From the start of the federal action, Whiteley and McNamara have both contended that Breaking Code Silence’s Complaint was no more than judicial extortion and retaliation. Both Whiteley and McNamara believe that the Plaintiff’s allegations were a work of fiction designed to intimidate McNamara into surrendering a domain name she purchased with her own funds and in her own name years prior to her involvement with Breaking Code Silence and never transferred to the company and to avoid repaying expenses McNamara incurred at the request of the Plaintiff.

The Complaint against Whiteley is simply retaliation for his reporting of the harassment he suffered at the hands of Breaking Code Silence’s management and his resulting refusal to further assist Breaking Code Silence.

In this continuation of “A Plot To Sue?”, we present newly filed evidence from the public record, organized chronologically alongside previously released material. Below is a sample of the messages, texts, chats, and conversations exchanged between the parties, which reflect a similar intent and tone. Many more exist, though not all are currently public. 

2021

2021 – Testimony of former board member Boyles

In his deposition, former Breaking Code Silence board member Boyles testified that Vanessa Hughes, also known as Dr. Vanessa Hughes, threatened to sue both Whiteley and McNamara before any allegations in the complaint were made.

February 2022 – Before Alleged De-Indexing

February 6th, 2022 Facebook Chat between Athena Kolbe and Chelsea Filer (also known as Chelsea Papciak)

The following is a February 2022 chat between Chelsea Filer (also known as Chelsea Papciak) and Athena Kolbe (highlighted in blue), occurring over a month before the alleged de-indexing at the center of the BCS lawsuit. In the exchange, Kolbe appears to urge Filer to work with BCS to sue Mrs. McNamara for her insurance money and to “prove that Katie is this crazy person who did all this stuff.” Filer later authenticated the chat as true and correct. In her deposition, Filer testified that she understood Kolbe’s intent to involve her in a lawsuit against McNamara to force her to pay everyone’s legal fees related to an unrelated dispute between BCS and Filer.

From Chelsea Filer’s Deposition Excerpt
February 11th, 2022 – Papciak’s Motion to Dismiss

In a separate lawsuit involving BCS, Chelsea Filer’s (Papciak’s) Motion to Dismiss was granted. However, the court gave BCS permission to amend its complaint to address the deficiencies. In plain terms, the original complaint was dismissed for being legally insufficient, but the case wasn’t over—the court allowed BCS another chance to fix the issues, such as by adding specific facts, clarifying legal claims, or correcting technical errors. This typically indicates the court believes the flaws might be fixable with a better pleading. The full order can be read here.

February 11th, 2022 Text Message Conversation between Chelsea Filer (Chelsea Papciak), Jenny Magill, and Vanessa Hughes

Below is a February 2022 text conversation between Chelsea Filer (also known as Chelsea Papciak), Jenny Magill (CEO of Breaking Code Silence), and Vanessa Hughes (BCS Chairwoman), occurring over a month before the alleged de-indexing central to the BCS lawsuit. In the exchange, Filer says, “Don’t worry where we left off. I’ll talk to Jenna. We’re all sensitive about the ‘narrative,’ but I see why this is an important issue to pin down.” Referring to Ms. McNamara, she adds, “I want to ramrod Katie.” Filer authenticated the conversation as true and correct during her deposition.

From Chelsea Filer’s Deposition Excerpt

In her deposition, Chelsea Filer confirmed that, as of February 11, 2022, she understood BCS was planning to sue Mrs. McNamara – well before the alleged de-indexing occurred.

February 12th, 2022 Text Message Conversation between Chelsea Filer (Chelsea Papciak), Jenny Magill, and Vanessa Hughes

In a February 12, 2022 text conversation with Jenny Magill and Vanessa Hughes, Chelsea Filer discussed what was needed to move “forward with the suit” and offered to provide “any evidence you may need.” This exchange occurred before the alleged de-indexing.

February 22nd, 2022 Text Message Conversation between Chelsea Filer (Chelsea Papciak), Jenny Magill, and Vanessa Hughes

In this conversation, Ms. Filer says, “I know we’re probably burned out for today, but I’m hoping to meet with the other ladies tomorrow to discuss settlement terms. I’d like to follow up with you. hopefully we can finalize something soon.”

Late February 2022 – Chelsea Filer, Jenny Magill, and Vanessa Hughes Settlement Terms

The following document, outlining proposed settlement terms, appears to have been jointly drafted and edited by Chelsea Filer, Jenny Magill, and Vanessa Hughes. One bolded sentence states: “BCS promises to give the cost of legal fees incurred out of recovered funds from legal action or from recovered funds.”

March 2022

March 8th, 2022 – The Court orders a Show Cause in the Papciak/Filer Action

The Court orders BCS to show cause for its failure to file an amended complaint.

March 9th, 2022 – BCS files a Voluntary Dismissal

BCS voluntarily dismisses its claims against Chelsea Filer (Papciak) and Jenna Bulis.

March 9th, 2022 – BCS Alleges De-Indexing

According to BCS’s records, a series of de-indexing requests was made and canceled on March 8, followed by a final request on March 9—the same day BCS voluntarily dismissed its claims against Chelsea Filer.

March 20th, 2022 – Slack Chat with Vanessa Hughes and Jenna Bulis

Vanessa Hughes (Chairwoman of the BCS Board) appears to present Jenna Bulis with settlement terms developed by herself, Chelsea Filer, and Jenny Magill. Bulis resists several provisions, including the continued inclusion of a defendant not involved in negotiations and the delay in payment, which depended on recovering funds from a lawsuit against Mrs. McNamara.

March 22nd, 2022 – Text Message Conversation between Chelsea Filer and Vanessa Hughes

In this conversation, Chelsea Filer appears to advise Vanessa Hughes on the timing of a potential lawsuit against Mrs. McNamara, stating, “We have time. Katie does not,” and cautioning, “Although I would caution you about suing her before the trademark becomes abandoned, because it might lock her in technically an owner when the suit was filed…”

March 28nd, 2022 – Breaking Code Silence files lawsuit

On March 28, 2022, Breaking Code Silence filed a federal lawsuit against Whiteley and McNamara.

March 29th, 2022 – Text Message Conversation between Chelsea Filer and Vanessa Hughes

In this conversation, Chelsea Filer asks Vanessa Hughes about the lawsuit, shares information on relevant trademark applications, and says, “I do hope that you won’t use this against Jen. I told her today she just needs to accept your offer and get out of this.”

March 31st, 2022 – BCS files Voluntary Dismissal for Walker

BCS voluntarily dismisses its remaining claim against the final defendant, Jen Walker, in the Breaking Code Silence v. Papciak case.

April 2022

April 1st, 2022 – Chelsea Filer Deposition

According to her testimony, as of April 1, 2022, after the lawsuit against Whiteley and McNamara had been filed, Chelsea Filer still believed she might receive money from BCS recovered through that litigation.

April 6th, 2022 – Papciak Defendants file Motion for Attorneys’ Fees

On April 6, the defendants in Breaking Code Silence v. Papciak filed a motion for attorneys’ fees against BCS.

April 2022 – Regular Discourse

Throughout the remainder of April 2022, even after filing the motion for attorneys’ fees against BCS, Chelsea Filer (Papciak) continued to engage in frequent, friendly, and supportive private conversations with Vanessa Hughes and Jenny Magill about the litigation against McNamara and Whiteley.

May 2022

May 2nd, 2022 – BCS files Opposition to Papicak’s Motion

On May 2, 2022, Breaking Code Silence filed an opposition to the Papciak defendants’ motion for attorneys’ fees.

May 2022 – Regular Discourse

Throughout the remainder of May 2022, even after BCS filed its opposition to her motion for attorneys’ fees, Chelsea Filer (Papciak) continued to have frequent, friendly, and supportive private conversations with Vanessa Hughes and Jenny Magill about the litigation against McNamara and Whiteley.

May 31st, 2022 – Chelsea Filer posts about Whiteley on Reddit

In multiple comments, she firmly stated she had no evidence supporting the complaint, “no dog in the fight,” and “no relationship with” Breaking Code Silence. Notably, she also expressed that she didn’t believe Mr. Whiteley was liable for the accusations, adding, “These lawsuits are a waste of time and money. Survivors shouldn’t be doing this to other survivors.” She also stated that “I don’t doubt he was discriminated against.”

June-July 2022

June-to-July – Regular Discourse

Throughout June and July 2022, even after BCS opposed her motion for attorneys’ fees, Chelsea Filer (Papciak) continued to engage in frequent, friendly, and supportive private conversations with Vanessa Hughes and Jenny Magill about the litigation against McNamara and Whiteley.

August 2022

August – Regular Discourse

Throughout August 2022, even after BCS filed its Opposition to Papciak’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees, Chelsea Filer (Papicak) continued to have frequent, friendly, and supportive private conversations with Vanessa Hughes and Jenny Magill regarding the litigation against McNamara and Whiteley.

August 22nd, 2022 – Text Message Conversation between Chelsea Filer and Vanessa Hughes

In this conversation, more than five months after the lawsuit against her had been dismissed, Chelsea Filer continues discussing the possibility of receiving settlement funds from BCS. Referring to Carter Reum (Paris Hilton’s husband), she says: “I was going to say if everything went best case scenario, Carter would agree to give you all the promised funds ($100K) if we can settle our lawsuit. We could negotiate what that means, and make sure we are in the best position to win against Katie. We need Justice, she must be stopped.”

Filer also shares a Signal chat screenshot between herself, Jenna Bulis, and others, telling Jenna: “I think holding on to the .net is a liability. Now that Katie is going for the Trademark, I do not want to be caught up in the middle of this. Neither do you Jen… and you know she will. I think we should turn the .net over to BCS. The fact that it puts them in the best position to beat Katie is just a bonus.”

She adds: “Let BCS duke it out with Katie, get out of this, and hopefully they can win and recover funds from her. They already offered to pay attorneys fees if that happens, so I want to help them win if I can. I know we aren’t necessarily on the right page on this but I feel strongly this is what we need to do.”

Separately, Filer tells Hughes she would “consider a position as a policy advisor with BCS, but as a collaborative coalition member,” stating, “It’s just hard to explain that BCS sued me and now I’m working for you lol.” She reassures Hughes, saying she’s “just happy to have a good relationship now” with her.

September 2022

September 13th, 2022 – Papciak’s Motion for Attorneys Fees Denied

On September 13, 2022, the Court denied the Papciak defendants’ motion for attorneys’ fees. The ruling made clear that Chelsea Filer and Jenna Bulis were not considered “prevailing parties,” nor was the case deemed “exceptional” under the applicable legal standards, including considerations of frivolousness, improper motivation, or factual and legal unreasonableness. The full text of the decision can be read here.

September – Regular Discourse

Throughout September 2022, even after the Papciak defendants’ motion for attorneys’ fees was denied, Chelsea Filer (Papciak) continued to engage in frequent, friendly, and supportive private conversations with Vanessa Hughes and Jenny Magill about the litigation against McNamara and Whiteley.

End of September 2022 – Former BCS COO allegedly pressured to privately sue McNamara

In his deposition, the former COO testified that in late 2022, BCS President Vanessa Hughes (also known as Dr. Vanessa Hughes) and CEO Jenny Magill asked him to personally sue Mrs. McNamara and to allocate part of any potential settlement or award. He stated: ‘It was during that time period when all this was happening that Miss Hughes had called me and asked me to, depending on what the settlement was, to reserve $40,000 to pay off Chelsea Filer and Jenna Bulis in another lawsuit that BCS — that they were handling at the time for settlement, so that we could walk away from that and obtain ownership of a website domain thatwould potentially further Miss Magill and Mrs. Hughes’ case in this situation.” 

Ultimately, he never filed a lawsuit against Mrs. McNamara.

October-December 2022

October-December 2022 – Regular Discourse

Throughout the rest of 2022, Chelsea Filer (Papciak) maintained frequent, friendly, and supportive private conversations with Vanessa Hughes and Jenny Magill about the litigation against McNamara and Whiteley.

January 2023

January 12th, 2023 – Chelsea Filer transfers BCS-related domains to BCS

Around January 12, 2023, Chelsea Filer transferred ownership of several BCS-related domain names to Breaking Code Silence.

January 2023 – Regular Discourse

Throughout January 2023, Chelsea Filer (Papciak) maintained frequent, friendly, and supportive private conversations with Vanessa Hughes and Jenny Magill about the litigation against McNamara and Whiteley.

February 2023

February 2023 – Regular Discourse

Throughout February 2023, Chelsea Filer (Papciak) maintained frequent, friendly, and supportive private conversations with Vanessa Hughes and Jenny Magill about the litigation against McNamara and Whiteley.

February 16th, 2023 – Text conversation between Jenny Magill and the COO of Breaking Code Silence

The following text exchange referencing McNamara is between Breaking Code Silence CEO Jenny Magill and the former COO. The former COO provided context for the conversation in a declaration.

March 2023

March 2023 – Regular Discourse

Throughout March 2023, Chelsea Filer (Papciak) maintained frequent, friendly, and supportive private conversations with Vanessa Hughes and Jenny Magill about the litigation against McNamara and Whiteley.

On or around March 30th, 2023 – Chelsea Filer signs her trademark rights to BCS

On or around March 30, 2023, Chelsea Filer (Papciak) appears to have assigned all trademark rights related to Breaking Code Silence to the organization itself.

April 2023

April 2023 – Regular Discourse

Throughout April 2023, Chelsea Filer (Papciak) continued to engage in frequent, friendly, and supportive private conversations with Vanessa Hughes and Jenny Magill concerning the litigation against McNamara and Whiteley.

April 2023 – Chelsea Filer is subpoenaed

By April 2023, McNamara and Whiteley were facing difficulties obtaining discovery from Breaking Code Silence. After Vanessa Hughes was only partially deposed and then left the country for three months, their attorneys subpoenaed Chelsea Filer, as partial discovery had already revealed communications between her and BCS. Filer initially contacted Hughes for help in quashing the subpoena, and Hughes advised her to reach out to BCS’s attorney. Filer later shared a draft of her motion to quash with Hughes via a Google Drive link.

May 2023

May 2023 – Chelsea Filer files her motion to quash

Chelsea Filer filed a motion to quash and shared the following messages with Vanessa Hughes:

“I just filed the motion to quash. It’s… a masterpiece.” Jenna will serve everyone in the morning.”
“I have absolutely no idea what she was thinking pulling me into this. But I guess she fucked around and found out.”

June 2023

June 16th, 2023 – Informal Discovery Conference with Chelsea Filer

At a court-ordered informal discovery conference regarding her motion to quash, the Court informed Chelsea Filer that her arguments were unpersuasive, legally unsound, and that she would likely lose if the Court were forced to rule on the motion. Filer promptly agreed to cooperate with McNamara and Whiteley’s counsel to resolve the issue.

July 2023

July 2023 – Chelsea Filer agrees to produce discovery and sit for her deposition

In early to mid-July 2023, Chelsea Filer (Papciak) complied with the subpoena and produced discovery. Her deposition was scheduled for July 18, 2023.

July 14th, 2023 – breakingcodesilence.net transferred to BCS

According to WHOIS records, the domain breakingcodesilence.net appears to have been updated for the first time since early 2021, indicating a possible transfer of ownership.

July 18th, 2023 – Chelsea Filer sits for her deposition

Chelsea Filer sat for a seven-hour on-record deposition. Early in the session, she was actively texting in a group chat with Jenna Bulis, Jenny Magill, and Vanessa Hughes. During the deposition, she also admitted to transferring the domain breakingcodesilence.net to Breaking Code Silence.

Related Posts: