Tampa Radio Bubba Wants $1M Lawsuit Thrown Out

Bubba Clem

Lawyers for Tampa Bay area radio host Bubba the Love Sponge Clem have filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Nielsen Audio in federal court, according to the Tampa Business Journal.

"Nielsen's complaint bites off more than it can chew," the court document, filed on Friday, states, adding that Nielsen tried to "rewrite an isolated instance of poor judgment ... into a noisy tale of pervasive fraud that has damaged an entire industry. Not so," it states.

Nielsen filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida in mid-October, seeking punitive damages for what it claims was the "willful, wanton and malicious nature" of Clem in relation to a ratings tampering incident, according to the lawsuit.

Clem publicly admitted he was "humbled and embarrassed" by the situation. Beasley Media Group, operator of WBRN 98.7 FM, at the time said it condemned Clem's actions and took "appropriate steps to ensure that such conduct does not occur in the future."

The filing on Friday said Clem's camp believes the dispute should have ended after Beasley's investigation and Clem's suspension. The filing also says Nielsen "fails to deliver" evidence of "systematic and ongoing" actions involving radio panelists, evidence of fraud and other counts in the original lawsuit.

The incident caused Nielsen to exclude WBRN from the September 2015 ratings report, and consequently from the October report as well, when Nielsen claimed it had further evidence of tampering.