Although the defendant doesn’t have the funds to pay it, a jury has just awarded $11.3 million to a plaintiff who had been defamed by Internet postings. The defendant posted on a website that the plaintiff was a “crook,” “con artist,” and a “fraud.”
The only thing surprising about this suit was the amount of the damage award…not that the defendant would be liable for defamation. However, the size of the award is easily accounted for by the fact that the defendant was not represented by counsel and presented no defense. In essence, a sympathetic jury only heard the plaintiff’s side of the story.
Hat tip to the USA Today for this story.
