Following a jury verdict in an internet defamation action, the court determined costs and related remedies.
The jury had found the defendants liable for numerous defamatory postings on an online political forum and awarded aggravated and punitive damages.
The plaintiff sought substantial indemnity costs, relying on Rule 49 offers to settle and the defendants’ malicious conduct.
The court held that the plaintiff had been entirely successful and that the defendants’ conduct and refusal to accept reasonable settlement offers justified substantial indemnity costs.
Costs of $85,000 were awarded and apportioned among several defendants, and a permanent injunction was granted restraining republication of the defamatory statements.
