I think Chef did the right thing! I would have done the same. People have to take responsibility for their actions. What did this guy expect? He registers a domain name, that will be used against the person he knew. What was the reason for this registration? It is the same as me going now and registering dnforumsucks.com, but at the same time smile in Adam's face when I meet him at the domain conference. Don't you think it will offend the owner? Also, what Chef did is not easy to classify as an illegal act. The only thing Chef had to do is to threten to Moniker with the legal action:
"...any third party threatens legal action against Moniker Privacy Services LLC"
Moniker's legal print allows info sharing:
"Disclosure of Contact Information; Right to Terminate the Privacy Service. You acknowledge and agree that Moniker Privacy Services LLC has the absolute right as it deems necessary in its sole discretion, without providing notice and without any liability to Moniker or Moniker Privacy Services LLC whatsoever, to reveal to third parties, including any UDRP provider, the contact information provided by you to Moniker Privacy Services LLC in connection with the applicable domain name and to suspend, cancel or terminate our provision of the Privacy Service to you if we reasonably perceive that:
* the domain name violates or infringes a third party's trademark, trade name or other legal rights or that you are utilizing the domain name to engage in activities which are prohibited by this Agreement;
* the action is necessary to comply with any applicable laws, government rules or requirements, ICANN policies or requirements, including UDRP providers, subpoenas, court orders, requests of law enforcement or government agencies; or
* any third party threatens legal action against Moniker Privacy Services LLC, Moniker or any of its affiliates that is related in any way to the domain name, or claims that you are using the domain name registration in a manner that violates any law, rule or regulation, including the terms of this Agreement, or is otherwise infringing a third party's legal rights."
https://www.moniker.com/legal.jsp
I must say though, that I never met Chef Patrick. I met Rick though, and was a member of his forum. It will be beneficial to know all the information related to this case: who registered this domain name?
what was the purpose of registration?
how this person is associated with Rick?
The last question is especially important, because this conflict is between two parties who organize domain name events.
For me Rick is a domain King. He closed some amazing deals, and I respect him for that. Having said that I didn't understand what was that flowers.mobi thing. The name was reportedly sold to Rick for $200k, and recently it was sold for $5k by Rick on the auction. Anybody with brain will be confused about this transaction, and I do have a mixed feeling about it. What flowers.mobi has to do with this particular case? Well, Rick is acting as a whistle-blower here, and exposes Chef Patrick to the whole domaining world. For me personally flowers.mobi is a shady transaction. I remember that Rick was pumping .mobi, and because of that sale alone .mobi took off and received a lot of hype. Many of the domainers believed in that hype. What I am saying is that Rick has interests, like any other businessman, and when he is buying flowers.mobi his interests to promote .mobi extension, and when he is exposing Chef Patrick his interests might be taking out the competition. this is my view of the situation, I might be wrong though