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1 ROBERT S. NELSON (SBN 220984)
NELSON LAW GROUP
2 345 West Portal Avenue, Suite 110
San Francisco, CA 94127
3 (415) 702-9869 (phone)
(415) 592-8671 (fax) 7/16/2021
4 rnelson@nelsonlawgroup.net
5 Attorneys for Plaintiff JOHN V. OYLER
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8 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
9 IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
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JOHN V. OYLER, an individual, Case No. TBD 21-CIV-03848
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12 Plaintiff,
v.
COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES
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JOHN DOE and DOES 2 through 10,
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JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
15 Defendants.
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Plaintiff JOHN V. OYLER (“Plaintiff”), by and through his attorneys of record, the
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Nelson Law Group, hereby complains against JOHN DOE and DOES 2 through 10, inclusive, as
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follows:
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NATURE OF THE ACTION
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1. This action is brought for unlawful online impersonation in violation of California
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Penal Code §528.5.
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JURISDICTION AND VENUE
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2. Plaintiff is a natural person who at the time relevant to this Complaint rented a
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residence in the County of San Mateo.
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3. Plaintiff does not know the true names and capacities of those defendants sued
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herein as Does 1 through 10, inclusive, and therefore sues these defendants by such fictitious
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COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
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names. Plaintiff will amend this complaint to allege the unnamed defendants’ true names and
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capacities, whenever they are ascertained. Plaintiff is informed and believes, and on that basis
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alleges, that each of the defendants sued herein as Does 1 through 10, inclusive, is in some
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manner legally responsible for the wrongful acts and/or omissions alleged herein.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS
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4. Plaintiff is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of BeiGene, a
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biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, and commercialization of
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treatments for cancer. Beigene maintains an office in San Mateo from which Plaintiff often
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works.
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5. BeiGene is a global company that has dual headquarters in Cambridge,
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Massachusetts and Beijing, China and corporate offices in Shanghai, China, San Mateo and
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Emeryville, California and Basel, Switzerland. It is listed on the NASDAQ and Hong Kong stock
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exchanges and is in the process of obtaining a listing on the Shanghai stock exchange.
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6. BeiGene was founded in Beijing, China in 2010 by Mr. Oyler, an American with a
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long history as an innovator in running and starting biopharmaceutical companies and Xiaodong
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Wang, Ph.D., a renowned scientist who has served as the founding Director of the National
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Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing, China since 2003. BeiGene has significant business
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dealings in China, including more than 5,000 employees and facilities in Shanghai, Beijng,
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Suzhou and Guangzhou.
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7. China is governed by the Chinese Communist Party (“CCP”). Xi Jinping is both
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the General Secretary of the CCP and President of the People’s Republic of China, positions he
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has held since 2012 and 2013, respectively.
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8. Plaintiff travels to China frequently in connection with his work for BeiGene. He
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is sometimes accompanied by his family.
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9. In (or around) January 2021, Plaintiff began noticing postings on Twitter from the
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handle @John_V_Oyler. Plaintiff had not established that handle; had no knowledge of who had
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created it; and did not consent to the creation of the handle or any postings made under it.
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COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
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10. The postings from the @John_V_Oyler handle were written as if they were
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coming from Plaintiff himself. They referenced Plaintiff’s family members by name and indicated
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that BeiGene was his company. The posts also made numerous provocative references to the
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CCP, Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials.
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11. Specific posts from the @John_V_Oyler handle included:
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• #CCP#China: I have a company in China – BeiGene – and a wife [NAME] and
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daughter [NAME]. #Beijing better not detain us when we return to China. We
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have done good work and Xi Jinping has done bad things. Don’t do it. Down with
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Xi Jinping and the Chinese communist party.
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• #CCPVirus. I am an #American and have my company in #China. You’re #lies
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have caused that caused the virus have caused me problems while here in #USA.
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• Hello #China. I have business in China and Foreign Minister Wang Yi is making
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business for me difficult. Fire Minister Wang Yi NOW!!! He is bad and should be
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replaced.
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• President X Jinping of China-you need to be removed immediately from your job.
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Hong Kong should be free of you President Xi Jinping should be fired. Hong
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Kong free of you leave NOW.
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12. The timing of the postings corresponded to Plaintiff’s trips to China. Plaintiff
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perceived the fraudulent Twitter postings as threats aimed at intimidating and/or harming him and
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his family personally and/or BeiGene’s business dealings in China.
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13. The fraudulent postings continued sporadically until January 2021.
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14. Plaintiff notified Twitter that someone was impersonating him through the
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@John_V_Oyler handle. Plaintiff is informed and believes that Twitter then removed both the
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handle and postings made through it pursuant to its impersonation policy.
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COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
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CAUSE OF ACTION
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(Online Impersonation in Violation of Cal. Penal Code §528.5)
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Plaintiff re-alleges and incorporates by reference herein all allegations previously made in
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Paragraphs 1 through 14, above.
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15. Plaintiff was impersonated through electronic means by the @John_V_Oyler
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account on Twitter.
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16. The account was opened without Plaintiff’s knowledge or consent.
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17. Both the account handle itself and the postings made under it would cause viewers
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to reasonably believe that Plaintiff was the poster.
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18. The @John_V_Oyler account was opened, and the postings under it were made,
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for purposes of harming, intimidating, threatening or defrauding Plaintiff.
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19. Plaintiff was harmed by the online impersonation of him.
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20. The above-described impersonation was malicious, oppressive, willful and
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fraudulent.
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment as set forth herein.
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PRAYER FOR RELIEF AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
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WHEREFORE, Plaintiff JOHN V. OYLER demands a jury trial and damages against
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Defendant(s) as follows:
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1. Compensatory damages according to proof,;
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2. Emotional distress damages, subject to proof;
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3. Civil and/or statutory penalties;
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4. Reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, and costs of suit occurred herein;
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5. Punitive damages;
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6. Interest, including prejudgment interest, at the appropriate legal rate; and
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7. For such other and further relief as the court may deem just and proper.
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COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
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Dated: July ___, 2021 NELSON LAW GROUP
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4 By:
Robert S. Nelson
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Attorneys for Plaintiff
6 JOHN V. OYLER
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COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
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1 ROBERT S. NELSON (SBN 220984) NELSON LAW GROUP 2 345 West Portal Avenue, Suite 110 San Francisco, CA 94127 3 (415) 702-9869 (phone) (415) 592-8671 (fax) 7/16/2021 4 rnelson@nelsonlawgroup.net 5 Attorneys for Plaintiff JOHN V. OYLER 6 7 8 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 9 IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO 10 JOHN V. OYLER, an individual, Case No. TBD 21-CIV-03848 11 12 Plaintiff, v. COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES 13 JOHN DOE and DOES 2 through 10, 14 inclusive, JURY TRIAL DEMANDED 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff JOHN V. OYLER (“Plaintiff”), by and through his attorneys of record, the 18 Nelson Law Group, hereby complains against JOHN DOE and DOES 2 through 10, inclusive, as 19 follows: 20 NATURE OF THE ACTION 21 1. This action is brought for unlawful online impersonation in violation of California 22 Penal Code §528.5. 23 JURISDICTION AND VENUE 24 2. Plaintiff is a natural person who at the time relevant to this Complaint rented a 25 residence in the County of San Mateo. 26 3. Plaintiff does not know the true names and capacities of those defendants sued 27 herein as Does 1 through 10, inclusive, and therefore sues these defendants by such fictitious 28 COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL 1 names. Plaintiff will amend this complaint to allege the unnamed defendants’ true names and 2 capacities, whenever they are ascertained. Plaintiff is informed and believes, and on that basis 3 alleges, that each of the defendants sued herein as Does 1 through 10, inclusive, is in some 4 manner legally responsible for the wrongful acts and/or omissions alleged herein. 5 STATEMENT OF FACTS 6 4. Plaintiff is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of BeiGene, a 7 biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, and commercialization of 8 treatments for cancer. Beigene maintains an office in San Mateo from which Plaintiff often 9 works. 10 5. BeiGene is a global company that has dual headquarters in Cambridge, 11 Massachusetts and Beijing, China and corporate offices in Shanghai, China, San Mateo and 12 Emeryville, California and Basel, Switzerland. It is listed on the NASDAQ and Hong Kong stock 13 exchanges and is in the process of obtaining a listing on the Shanghai stock exchange. 14 6. BeiGene was founded in Beijing, China in 2010 by Mr. Oyler, an American with a 15 long history as an innovator in running and starting biopharmaceutical companies and Xiaodong 16 Wang, Ph.D., a renowned scientist who has served as the founding Director of the National 17 Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing, China since 2003. BeiGene has significant business 18 dealings in China, including more than 5,000 employees and facilities in Shanghai, Beijng, 19 Suzhou and Guangzhou. 20 7. China is governed by the Chinese Communist Party (“CCP”). Xi Jinping is both 21 the General Secretary of the CCP and President of the People’s Republic of China, positions he 22 has held since 2012 and 2013, respectively. 23 8. Plaintiff travels to China frequently in connection with his work for BeiGene. He 24 is sometimes accompanied by his family. 25 9. In (or around) January 2021, Plaintiff began noticing postings on Twitter from the 26 handle @John_V_Oyler. Plaintiff had not established that handle; had no knowledge of who had 27 created it; and did not consent to the creation of the handle or any postings made under it. 28 2 COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL 1 10. The postings from the @John_V_Oyler handle were written as if they were 2 coming from Plaintiff himself. They referenced Plaintiff’s family members by name and indicated 3 that BeiGene was his company. The posts also made numerous provocative references to the 4 CCP, Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials. 5 11. Specific posts from the @John_V_Oyler handle included: 6 • #CCP#China: I have a company in China – BeiGene – and a wife [NAME] and 7 daughter [NAME]. #Beijing better not detain us when we return to China. We 8 have done good work and Xi Jinping has done bad things. Don’t do it. Down with 9 Xi Jinping and the Chinese communist party. 10 • #CCPVirus. I am an #American and have my company in #China. You’re #lies 11 have caused that caused the virus have caused me problems while here in #USA. 12 • Hello #China. I have business in China and Foreign Minister Wang Yi is making 13 business for me difficult. Fire Minister Wang Yi NOW!!! He is bad and should be 14 replaced. 15 • President X Jinping of China-you need to be removed immediately from your job. 16 Hong Kong should be free of you President Xi Jinping should be fired. Hong 17 Kong free of you leave NOW. 18 12. The timing of the postings corresponded to Plaintiff’s trips to China. Plaintiff 19 perceived the fraudulent Twitter postings as threats aimed at intimidating and/or harming him and 20 his family personally and/or BeiGene’s business dealings in China. 21 13. The fraudulent postings continued sporadically until January 2021. 22 14. Plaintiff notified Twitter that someone was impersonating him through the 23 @John_V_Oyler handle. Plaintiff is informed and believes that Twitter then removed both the 24 handle and postings made through it pursuant to its impersonation policy. 25 26 27 /// 28 3 COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL 1 CAUSE OF ACTION 2 (Online Impersonation in Violation of Cal. Penal Code §528.5) 3 Plaintiff re-alleges and incorporates by reference herein all allegations previously made in 4 Paragraphs 1 through 14, above. 5 15. Plaintiff was impersonated through electronic means by the @John_V_Oyler 6 account on Twitter. 7 16. The account was opened without Plaintiff’s knowledge or consent. 8 17. Both the account handle itself and the postings made under it would cause viewers 9 to reasonably believe that Plaintiff was the poster. 10 18. The @John_V_Oyler account was opened, and the postings under it were made, 11 for purposes of harming, intimidating, threatening or defrauding Plaintiff. 12 19. Plaintiff was harmed by the online impersonation of him. 13 20. The above-described impersonation was malicious, oppressive, willful and 14 fraudulent. 15 WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment as set forth herein. 16 PRAYER FOR RELIEF AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL 17 WHEREFORE, Plaintiff JOHN V. OYLER demands a jury trial and damages against 18 Defendant(s) as follows: 19 1. Compensatory damages according to proof,; 20 2. Emotional distress damages, subject to proof; 21 3. Civil and/or statutory penalties; 22 4. Reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, and costs of suit occurred herein; 23 5. Punitive damages; 24 6. Interest, including prejudgment interest, at the appropriate legal rate; and 25 7. For such other and further relief as the court may deem just and proper. 26 27 28 4 COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL 1 Dated: July ___, 2021 NELSON LAW GROUP 2 3 4 By: Robert S. Nelson 5 Attorneys for Plaintiff 6 JOHN V. OYLER 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 5 COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL