Dating becomes a uniquely shared experience when a person's former flings can get together and reminisce on the warning signs they saw or should have seen.
We've seen this plot play out in stories old and new, from William Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" to "Legally Blonde." And perhaps the most recent iteration of the gag is the more than 3 million women sharing their experiences with the same supposed eligible bachelors in city-centric Facebook groups titled "Are We Dating The Same Guy?"
But when it comes to one particular "Same Guy," he claims the age-old narrative went too far, according to a $75,000 lawsuit he filed Monday.
U.S. District Court of Illinois Northern District
Nikko D'Ambrosio, a 31-year-old Chicago-area resident, alleges negative dating reviews about him posted to the city's subgroup of the Facebook phenomenon — which has more than 80,000 members — ruined his reputation and subjected him to defamation, doxxing, emotional distress and more.
The suit names nearly 30 women — including the group's moderators — one woman's male relative, a multitude of Meta and Facebook properties, Patreon, GoFundMe and AWDTSG, Inc. — which owns and operates the network of groups and its website.
D'Ambrosio claims the character assassination began in November, when one defendant he had gone on a few dates with earlier in the year posted his photo to the page along with "false and defamatory" statements about him, then deleted it and reposted it anonymously after he reached out to her.
U.S. District Court of Illinois Northern District
Screenshots of comments on the post and others that asked about him are included in the lawsuit, many of which alleged similar observations about D'Ambrosio.
One anonymous user said D'Ambrosio was "very clingy very fast," "kept talking about how I don't want to see his bad side" and texted her on a different phone once she blocked his number. Other comments show red flag emojis or say he "ghosted" them.
U.S. District Court of Illinois Northern District
D'Ambrosio said he reached out to Facebook and its parent company Meta demanding the posts be removed to no avail. His lawsuit alleges the social media companies don't take action and "willfully and intentionally" continue to display the content to profit off of advertising on the "Are We Dating The Same Guy?" groups.
He also says through the groups, the tech defendants permit women to anonymously "discuss and disparage men in their communities with which they have had allegedly unsatisfactory dating experiences" with no "independent fact-checking of statements."
"They're permitted to make statements, publish photos, defame, threaten, harass, belittle, or otherwise attack men whom they allege to have engaged in a dating relationship with void of any oversight and with total impunity," the lawsuit states.
The Chicago man also alleges moderators asking users not to share posts outside of the invite-only group demonstrates "their intent and willingness to conspire to conceal their illegal activities in order to ensure the continued commercial profitability of their illegal enterprise."
Moderators with AWDTSG, Inc. have used different fundraising methods — like the two defendants GoFundMe and Patreon as well as Venmo — to raise money for app development and group maintenance, according to the group's website.
"Anytime we've done any sort of post for donations it was to stay ahead of expenses, to feel appreciated or to fund paying people to help me create new ways to help women stay safe," the website's transparency page says.
D'Ambrosio is seeking injunctive relief preventing any other "false claims" be published about him along with the $75,000 in damages.
