The plaintiff succeeded in a defamation action arising from a sustained anonymous internet campaign accusing him, an accountant, of tax fraud, theft, and dishonesty.
The court found the principal individual defendant admitted authoring the campaign with malice, and held the second individual defendant and the corporate defendant jointly and severally liable based on concerted action and authorized corporate involvement.
The court awarded substantial general, aggravated, and punitive damages, emphasizing the uniquely pervasive and harmful nature of online defamation and the defendants’ misuse of the campaign as leverage in parallel business litigation.
Claims relating to assault and destruction of property were dismissed for lack of proof on a balance of probabilities, and no separate finding was made on conspiracy because no additional damages would follow.
