/https://nitvcvsaexposed.com/

[George W. Maschke]

NITV has threatened Dektor's IT consultant, a resident of Pennsylvania, with a federal lawsuit that would be filed in Florida, if he failed to accede to its demands:

https://antipolygraph.org/blog/2019/06/06/nitv-threatens-competitors-it-consultant-with-federal-lawsuit/

[George W. Maschke]

A lawyer for NITV and Charles Humble has written to us claiming that the court order mentioned in the first post of this thread applies to content on AntiPolygraph.org and demanding the removal of a substantial portion of this website. We reject both the claim and the demand:

https://antipolygraph.org/blog/2019/06/28/pseudoscientist-dr-charles-humble-attempts-to-censor-antipolygraph-org/

[George W. Maschke]

On Monday, 16 December 2019, federal district judge Dave Lee Brannon of the Southern District of Florida filed a final default judgment in NITV v. Dektor Corporation et al., awarding the plaintiff double damages of $849,347.92:

https://antipolygraph.org/blog/2019/12/18/federal-judge-awards-cvsa-marketer-nitv-849347-92-in-lawsuit-against-rival-dektor-corporation/

[George W. Maschke]

On 28 April 2020, Arthur Herring III, who ran a voice stress analysis company called Dektor, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In his filing, Herring estimated his assets to be worth between $0 and $50,000 and his liabilities to be between $500,001 and $1 million.

In a Statement of Financial Affairs for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy, Herring disclosed that his sole income consists of contributions from his mother, which totaled $14,000 in 2018 and 2019 and $3,000 from 1 January 2020 through 28 April 2020. Herring also disclosed that NITV garnished $37,395.14 in bank accounts.

Herring's bankruptcy filing is Case No. 20-12141 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

On 1 June 2020, NITV Federal Services, LLC filed a Complaint to Determine Dischargeability of Debt against Herring, seeking to prevent him from discharging his judgment debt to NITV under bankruptcy law.

NITV's action is Case No. 20-00180 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Whether or not NITV is successful in preventing Herring from acquitting his debt through bankruptcy, it seems clear that Herring is indigent and that NITV has little prospect of collecting much more of the $849,347.92 awarded to it last year. This seems like poetic justice, considering NITV's continued failure to pay the 2009 $575,000 judgment against it in favor of E. Gary Baker.

[George W. Maschke]

By stipulation of the parties, NITV's bankruptcy court action against Arthur Herring III has been dismissed. As a consequence, the unpaid portion of Herring's $849,347.92 judgment debt to NITV will be discharged through bankruptcy.