Court: Man Defamed By Ex-Girlfriend On Facebook Is Owed Even More

censorship2-150x150When an Ohio woman wrote terrible things about her ex-boyfriend on Facebook, he took her to court and won. However, another court recently ruled that the slandered ex deserves even more money in damages than he originally received.

In 2012, the angry woman posted that her ex-boyfriend was “hooked on porn [and] watches dirty movies with teenage girls.” The ex, Brett Forinash, took her to court and was awarded $600 in damages and $2,000 in attorney fees in early 2016. However, an appellate court disagreed with the amount of damages awarded, noting that the impact of a Facebook post reaches far beyond the counties where the two ex-lovers live.

“It would defy reality to conclude that a post on a social networking Internet site such as Facebook is in any way limited in its geographic reach,” Judge James Jensen wrote. Therefore, in the court’s opinion, Forinash deserves to be awarded with more than just $600 in damages. (He originally sought damages in excess of $25,000.)

An attorney representing Forinash, Kristopher Hill, noted that the case is a good example of why Facebook users should think twice before posting controversial content.

“It’s kind of a cautionary tale about how what you put out on Facebook and other social media can come back and bite you — especially in the pocketbook,” he said.