The Inertia Contributing Writer
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Titans of Mavericks big wave surf contest at Half Moon Bay, CA on February 12, 2016.

Titans of Mavericks big wave surf contest at Half Moon Bay, CA on February 12, 2016. Photo: Ben Ginsberg


The Inertia

The activist who sued the Titans of Mavericks organizers for defamation has dismissed his lawsuit.

John Charles Ullom, a local who, in his words, offers “volunteer public oversight” to the permitting process of the iconic big wave contest, withdrew the suit on Nov. 16. He says he withdrew it because he doesn’t want it to “inflict pain” on friends, family and other people who Cartel Management, the contest organizers, wished to depose.

“Further, they are demanding all of my communications with just about everybody. I have lots of contacts that share info with me concerning Coastside and San Mateo county issues,” Ullom said.

According to the lawsuit, in December 2015 numerous people in the San Mateo County area received an email from the fake address JohnCharlesUllom@gmail.com. The email directed readers to a phony WordPress website in Ullom’s name containing “numerous derogatory and libelous statements,” as the complaint stated. Ullom sued Cartel alleging that they were responsible for posting the material from an IP address they had access to.

A press release made on behalf of Ullom at the time of filing alleged that the fake website was intended “to serve as retaliation for insuring that Cartel followed the law in the permitting process for the Mavericks contest.”

For their part, Cartel Management offered this statement on the erstwhile lawsuit:

“We’re unclear as to who Mr. Ullom is and how this person is related to Titans of Mavericks. What we do know is, that he is a transplant heckler from Minnesota with a checkered past. According to local sources, Mr. Ullom has visions of grandeur and is routinely seen as a community pestilence. Back to Maverick’s.”

 
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