NOTE: This piece first appeared on FLGulfNews.com.
By M. Thomas Nast with Richard Luthmann
Danesh Blows Deadline and Torpedoes His Own Case
Danesh Noshirvan – a TikTok terror infamous as @ThatDaneshGuy – just committed a legal faceplant of epic proportions. He missed the deadline to answer Richard Luthmann’s discovery requests in a $20 million defamation lawsuit, a blunder that automatically admits every allegation under federal rules.
In one stroke, the 38-year-old internet “vigilante” essentially confessed to Luthmann’s claims, handing his opponent a near-automatic win. “Failure to respond in a timely manner” means each fact Luthmann asked Noshirvan to admit is now conclusively established.
For a man who built his brand on exposing others, Noshirvan has exposed himself as a legal liability. This self-inflicted disaster is a bombshell broadside to his defense.
Mega Influencer Noshirvan previously and publicly branded Richard Luthmann a “pedophile,” “child predator,” “child stalker,” and “predator with a blog” to his three million followers across all social media platforms. The claims are baseless, intentional, and malicious. When Luthmann – an outspoken critic of Noshirvan’s tactics – didn’t receive a retraction and apology, he sued.
Now armed with Noshirvan’s own admissions to prove the case, Luthmann is in the legal catbird seat. As one court observer quipped, the TikTok terror just torpedoed his own case.
In the war of words turned court battle, Danesh’s deadline disaster may go down as the moment his crusade collapsed.
Danesh’s Discovery Deadline Disaster: Noshirvan Admits to Lies and Harassment
By blowing off the discovery deadline, Noshirvan is legally deemed to admit an avalanche of damning facts. The once-defiant influencer now agrees, as a matter of law, that:
He smeared Luthmann with lies: Noshirvan admits he publicly branded Richard Luthmann a “pedophile,” “child predator,” “child stalker,” and “predator with a blog” – all with zero factual basis. He concedes that each of those vile accusations was false and unfounded.
He weaponized his online empire: He admits he ran a monetized social media persona (“ThatDaneshGuy”) with millions of followers and leveraged that huge audience to broadcast the falsehoods about Luthmann far and wide. He even called his harassment campaigns “accountability” work – now proven a sham.
He enlisted an online mob: Noshirvan admits he urged his followers to file reports to authorities accusing Luthmann of crimes he didn’t commit. He also used sock-puppet accounts and bots to amplify attacks and coordinated with notorious internet provocateurs (like James “BullyVille” McGibney) to further smear Luthmann.
He ignored the truth and doubled down: Even after Luthmann sent formal retraction demands in writing, Noshirvan admits he refused to retract or apologize for calling Luthmann a pedophile and other slurs. Instead, he kept pumping out defamatory content, showing a willful disregard for the truth.
He abused legal process to harass: Noshirvan admits that in a separate case, he had a subpoena improperly served on Luthmann with no legitimate purpose – purely to intimidate a journalist covering that case. He now concedes Luthmann wasn’t even involved in that case, and the subpoena was baseless. After Luthmann fought back, Noshirvan withdrew the bogus subpoena, effectively admitting it was a harassment tactic.
His lawyer aided the scheme: In a jaw-dropping admission, Noshirvan confirms that Florida attorney Nick Chiappetta was working behind the scenes – ghostwriting Noshirvan’s court filings like his motion to dismiss and initial disclosures – even though Chiappetta only recently appeared as counsel of record. Noshirvan also admits Chiappetta threatened Luthmann with phony criminal charges to try to silence Luthmann’s news reporting, despite having no evidence for any such crime.
Each admission is a nail in the coffin of Noshirvan’s defense. He has, by his own inaction, validated Luthmann’s entire narrative: that Danesh Noshirvan ran a malicious online vendetta fueled by lies, intimidation, and abuse of the system. It’s a catastrophic reversal for a defendant who once painted himself as an “accountability” activist.
In reality, Noshirvan now admits to being the very thing he accused Luthmann of – a purveyor of baseless smears and harassment.
Danesh’s Discovery Deadline Disaster: Delay, Deceit and Bad Faith “Bottom-Feeder” Tactics
This latest debacle didn’t happen in a vacuum – it fits a pattern of bad faith and delay that has defined Noshirvan’s approach to litigation. From the outset, he treated court rules as optional. He blew off multiple pre-trial duties, skipping required meetings, ignoring scheduling orders, and stonewalling basic procedures.
In fact, court filings note that Noshirvan “has stonewalled the litigation at every turn,” earning him the moniker “the theme park fugitive” of Fort Myers federal court. Magistrate Judge Nicholas Mizell’s patience is exhausted.
In another case in the same courthouse, U.S. District Judge John E. Steele previously warned that Noshirvan’s chronic non-compliance “threatens the orderly administration of justice” and “warrants remedial action.”
Simply put, Noshirvan’s dilatory tactics have pushed the court to the brink of tossing his defense entirely.
Noshirvan’s bad behavior is a fixture in his federal cases. In August, his antics triggered a judicial smackdown of historic proportions when Judge Steele found Noshirvan acted in “subjective bad faith” during a deposition – hurling profanities at opposing counsel and siccing his online followers on the lawyer in a campaign of harassment. Judge Steele’s August 12 order blasted Noshirvan’s “false and inflammatory” posts designed to disrupt the litigation.
The judge even branded Noshirvan’s conduct “reprehensible,” publicly reprimanding Nick Chiappetta for failing to rein in his client. The result: nearly $100,000 in expected sanctions slapped on Noshirvan – a crushing penalty for his courtroom bullying.
“Judge Steele saw right through this guy’s bullshit,” Luthmann said after that scathing ruling, noting that most of Noshirvan’s wild claims were dismissed as baseless. Luthmann has since alerted the Florida Bar to Chiappetta’s behind-the-scenes scheming in that case.
His opinion of Noshirvan’s lawyer is blunt: “Nick Chiappetta is a bottom-feeder attorney,” Luthmann said, accusing Chiappetta of letting his client run amok.
It’s a one-two punch: judges and opponents alike see Noshirvan’s legal strategy for what it is – delay, deceit, and scorched-earth tactics with no regard for the rules. Now, with the discovery admissions gutting his defense, those tactics have finally backfired spectacularly.
Judge Summons Danesh After Theme Park “Vacation” Stunt
Noshirvan’s woes don’t end there. His habit of treating court dates like suggestions already landed him in hot water. On July 17, the TikTok provocateur was a no-show at a mandatory federal court conference, leaving Judge Mizell waiting in vain.
What was so important? A meet-and-confer with the Super Mario Brothers, apparently.
Instead of appearing for the pre-trial hearing in his defamation case, Noshirvan ditched court to romp around Universal Studios Hollywood and even tape a celebrity podcast. When the judge demanded an explanation, Noshirvan filed a sworn declaration claiming it was all an “innocent” calendar mix-up and a “long-scheduled family vacation.”
Missing court was a “genuine mistake,” he insisted – not disrespect.
But hard evidence blew apart that alibi. Court exhibits show that at the exact hour he was supposed to be in a federal hearing, Noshirvan was in line for the Mario Kart ride at Super Nintendo World.
Later the same day – while the judge’s conference proceeded without him – Noshirvan was on camera co-hosting rapper Snow Tha Product’s podcast in Los Angeles.
And his West Coast escapades didn’t stop there: within days, investigators tracked him partying in Las Vegas, even filming content at a swanky Hilton resort on the Strip. So much for a “family vacation.”
Judge Mizell was not amused. In a blistering show-cause order, the judge noted Noshirvan’s brazen truancy and failure to even call the court. Noshirvan was clearly flouting court procedures. Such contempt for the rules could bring sanctions or even a default judgment against Noshirvan.
Judge Mizell summoned Noshirvan to appear in person and explain himself – essentially, to answer why he shouldn’t be held in default for playing hooky. The evidence is overwhelming that Noshirvan lied to the court, and even Luthmann – who caught him in the lie – is seething.
“I’m not gonna let him go in and lie to the court,” Luthmann fumed, calling Noshirvan “very dishonest” about the absence. He and other observers call this fiasco part of a broader “pattern of dishonesty” by Danesh.
Now, Judge Mizell’s evidentiary hearing (set for September 10) will be Noshirvan’s day of reckoning. The TikTok star who once danced on graves and doxed his critics will have to answer, under oath, for his theme-park priorities and false excuses.
Court watchers suspect Mizell will be “deeply skeptical” of Noshirvan’s vacation yarn – and “ready to drop the hammer.” If Noshirvan’s cavalier attitude continues, the consequences could be severe.
In plain English: the “theme-park fugitive” of Fort Myers federal court is about to face real-life consequences, and no fast-pass is getting him out of this one.
Richard Luthmann, for his part, believes that Danesh Noshirvan’s judicial free ride is over.
“I’m confident that justice will prevail,” Luthmann said, vowing that Noshirvan will be held to account.
After years of smearing others and thumbing his nose at the system, Danesh Noshirvan is finally about to pay the price – in his own words, actions have consequences. The crusader has become the defendant, the hunter now the hunted, and a federal courtroom is poised to deliver a very public comeuppance.
