A new lawsuit marks the next stage in the conflict between Matt Mullenweg, one of the founders of WordPress, Automatic, and WP Engine.
This writes Search Engine Journal. The case extends the long-running legal battle by including claims from individual customers, with allegations of unfair competition, monopolistic behaviour and deliberate disruption of services.
WP Engine, a hosting provider of WordPress websites, alleges that Mullenweg and Automattic intentionally disrupted their services and sabotaged customer contracts. The suit also alleges that Automattic and Mullenweg unfairly interfered with access to WordPress resources, resulting in problems managing WPE customers’ websites.
In addition, Mullenweg and Automattic allegedly infringed on WP Engine’s trademark. According to the plaintiff, this was not legitimate enforcement but a pretext to undermine WP Engine and pressure its customers to change hosts.
Damage to WP Engine customers
WP Engine also accuses Mullenweg and Automattic of monopolistic behaviour by using their control over the WordPress ecosystem for financial gain, adversely affecting WP Engine customers.
According to the indictment, Mullenweg and Automattic abused their power over WordPress.org by blocking access to the website and removing resources such as the ACF plugin.
In addition, according to the plaintiff, they forced visitors to declare that they were not associated with WPE. They also made WP Engine customer websites public to pressure them. Customers who stayed with WPE were warned of possible future disruptions.
A class action lawsuit (that’s a class action) was chosen based on the claim that Mullenweg and Automattic’s conduct harmed a broad group of WP Engine customers. The suit alleges that their actions, including service interruptions, blocked access to essential WordPress tools, and reduced performance, resulted in financial losses and potential security risks to customers.
Unrest at WordPress
There has long been turmoil around WordPress and Mullenweg, who, in addition to his role at WordPress, is also CEO of Automattic. Last month, for example, Mullenweg deactivated the accounts of five WordPress.org contributors. He also deprived Joost de Valk, creator of the Yoast SEO plugin, of speaking at WordCamp Asia.
The quarrels led some in the WordPress community to call for reform of the open source project’s governance.