WP Engine escalated its federal complaint by citing Automattic’s publication of WP Engine Tracker website as evidence of intent to harm WP Engine and expose customers to potential cybercrime. The updated complaint includes the latest actions by Mullenweg to further strengthen their case.

A WP Engine spokesperson made a statement to Search Engine Journal about the WP Engine Tracker site:

“Automattic’s wrongful and wanton publication of customer information without their consent underscores why we have requested a preliminary injunction. WP Engine has requested the immediate removal of this information and looks forward to the November 26 hearing on the injunction.”

Legal complaint amended with more evidence

WP Engine (WPE) filed a complaint in federal court seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent Matt Mullenweg and Automattic from continuing actions that harm WPE’s business and their relationships with their customers. That complaint was amended with additional details to support their allegations against Mullenweg and Automattic.

The legal complaint begins by stating i general conditions what gives rise to their claim:

“This is a case about abuse of power, extortion and greed.”

It then gradually gets specific by introducing evidence of how Automattic and Mullenweg continue their “bad actions unabated” with the aim of harming WP Engine (WPE).

The amended statement adds the following, quoting Mullenweg himself:

“Since then, the defendants have continued to escalate their war, unleashing a campaign to steal WPE’s software, customers and employees. Just days ago, the defendants were unequivocal about their future plans:”

This is the statement Mullenweg made as quoted in the amended complaint:

“(S)ince this started (with WPE) they’ve had uh, we estimate tens of thousands of customers leaving. . . . So, you know, I think in the next few weeks they’re actually going to lose a lot more than 8% of We are at war with each other. . would love to have those customers, and in fact we get a lot of them.”

WP Engine Tracker site is used as proof

Automattic recently created a website on the WordPressEngineTracker.com domain called WP Engine Tracker that encourages WordPress Engine customers to leave, offers links to promotions that offer discounts, and promises a smooth transition to other web hosts.

WPE states that the WP Engine Tracker site is part of a campaign to encourage WPE customers to abandon it, writing:

“Defendants also created a web page on wordpress.org offering ‘Promotions and Coupons’ to persuade WPE customers to stop doing business with WPE and switch to Automattic’s competing hosting companies such as wordpress.com and Pressable; they later added links to other competitors too.”

The WordPress Engine Tracker website notes the number of sites that have abandoned WP Engine (WPE) since Matt Mullenweg’s public condemnation of WP Engine on September 21st and the start of his “nuclear” war against the web host. The amended federal lawsuit points to the September 21 date listed on that page as additional evidence tying Automattic to a campaign to harm WP Engine’s business.

The legal document explains:

“Last week, in an apparent attempt to brag about how successful they have been in damaging WPE, the defendants created a website – www.wordpressenginetracker.com – that “list(s) . . . every domain at @wpengine, which you can see decreasing every day. 15,080 places have already been vacated since September 21.

September 21 was not chosen at random. That is the day after the Defendants’ self-proclaimed nuclear war began – an admission that these customer losses were caused by the Defendants’ wrongful actions. In this extraordinary attack on WPE and its customers, defendants included on their defamatory website a downloadable file listing “all (WPE) websites ready for a new home” – that is, WPE’s customer list, literally inviting others to target and poaching WPE’s customers while Defendants’ attacks on WPE continued…”

The purpose of the above allegations is to build as much evidence as will lend credence to WP Engine’s claim that Automattic is actively trying to harm WP Engine’s business.

WPE accuses Automattic of further damages

Another recent accusation against Automattic is that the spreadsheet offered for download on the WP Engine Tracker website contains sensitive information that is not publicly available and could cause direct harm to WPE customers.

The amended federal lawsuit explains:

“Worse still, this download contains private information about WPE’s customers’ domain names, including development, test and pre-production servers – many of which are not intended to be publicly accessible and contain sensitive or private information. Many of these servers are intentionally not indexed or otherwise included in public search results because the servers are not secure, safe or production ready and not intended to be accessed by the public.

By disclosing this information to the public, Defendants are putting these development, testing and pre-production domains at risk of hacking and unauthorized access.”

WP Engine Tracker Site Part of a larger strategy

WPE’s amended complaint alleges that the WP Engine Tracker website is part of a larger strategy to harm WP Engine’s business that includes encouraging WPE employees to resign. The legal document adds new information about how the WP Engine Tracker site is just part of a larger strategy to harm WPE’s business.

The updated document adds the following new allegations as evidence of WPE’s claims:

“Not content with disrupting WPE’s customer relationships, Automattic has recently escalated its tactics by actively recruiting hundreds of WPE employees, in an apparent attempt to weaken WPE by casting doubt on the company’s future and enticing WPE employees to join Automatic:”

The document includes a screenshot of an email solicitation apparently sent to an employee encouraging them to join Automattic.

Screenshot of evidence presented in amended complaint

Escalation of Federal Complaint

WP Engine’s amended complaint against Mullenweg and Automattic invokes the Sherman Act (which prohibits monopolization to maintain a competitive market), the Lanham Act (which regulates trademarks, false advertising, and unfair competition), and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (which addresses unauthorized computer access and cybercrime). . The changes tie recent actions by Mullenweg and Automattic — such as the creation of the WP Engine Tracker site — directly to their claims, making Mullenweg’s attacks on WP Engine evidence.

Read the amended federal complaint here: (PDF).

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