Damages an Inadequate Remedy for a Defamatory "GoFundMe"

Campaign: Zall v. Zall

The plaintiff father and his defendant daughter suffered a tragic relationship, aggravated further by the defendant's defamatory statements published on her GoFundMe fundraising website. After years of supporting his daughter through countless challenges, she slapped her father with false allegations of pedophilia and sexual predation. These baseless allegations were read by the plaintiff's acquaintances and turned up in a background check by a business associate. The plaintiff suffered a demonstrable loss of business. He sued for defamation and obtained judgment against the defendant for $135 000 in damages. This was a hollow victory, since the defendant was impecunious.

But the court also granted an injunction against the defendant, which enlisted the assistance of third parties (such as internet service providers and individuals who had published, posted, or otherwise repeated these defamatory comments) to remove any defamatory comments about the plaintiff from the internet and any other form of publication or distribution. Friends, family, and internet service providers were required to remove the defamatory materials.

In a similar case following a family breakdown, the defendant posted allegedly defamatory words on the website "Fundrazer.com" using the alias "Mama S.".289 The defendant posted her online plea seeking financial assistance in

paying her legal bills; but her post also claimed abuse at the hands of the children's father and grandparents. Several other individuals reposted the link to the Fundrazer item on their personal Facebook pages, and the plaintiffs subsequently sued nine different defendants as a result of the repeated publications through social media.

Discussion Questions

These cases demonstrate the ease with which incredible damage can be inflicted on a person's reputation and economic viability. From a risk management perspective, you might ask: will an employer be held vicariously liable if an employee posts defamatory content from a workplace computer? And what if those posts go viral? What can people do to protect their business from such risks?