$25K Damages for Statements Alleging Woman’s Fiancé Said Her “Vagina Stinks”
From Ihim v. Magambo, decided Friday by the Appellate Court of Maryland (opinion by Judge Dan Friedman, joined by Judges Stephen Kehoe and J. Frederick Sharer:
In May 2021, an anonymous user on Instagram sent a direct message to Achilihu suggesting that her fiancé, Magambo, had commented on her body odor. Several days later, … Chukwurah, a friend of both Achilihu and Ihim, told Achilihu that Ihim had made two remarks about Achilihu’s body odor—that (1) “… Achilihu’s vagina stinks” and that (2) “… Magambo told me that … Achilihu’s vagina stinks.” … Achilihu shared these statements with Magambo.
Chukwurah sent another message to Achilihu in June. This time, Chukwurah said she was told by Ihim that Ihim had screenshots confirming that Magambo made the second statement about Achilihu’s body odor. Achilihu and Magambo discovered one final anonymous online post about a year later. The user, this time posting on the gossip website Lipstick Alley, also alleged that Magambo had criticized Achilihu’s body odor.
Magambo and Achilihu sued Ihim for, in relevant part, defamation and intrusion upon seclusion; a judge awarded Achilihu $10K actual damages + $5K punitives, and Magambo received $5K actual damages + $5 punitives. The appellate court concluded that the statements tended to expose someone to sufficient opprobrium, a necessary element of a defamation claim:
Ihim alleges there is insufficient evidence to show the two statements exposed Magambo and Achilihu to any reputational damage. To satisfy the first element of defamation, however, Magambo and
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