Detroit —
A federal appeals panel Monday slashed a $4.5 million judgment against a
former state assistant attorney general fired for waging an anti-gay
campaign against a University of Michigan college student, but otherwise
rejected the man's appeals.
The decision comes three years after a
federal jury in 2012 ordered former assistant state attorney general
Andrew Shirvell to pay $4.5 million to Chris Armstrong, an openly gay
former student government president at UM, for defamation and emotional
distress.
A three-judge panel Monday said most of Shirvell's
appeal lacked merit but concluded the lower court erred in its treatment
of compensatory damages for false light invasion of privacy. The
appeals panel — judges Alan Norris, Karen Nelson Moore and Julia Smith
Gibbons — ordered the judgment be reduced by $1 million.
"While
Shirvell claimed that his conduct was political in nature, it was in
fact highly personal," the panel wrote. "It was instigated by, and
largely focused on, Armstrong's sexual orientation. Although Shirvell
claimed that his only goal was to persuade Armstrong to resign his
position, Shirvell's conduct was grossly excessive, reaching far beyond
Armstrong's leadership and agenda and striking at the core of his
personal life. It resulted in — and was calculated to result in —
distress and intimidation, not just for Armstrong, but also for his
family and friends."
Shirvell, a UM alumnus, had created the Chris
Armstrong Watch blog, calling him "a radical homosexual activist,
racist, elitist and liar." He had cast the blog as speech protected by
the First Amendment.
"Mr. Shirvell's actions — publishing vicious
lies, stalking and harassing a college student simply because he was gay
— were abhorrent," Armstrong's lawyer Deborah Gordon said Monday. "He
even went to on national television to promote his lies. He thought he
could simply say 'first amendment' and he would not be held responsible.
He was wrong."
Shirvell of Palm Coast, Florida, could not be reached for comment immediately Monday.
Gordon said collecting the $3.5 million judgment will be difficult.
"But even if we never see the money the judgment is priceless," Gordon said.
Gordon has asked the State Bar of Michigan to discipline Shirvell.
"He remains a licensed attorney in good standing in spite of all that has happened," Gordon said. "Shame on the State Bar."
The
decision comes less than one month after the Michigan appeals court
said Shirvell, who was fired for anti-gay rants against Armstrong, can't
collect unemployment benefits.
The court overturned a decision by
an Ingham County judge involving Shirvell, who was fired as an
assistant attorney general in 2010.
Shirvell may have spoken as a
private citizen, but the state appeals court said he's not protected by
the First Amendment because the state provided evidence that his conduct
affected government services.
rsnell@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-2028
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment