Ga. man awarded $404,000 for libelous Internet postings
In just a few days, Gene Cooley lost his fiancee, his job, his future in-laws and his home. It started with the murder of Cooley's fiancee by the woman's ex husband. While still reeling from that loss, he became a target of Internet postings from someone he barely knew. The anonymous poster went on a community website for Blairsville, where Cooley lived at the time, and accused him of being a pedophile with a criminal record and a drug addict. None of it was true.
A Union County jury last week said the damage those postings did to Cooley was worth $404,000, the largest award ever handed down in this North Georgia county. The poster was identified through her computer's numeric IP address.
"She absolutely ax-murdered this boy's life," said Russell Stookey, Cooley's lawyer.
Cooley barely knew his web attacker, a woman who worked at a Blairsville store where he sometimes shopped. Had it not been for the willingness by the website, Topix.com, to out Sybil Denise Ballew, her identity may never have been known.
Cooley barely knew his web attacker, a woman who worked at a Blairsville store where he sometimes shopped. Had it not been for the willingness by the website, Topix.com, to out Sybil Denise Ballew, her identity may never have been known.
Cooley's saga began with the murder of his fiancee, Paulette Harper, at the hands of her ex-husband in September of 2008. A few days later, the postings on the Blairsville page of Topix.com started showing up.
The poster wrote Cooley was a "pervert" and drug addict with a lengthy criminal record, a man who had been in prison and rehab. Harper’s daughter, who was 9 at the time, must be protected from Cooley, the poster wrote.
Ballew is the woman who wrote the posts under the pseudonyms Mouth, Calvin, Bugs, Yuck, Rebel and Slim. She admitted in court that she also had conversations with herself, posting her concerns on the site under one name and then agreeing with the posts under another persona.
A Sept. 18, 2008, exchange on Topix.com started with “Calvin” asking if anyone knew Gene’s last name because he wanted to warn Harper’s family of his past.
“Keep that creep away from the children,” wrote “Mouth,” who was Ballew.
Ballew responds as “Calvin,” -- Thank you very much!!! I cant thank you enough. I will notify the family as soon as possible. If you know or have any more information, please let me know… Mouth -- If you don't mind me asking, how do you know all this about Gene???”
Moments later, “Yuck,” also Ballew, writes, “keep gene away from that little girl!! hes not even qualified to have the children hes got. yes, he is a boozer and a pot user, and a nutcase. he has gotten fired from every salon hes worked at...he is so gross!!”
Others tried to defend Cooley but then another Ballew persona, “Slim,” posted, “sometimes the truth hurts. … I am not one to sugar coat anything. If people get mad at me [for] what I think , then they certainly have that right. .. Everyone on this earth has a decision how they're going to live their life. If it 's not right then they will pay for what they done as we all will when we stand at judgement.”
And the posters who defended Cooley were insulted.
Stookey, the lawyer, said he and the local district attorney and a legislator were drafting a bill to make this kind of libel a crime and not just a civil matter. In the meantime, he will look for others who anonymously post false allegations.
“We’ll find them, we’ll get them,” Stookey said. “Mean and dumb is a bad combination. I will catch them and I will put them into bankruptcy.”
Stookey, the lawyer, said he and the local district attorney and a legislator were drafting a bill to make this kind of libel a crime and not just a civil matter. In the meantime, he will look for others who anonymously post false allegations.
“We’ll find them, we’ll get them,” Stookey said. “Mean and dumb is a bad combination. I will catch them and I will put them into bankruptcy.”
Maybe we should send him some amo for his next case. Wonder if he is licensed in Oregon...
ReplyDeleteMy question about whether or not Terri hired a hitman to kill Kaine had been deleted for the umpteenth time. Send ME some ammo
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