Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
740 F.3d 1284 (2014)
After bankruptcy trustee Kevin Padrick and his firm Obsidian Finance Group (plaintiffs) were retained to handle the chapter 11 bankruptcy of Summit Accommodators, which had defrauded investors through a Ponzi scheme, blogger Crystal Cox (defendant) wrote posts accusing Obsidian and Padrick of fraud, money laundering, and other crimes connected to the bankruptcy. Obsidian sued for defamation, and the district court instructed the jury that Cox's knowledge of falsity and intent were irrelevant and that harm to Obsidian was legally presumed; the jury found for Obsidian and awarded damages, and Cox appealed.
Whether a defendant may be held liable for an allegedly defamatory blog post touching on a matter of public concern without any proof of fault or actual damages, based on a presumption of harm.