In case you missed it, actress Rebel Wilson won her
defamation case against Bauer Media, publishers of Woman's Day,
over articles calling her a serial liar.
Today, she was awarded $4.56M, which is massive for a defamation
case. The first $3.9M was for economic loss; that's the part
about lost work etc. Rebel's a big star, so it's not
surprising that the economic loss number was high.
Then there was another $650k awarded in general damages, the
purpose of which is to provide consolation for hurt feelings,
damage to her reputation, and vindication. This is the number that
should be worrying publishers.
The reason they should be worried is that there is a statutory
cap on defamation damages for non-economic loss of around $380k,
and the judge held that it didn't apply in this case. The
legislation says that the cap may not apply if the circumstances
justify an award of aggravated damages as well.
