Andrew Shirvell Ordered To Pay Chris Armstrong $4.5 Million
A jury today said that former Michigan assistant district attorney Andrew Shirvell must pay Chris Armstrong (pictured) $4.5 million for 2010 blog posts that attacked Armstrong and his alleged "homosexual agenda" during Armstrong's tenure as student body president for University of Michigan.
ABC News offers more details:
Christopher Armstrong's attorney Deborah Gordon says a jury in U.S. District Court ruled in favor of her client Thursday.
Armstrong accused Andrew Shirvell of defamation and causing him emotional distress on an anti-gay blog, in Facebook posts and during visits to the Ann Arbor campus.
...
Armstrong had offered to drop the lawsuit if Shirvell apologized.
Armstrong's suit also only asked for $25,000. Mr. Shirvell sure could have saved a lot of trouble and money if he had just offered some contrition instead of rattling on about "radical homosexual agendas" and how his blogs were a one-man "movement" to oust Armstrong.
@g.i.joe i don't like these seven-digit judgments in successful defamation cases either (not just in this particular case). i personally find them disproportionate as well. unfortunately these figures are not unusual, there is a mountain of precedents. I guess that could be why the umbrella insurance industry is flourishing.
Posted by: JED | Aug 16, 2012 8:35:41 PM
@Mateom: So, true. Someone else had mention had Jason's and Rick's names but I found Ratbastard's missing so, thought of a lil addition and you did it mate. ;)
Posted by: Alejo | Aug 16, 2012 8:38:11 PM
I guess unrequited crushes can be expensive. Poor Andrew needs a date, I think.
Posted by: Keppler | Aug 16, 2012 8:41:01 PM
@Alejo: Add Little Kiwi to the list. He is one of the mean spirited bomb throwers. He accuses all who disagree with him as having no testicles or being self loathing homosexuals who will die alone. He believes like Benedict XVI, that he is infallible.
Posted by: andrew | Aug 16, 2012 8:48:29 PM
You just don't like it when your pro-gay political correctness is challenged.
Posted by: jason | Aug 16, 2012 8:49:10 PM
Ignore it and don't look it in the eye. It will crawl away eventually.
Posted by: Edd | Aug 16, 2012 8:53:50 PM
Andrew: Kiwi does often go a bit too far, but most of the time he's right on. He keeps the Jason/Rick/Ratbastards of this site in check more than any other commenter and I commend him for that.
Posted by: MateoM | Aug 16, 2012 8:58:38 PM
@Jason - well, considering you have yet to actually offer any challenges, that seems a bit far fetched. All you have actually given is a pretty clear show that you have no clue what the First Amendment actually covers. Do yourself a favor, and try educating yourself.
Posted by: LiamB | Aug 16, 2012 9:03:10 PM
@ Jason - It seems that you , like so many in this country need to look up the differences between freedom of speech and liable/slander. People can and are sued everyday for the latter. And justly so, just as in this case.
Posted by: J. Leo | Aug 16, 2012 9:22:04 PM
Re free speech. The consititional guarantee of free speech only restricts the government from restricting free speech. It has nothing at all to do with this case. No govt rules were involved.
Know your rights!
Posted by: Bingo | Aug 16, 2012 9:24:52 PM
I've been called a Nazi, a murderer, a retard and a troll. I don't go crying to the courts demanding compensation for my hurt feelings or the tarnishing of my reputation.
Posted by: jason | Aug 16, 2012 9:37:46 PM
@JASON: different when you are anonymous on a comments section. This guy set up a website and made accusations specifically naming this guy that were false and damaging to this his reputation. He also stalked him apparently. This coming from an assistant attorney general who should know better! All he had to do was apologize, he didn't and now he pays the piper.
Posted by: MJ | Aug 16, 2012 9:46:29 PM
Yay good job at starting to not feed the trolls ppl
I personally think this settlement is a little sad, Shirvell obviously has some serious psychiatric issues that need to be addressed, unfortunately he will probably be used as a martyr by the "religious right" /fox news et al. It's unfortunate no one will talk about how Armstrong was very generous to offer to drop the lawsuit if Shirvell apologized, and will be spun as this is the beginning of our soulless liberal queer overlords QQ
Someone will undoubtedly use this as evidence of free speech violation/attack on religious freedom.......some people in this country I swear.....
Posted by: MaddM@ | Aug 16, 2012 10:17:37 PM
That is the way to do it, sue all of the antigay Christian haters and make them pay millions and then use the money to fight for equal rights and freedom for all LGBT people.
Posted by: Mike | Aug 16, 2012 10:20:32 PM
this is what happens by using freedom of speech as a cloak for bigotry and prejudice...must be getting expensive to be a self-hating closet case
Posted by: chub4bears | Aug 16, 2012 10:33:44 PM
this is what happens by using freedom of speech as a cloak for bigotry and prejudice...must be getting expensive to be a self-hating closet case
Posted by: chub4bears | Aug 16, 2012 10:34:14 PM
"Jason" is Andrew Shirvell
Posted by: David Ehrenstein | Aug 16, 2012 10:37:32 PM
You've been called a Nazi, Jason? What a shame. Maybe if you stop relying on rhetorical tricks straight out of the Joseph Goebbels handbook it wouldn't happen again.
Have you been accused of giving alcohol to minors? Because if it not true that's libel. Have you been accused of seducing young, impressionable youth, trying to "make them gay"? Because that's a very specific accusation to make, also libelous. Have any of the people who called you a Nazi stalked you, followed you around, waited outside your house late at night and reported your movements on their blog about you? Stalking is a crime. Have they written about everything you do in the most negative light possible, accused you of "satanic" intentions and influence? I seriously doubt it, however sad and repellant your actual life may be.
But of course you've ignored all those events, focusing only on the low-hanging fruit, the Nazi accusation. Step up your game, Jason, that's just Jr High level trolling, too easy to see through.
Posted by: Caliban | Aug 16, 2012 11:10:50 PM
Even after all that, Armstrong still won't sleep you, Shirvell. But he'll gladly cash your checks so at least you got that going for you, Andy.
Posted by: FuryOfFirestorm | Aug 16, 2012 11:27:55 PM
Clearly Shirvell's faith in his legal skills - since he acted as his own defense attorney in this lawsuit - was misplaced.
Posted by: Prof Sancho Panza | Aug 16, 2012 11:49:29 PM
Jason, why don't you write to Shirvell and offer to be the object of his next obsession. After a few months, get back to us on whether it's a problem or not.
Posted by: BobN | Aug 17, 2012 12:09:16 AM
AAAAAAMEN!!!!
Posted by: LittleKiwi | Aug 17, 2012 12:15:02 AM
Amazing that Shirvell's supervisor at the time, Michigan state AG Mike Cox, supported and defended Shirvell until to near the very end, yet walked away not owning one bit of it. Watch him stumble through his support of Shirvell and condescending treatment of Shirvell's detractors here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9eLpY1UHCc
Posted by: KC | Aug 17, 2012 12:32:25 AM
It needs to be noted that this was a JURY OF HIS PEERS, not an 'activist' Judge who rendered the verdict/judgement!!
Posted by: CB | Aug 17, 2012 12:38:57 AM
I used to enjoy this site. I found the comments to often be insightful or amusing. Now it's become an endless inane clustering and blustering of crap about Jason/Rick/RatBastard. Tank was driven away a couple years ago because he was so obnoxious. Not so this time. It's not entertaining, engaging, or productive.
I would hope that Andy blocks all comments from this clown and his IP addresses, because apparently many people cannot resist responding to his idiocy and making this site a travesty. This is the last post I'll ever make, which won't be a great shame to anyone. But it's a waste of a good site.
Posted by: Paul R | Aug 17, 2012 12:51:54 AM