Tampa, Fla. –– The Dhillon Law Group (@dhillonlaw) obtained a multi-million-dollar judgment for its client, Michael Reiterman, in a high-profile cyberstalking and defamation lawsuit.
Click here to view and download the order granting summary judgment
Mr. Reiterman was the target of what a federal judge called “an aggressive, anonymous, and pervasive cyber defamation campaign” by the defendant, Farah Abid, who falsely accused Mr. Reiterman of heinous crimes.
According to the Final Order Granting Summary Judgment, the defamation campaign was “multi-faceted, intricate, and extensive, sly, anonymous and horrible.” Farah Abid “directed this cyber campaign to destroy Mr. Reiterman’s tenure at law school, budding career, and life.” She “paint[ed] him in the most graphic terms as a racist and serial rapist.”
As the Complaint explains, Farah Abid committed these acts using fake email addresses, false social media accounts, fabricated personas, and other means of anonymity to create the illusion that multiple imaginary people were separate authors of the false allegations. As the District Court noted, Mr. Reiterman “filed this lawsuit after Abid breached a prior court settlement in which she had agreed to stop this scheme, but then continued her cyber campaign.” The district court also issued several “take-down orders,” requiring third parties to remove the defamatory online content.
“Our client was the subject of an unprovoked character assassination campaign by a highly non-credible individual, with the intention of destroying his reputation and his life,” said Matthew Sarelson, Partner at Dhillon Law Group and co-lead attorney for the plaintiff. “Mr. Reiterman is an upstanding citizen and honest person. He was the target of a stalker who sought to destroy his life out of cruelty and self-interest, apparently in the hopes of gaining fame and money.”
Mr. Reiterman was awarded $118,000 for fraud, $2.2M for tortious interference, $1M for emotional distress, and nearly $3.3M in punitive damages, for a total award of $6,555,714. Dhillon Law Group intends to aggressively pursue collection efforts until Mr. Reiterman is made whole.
“This final money judgment is the well-deserved culmination of a years-long battle that Mr. Reiterman was forced to endure, simply to restore his good name and reputation,” said Krista Lee Baughman, Partner at the Dhillon Law Group and Co-lead attorney for the plaintiff. “We are thrilled for our client and honored to have fought alongside him until justice was obtained.”
To schedule an interview with Reiterman’s attorneys, Matthew Sarelson and Krista Lee Baughman, please contact Ian Henderson at (949) 230-8849 or [email protected]
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