That will be $650,000, please.
That’s what a civil jury has awarded Robert Astley, a director of the Bank of Montreal, for defamatory comments by shareholder activist and former journalist Robert Verdun, the legal website Law Times reports.
Verdun is unrepentant, judging by his “censored” blog.
There are lots of angles here to debate, from the role of blogs to the brand-new defence of responsible communication, which the jury rejected.
And debate it we shall, in my Editing Print and Online Media class Tuesday.
Note to the legal profession: No need to attend. This class will be defamation-free.
