Nerd & Tie Network

About the Ryan Kopf Lawsuit

Note: For those of you who would prefer to listen to or watch a summary of the case, we have put out an hour long episode on the Ryan Kopf lawsuit. In that episode we talk about the details and timeline of the case over the seven and a half years of both the Iowa lawsuit and the Illinois lawsuit he filed against us.

Table of Contents

What Happened

The Short Version:

Hi, I’m Trae Dorn, and I run Nerd & Tie. Besides our podcasts, this site has always had a focus on convention news. In our earlier years I published a few stories about Convention organizer Ryan Kopf (who runs multiple events in the Midwest and is involved in a few others) which weren’t all that flattering.

At the end of 2015, Mr. Kopf decided to sue me for defamation.

He filed that first suit in the state of Iowa. After adding (now former) Nerd & Tie contributor Pher Sturz to that lawsuit, we successfully got it dismissed on jurisdictional grounds. Rather than let the bad PR die down though, he decided to refile the case in Illinois at the end of June 2016.

I stand behind the articles I wrote (and you can find links to the articles along with a link to the petition Kopf filed in the “Long Version”), but this entire ordeal lasted over six years.

But I’m happy to say that in October of 2022 the case was dismissed for failure to prosecute.

The Long Version (with links):

We do a lot of stuff at Nerd & Tie . We produce multiple podcasts, briefly ran a convention, and provide in-depth coverage of the con scene. That last bit is one of the things we’re most proud of, but is also what’s led to some of our biggest headaches.

As those of you who follow this site may be aware, for the first half of 2016 I found myself fighting a lawsuit AnimeCon.org/Chrono LC CEO Ryan Kopf filed against me in the state of Iowa. It was over some of the coverage of his events I’ve written over the last couple of years (mostly these two articles). You can read the original Iowa petition here: [ Page 1  / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 ]. He later amended the suit to include Nerd & Tie podcast co-creator and (now former) contributor Pher Sturz, and you can read the amended version of the Iowa petition here.

It should be noted that Pher was added to that suit solely because of posts made on his personal Facebook page in support of me.

Eventually things ended, with the case against myself and Pher Sturz being dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, and thankfully our legal fees with that first case were covered thanks to donations from our readers and listeners. We had hoped that would be the end of this situation, but unfortunately rather than take the minor PR hit and move on, Mr. Kopf decided to keep this going.

In mid-2016 both Pher Sturz and I were served once again.

You see, Ryan Kopf has had his attorneys refile the case in the state of Illinois in late June of 2016. You can read the original Illinois petition (2016-M3-003898) here. In November of 2016 an amended version of that petition was later filed. Pher and I were both named, along with Nerd & Tie itself (although that last bit is less important as Nerd & Tie is not its own legal entity — as I am the sole legal owner of the site).

The lawsuit dragged on for multiple years though, and we didn’t see the end in sight for quite some time.

Until October of 2022. When we’re happy to say the second case was dismissed — this time for failure to prosecute.

So, in summary:

For more, feel free to browse our Ryan Kopf tag on the website for more detailed information.

What’s Currently Going On?

At the moment? It’s over (again)! Hopefully things stay that way.

How Can I Help?

At the moment, with no current legal action happening, we aren’t in need of help. We formerly had a GoFundMe running to help with our legal fees, but as the case has been dismissed we have decided to close it.

Thank you to everyone who helped us throughout this ordeal.