Defamation/Impersonation Campaign as RICO Violation (with $9M in RICO Trebled Damages)
My sense is that such claims are often made but nearly never win—yet here they did. From Hartman v. Does 1-2, decided earlier this month, Eleventh Circuit Judges Adalberto Jordan, Robin Rosenbaum, and Barbara Lagoa upheld a $12.5M verdict (including $9M under RICO) in such a case:
In this action, Plaintiffs-Appellees real-estate professional Jason Hartman and his companies accused Defendants—a rival real estate investor and his associates—of committing a wide variety of misconduct as part of a smear campaign to harm Plaintiffs’ reputation and steal their clients. The allegations asserted federal and state RICO violations, false advertising, invasion of privacy, trademark infringement, and unfair competition. The case proceeded to trial, and the jury returned a verdict for Plaintiffs and awarded substantial damages, including for counts on which the court had already determined liability at summary judgment….
Hartman is a real-estate investment professional and podcaster who formed two companies, Platinum Properties Investor Network Inc. and The Hartman Media Company LLC, to promote real estate investment through his investor network. Hartman Media owns the valid, registered service marks “Jason Hartman” and “jasonhartman.com.”
Charles Sells (“Sells”) owned and operated a competing real-estate investment advisory company, the PIP Group, LLC, along with his wife, Elena Sells (“Lena”), PIP’s director of operations and 49% owner.
In 2018, Hartman’s businesses were on a “steady upward trajectory,” earning a spot on Inc. Magazine‘s list of the 5,000 fasting growing companies. Sells, meanwhile, was trying to combat negative online reviews of PIP, which he blamed in part on Hartman, who previously had invested in and was openly critical of PIP’s tax-lien investment business. Sells was convinced that Hartman was behind some negative reviews, though Sells admitted at trial he had no evidence to support those claims. Sells
Article from Reason.com
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