IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

COVER SHEET - NOTICE OF FILING OF MOTION OR PETITION UNDER

LOCAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

CASE CAPTION: Atnight Media, LLC, et al. v. CIVIL CASE NO. CV-2024-009083
Stephanie Jo Trude, et al.

NATURE OF MATTER FILED: (please check one)

Petition Pursuant to Rule 206.1 Response to Petition Motion for Judgment on the
Pleadings Pursuant to Rule 1034(a)
x Motion Pursuant to Rule 208.1 Response to Motion Summary Judgment
Pursuant to Rule 1035.2
Family Law Petition/Motion Pursuant to Rule 206.8

FILING PARTY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SERVICE OF THE RULE RETURNABLE

DATE OR HEARING DATE UPON ALL PARTIES
20th day of ____________,
A motion or petition was filed in the above captioned matter on the ____ December 2024
______, which:
x
Requires you, Respondent, to file an Answer within twenty (20) days of the above date to this notice, or risk
the entry of an Order in favor of the Petitioner. Answers must be filed and time stamped by the Office of
January
Judicial Support by 4:30 PM on the following date _______________ 9
_____, 2024
________.

Requires all parties, to appear at a hearing/conference on the ____ day of _____________, _______,
at _____ in Courtroom ____, Delaware County Courthouse, Media, Pennsylvania. At this hearing/conference
you must be prepared to present all testimony and/or argument, and must ensure that your witnesses will be
present.

Was timely answered, thus requiring the scheduling of the following hearing in the above captioned matter
on: _______________ _____, ________ at 10:00 AM in Courtroom _____.

At this hearing, all parties must be prepared to present all testimony and/or argument and must ensure that
their witnesses will be present.

Qualifies as an Uncontested Motion or Petition, and as such requires neither an answer from the Respondent
nor the scheduling of a hearing in this matter.

Has been assigned to Judge _____________________________________.

FOR OFFICE USE ONLY

Mailing date: Processed by:

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

ATNIGHT MEDIA, LLC, DUANE :

“DOG” CHAPMAN, SETH ROGERS, : Case No.: CV-2024-009083
TONY L. MATHIS, ANDRA GRIFFIN, :
BRITTNEY NICOLE JACKSON, :
CHRISTINA O’DONNELL, JULIA : MOTION PURSUANT TO 42 PA.C.S. §
VALENTI, HONG XIE, and NIK “THE : 8320.1
HAT" HATZIEFSTATHIOU, :
:
Plaintiffs, : Filed on Behalf of Defendant:
: Stephanie Jo Trude
v. :
: Counsel of Record for this Party:
STEPHANIE JO TRUDE, and JESSICA :
LYNNE SENG, : Thomas W. King, III, Esq.
: PA. I.D. No. 21580
Defendants. : tking@dmkcg.com
:
: Thomas E. Breth, Esq.
: PA. I.D. No. 66350
: tbreth@dmkcg.com
:
: Sophia V. Benoit, Esq.
: PA. I.D. No. 334188
: sbenoit@dmkcg.com
:
: DILLON MCCANDLESS KING
: COULTER & GRAHAM L.L.P.
: 128 West Cunningham Street
: Butler, PA 16001
: Telephone: 724-283-2200
: Facsimile: 724-283-2298
:
: Robert S. Stickley, Esq.
: PA. I.D. No. 80849
: rstickley@stickley.law
:
: STICKLEY LAW, LLC
90 S. Newton Street Rd., Suite 11
Newtown Square, PA 19073
Telephone: 484-420-4184
 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

ATNIGHT MEDIA, LLC, DUANE :

“DOG” CHAPMAN, SETH ROGERS, : Case No.: CV-2024-009083
TONY L. MATHIS, ANDRA GRIFFIN, :
BRITTNEY NICOLE JACKSON, :
CHRISTINA O’DONNELL, JULIA :
VALENTI, HONG XIE, and NIK “THE :
HAT" HATZIEFSTATHIOU, :
:
Plaintiffs, :
:
v. :
:
STEPHANIE JO TRUDE, and JESSICA
LYNNE SENG,

Defendants.

MOTION PURSUANT TO 42 PA.C.S. § 8320.1

AND NOW comes Defendant Stephanie Jo Trude (hereinafter “Ms. Trude”), by and

through her undersigned counsel, to hereby move this Court to grant relief in accordance with

Pennsylvania’s Anti-SLAPP statute, codified at 42 Pa.C.S. § 8320.1, et seq., averring in support

thereof as follows:

1. Plaintiffs initiated the above captioned action by filing a Complaint for Injunctive

and Other Equitable Relief.

2. The undersigned accepted service of the Complaint on October 23, 2024.

3. On November 6, 2024, Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Leave to Amend their

Complaint requesting to join additional Defendants.

4. On November 12, 2024, Ms. Trude raised defenses under the anti-SLAPP law in

her Reply to Plaintiffs’ Petition for Preliminary Injunction, Final Injunction and Other Equitable

Relief.
 5. The within Motion is timely as it is brought within sixty (60) days of service of the

pleading asserting a cause of action based on protected public expression. 42 Pa.C.S. §

8340.16(b)(1).

6. Plaintiffs’ Complaint alleges that Plaintiffs are “engaged in the urgent and sensitive

task of locating Sebastian Drake Wayne Rogers, a 15-year-old missing child.” See Complaint, ¶

13.

7. Plaintiffs’ Complaint further alleges that Ms. Trude used her social media platform

with the “sole aim” of “inviting, inciting, instructing, and destroying the lives of anyone who dares

to search for answers or help locate the missing teenager.” See Complaint, ¶ 16.

8. Plaintiffs allege baseless allegations that mischaracterize Ms. Trude’s

constitutionally protected public expression as “reckless and unlawful.” See Complaint, ¶ 17.

9. Further, the Complaint includes a Plaintiff Duane “Dog” Chapman, a.k.a., Dog the

Bounty Hunter, without making factual allegations or claims on said Plaintiff’s behalf. Clearly,

the addition of this Plaintiff is for improper purposes, including, but not limited to, increased

publicity and notoriety surrounding the case.

10. In addition, the Complaint identifies a widely respected lawyer as counsel without

including a signature line on the pleadings for said lawyer. It is believed and therefore averred that

the inclusion of this counsel was without his knowledge or consent and that said lawyer is not now,

nor has he even been involved in this matter.

11. As further evidence of the impropriety of this Complaint, the Complaint contains

first person statements by counsel for Plaintiffs and includes multiple incidents of random

assertions by persons not involved in the litigation.

 12. The Complaint has been filed to quell Ms. Trude’s public expression, the exact

circumstance for which the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recently amended its anti-SLAPP law

to protect against. Further, this Complaint is contrary to the specific prohibitions contained within

the aforesaid Pennsylvania anti-SLAPP statute.

13. The Pennsylvania’s amendment is a direct response to the “disturbing increase in

lawsuits brought primarily to chill the valid exercise of protected public expression.” 42 Pa.C.S. §

8340.12(1).

14. The Pennsylvania General Assembly defined “protected public expression” as “a

person’s:

(1) communication in a legislative, executive, judicial or administrative proceeding;

(2) communication on an issue under consideration or review in a legislative, executive,

judicial or administrative proceeding; or

(3) exercise, on a matter of public concern, of the rights of freedom of speech or freedom

of the press, the right to assemble or petition or the right to associate, guaranteed by the

First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States or section 7 or 20 of article I of

the Constitution of Pennsylvania.”

42 Pa.C.S. § 8340.13.

15. Here, Plaintiffs filed their Complaint to impinge upon Ms. Trude’s free speech

rights and fair comment under the federal and state Constitutions.

16. In other words, Plaintiffs’ Complaint is intended to attack and suppress Ms. Trude’s

“protected public expression.”

 17. “A person is immune from civil liability for a cause of action based on protected

public expression if…[t]he party asserting the cause of action based on protected public expression

fails to…state a cause of action upon which relief can be granted.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 8340.15(1)(ii).

18. Plaintiffs’ Complaint is devoid of any factual or legal basis sufficient to sustain a

cause of action against Ms. Trude.

19. The Complaint is fundamentally flawed procedurally as well as for the reasons set

forth in the Preliminary Objections filed in this matter.

20. Accordingly, Ms. Trude files this Motion seeking dismissal of Plaintiffs’ cause of

action based on Ms. Trude’s protected public expression immunity pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. §

8340.16(a).

21. Ms. Trude is also entitled to “attorney’s fees, court costs, and expenses of litigation

in the underlying action.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 8320.1(b)(1).

22. Ms. Trude is further entitled to punitive damages as Plaintiffs brought the

underlying action “for the sole purpose of punishing or maliciously inhibiting public expression.”

42 Pa.C.S. § 8320.1(b)(2).

23. In accordance with 42 Pa.C.S. § 8340.16(d)(1), Ms. Trude respectfully requests this

Court to schedule an Oral Argument in this matter within sixty (60) days of the date of filing, or

on or before February 18, 2025.

WHEREFORE, Defendant Stephanie Jo Trude respectfully requests this Honorable Court

issue an Order dismissing the underlying action in its entirety, with prejudice, ordering Plaintiffs

to pay attorney’s fees and costs pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 8320.1(b)(1), and assessing punitive

damages against Plaintiffs pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 8320.1(b)(2) as this action was commenced
for the sole purpose of punishing or maliciously inhibiting protected public expression, and all

other relief deemed appropriate by the Court.

Respectfully submitted,

DILLON McCANDLESS KING STICKLEY LAW, LLC

COULTER & GRAHAM, L.L.P.
By: /s/ Robert S. Stickley, Esquire
By: /s/ Thomas W. King, III, Esquire Robert S. Stickley, Esquire
Thomas W. King, III, Esquire PA. I.D. No. 80849
PA. I.D. No. 21580 rstickley@stickley.law
tking@dmkcg.com
Thomas E. Breth, Esquire 90 S. Newton Street Road, Suite 11
PA. I.D. No. 66350 Newton Square, PA 19073
tbreth@dmkcg.com Telephone: 484-420-4184
Sophia V. Benoit, Esquire
PA. I.D. No. 334188
sbenoit@dmkcg.com

128 West Cunningham Street

Butler, PA 16001
Telephone: 724-283-2200
Facsimile: 724-293-2298
 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

I certify that this filing complies with the provisions of the Case Records Public Access

Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania that require filing confidential information

and documents differently than non-confidential information and documents

Submitted by: Thomas W. King, III, Esquire

Signature: /s/Thomas W. King, III_________

Name: Thomas W. King, III, Esquire

Attorney No.: 21580

(if applicable)
 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on this 20th day of December, 2024, a true and correct copy of the
within MOTION PURSUANT TO 42 PA.C.S. § 8320.1 was served upon all counsel of record
via email only, as follows:

VIA EMAIL ONLY

Joseph P. Lesniak, Esq.
The Law Offices of Joseph Lesniak, LLC
334 West Front Street
Media, PA 19063
jpl@jpllaw.net
Counsel for Plaintiffs

Terence P. Ruf, Esq.

The Law Office of Terence P. Ruf, Jr.
218 North Church Street, Suite E
West Chester, PA 19380
terenceruf@terenceruflaw.com
Counsel for Defendant, Jessica Lynne Seng
 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

ATNIGHT MEDIA, LLC, DUANE :

“DOG” CHAPMAN, SETH ROGERS, : Case No.: CV-2024-009083
TONY L. MATHIS, ANDRA GRIFFIN, :
BRITTNEY NICOLE JACKSON, :
CHRISTINA O’DONNELL, JULIA :
VALENTI, HONG XIE, and NIK “THE :
HAT" HATZIEFSTATHIOU, :
:
Plaintiffs, :
:
v. :
:
STEPHANIE JO TRUDE, and JESSICA
LYNNE SENG,

Defendants.

SCHEDULING ORDER

AND NOW, this _____ day of ____________, 202____, following receipt of Defendant

Stephanie Jo Trude’s Motion Pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 8320.1, an Oral Argument has been

scheduled on the Motion for _________________, __________________, 2025, which is within

sixty (60) days of the filing date of the Motion, in accordance with 42 Pa.C.S. § 8340.16(d)(1).

BY THE COURT:

______________________________
J.
 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

ATNIGHT MEDIA, LLC, DUANE :

“DOG” CHAPMAN, SETH ROGERS, : Case No.: CV-2024-009083
TONY L. MATHIS, ANDRA GRIFFIN, :
BRITTNEY NICOLE JACKSON, :
CHRISTINA O’DONNELL, JULIA :
VALENTI, HONG XIE, and NIK “THE :
HAT" HATZIEFSTATHIOU, :
:
Plaintiffs, :
:
v. :
:
STEPHANIE JO TRUDE, and JESSICA
LYNNE SENG,

Defendants.

PROPOSED ORDER OF COURT

AND NOW, this _____ day of ____________, 202____, upon consideration of Defendant

Stephanie Jo Trude’s Motion Pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 8320.1, any response thereto, and Oral

Argument thereon, it is ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that:

1. The Complaint at Docket Number CV-2024-009083 is dismissed in its entirety, with

prejudice.
2. Plaintiffs are ordered to pay attorney’s fees and costs of Stephanie Jo Trude in accordance
with 42 Pa.C.S. § 8320.1(b)(1).
3. Plaintiffs are ordered to pay punitive damages to Stephanie Jo Trude in the amount of
__________ pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 8320.1(b)(2), as the underlying action was initiated
with the sole purpose of punishing or maliciously inhibiting protected public expression.

BY THE COURT:

______________________________
J.