https://www.dallasnews.com/new...-media-must-pay-108m

Bride, groom who slammed Dallas wedding photographer online, in media must pay $1.08M

A Dallas wedding photographer was awarded $1.08 million Friday in a defamation suit against a local blogger and her husband who launched a social media campaign that destroyed her business.

A Dallas County jury concluded that Neely Moldovan and her husband, Andrew, embarked on an extensive effort to slam Andrea Polito and her business, Andrea Polito Photography, according to a civil suit filed in March 2015.

"I was proud of my accomplishments, what I have done. They took that away from me," Polito said. "It's been a fight for myself to get my reputation back."

Neely Moldovan, who at the time maintained the blog "A Complete Waste of Makeup," and her husband hired Polito's company to photograph their October 2014 wedding and the events leading up to it. Weeks after the ceremony, Neely Moldovan began emailing to ask when the high-resolution photos would be available.

Polito's company reminded the couple that, as stated in the contract they signed, the photos would be released once the album was completed. The couple was required to submit an order form and select a cover photo before the album could be completed, but had not done so, according to the suit.

After several weeks of back and forth and the couple's objection to paying $125 for the cover, Polito said she planned to absorb the cost to satisfy her customers.

Two days after she emailed the couple, Polito learned they had contacted several local television stations and told KXAS-TV (NBC5) that Polito was "holding their photos hostage," according to the suit.

Polito said that almost overnight the couple's allegations ruined the business she had spent 13 years building.

"People knew me and my reputation. I've shot several of the Dallas elites," she said. "All the name calling, all the bullying ... I was humiliated."

The Moldovans also made "disparaging and defamatory" statements on social media and blogs, including Wedding Wire, about Polito and her company, saying she "cheated" and "scammed" people, the suit states.

In a Facebook conversation, Moldovan who now blogs at "It Starts With Coffee" said she was "pretty sure [Polito's] business is done," the suit states.

The couple also "liked" a number of defamatory statements published by other people, such as one on Yelp that accused Polito of giving the reviewer AIDS, the suit stated.

Several one-star reviews posted within days of the news story have since been removed for violating Yelp's terms of service.

The Moldovans claimed people were posing as them online using fake profiles, but that was ultimately proved false, said Polito's attorney, Dave Wishnew of Gruber Elrod Johansen Hail Shank LLP.

The NBC5 story and interview with the couple aired January 2015, at the start of Polito's primary booking season. In a typical year, the business would book between 75 and 100 weddings, she said. That year, it booked only two.

"My business was destroyed," Polito said. In October, she moved out of the North Market Street studio she'd kept for 10 years.

A jury determined Friday that the Moldovans were liable for $1.08 million in damages for the defamatory, disparaging and malicious statements, according to court documents.

The Moldovans can appeal the ruling.

"No one is saying you can't go and write a review," Wishnew said. "Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequence. Things you put on the internet to attack a business have real world consequences and that really resonated with the jury. You can't go and burn someone's house down and claim free speech."

Polito is determined to rebuild her company.
"I’m emotionally exhausted. This has been a very long battle," she said. "Last Friday when the verdict was read I felt a little bit relieved, but most importantly I feel my reputation was restored to myself. What’s been so hard the past couple of years has been feeling so ashamed of this story."

She hopes that others who may be in a similar situation take away that they have to "fight for what's right and fight for your passion."

"No one is safe from this," she said. "I wasn’t a new business, I was an established business with a reputation that was well-respected in the Dallas community."

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Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequence.

Exactly. I am glad to see these two assholes put in their place.

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Originally posted by Pale Horse:

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Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequence.

Exactly. I am glad to see these two assholes put in their place.

Same here.

An unfavorable review is not going to result in a successful slander suit. Going to the lengths described in the article can, and combined with falsities, provides evidence of malice.

That photographer should go after the mainstream media next for not thoroughly investigating the incident and helping the couple spread falsehoods that destroyed a business. The media needs to learn responsible journalism again and big damage award certainly won't hurt.

She should've sued Yelp too....

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Originally posted by Rightwire:
That photographer should go after the mainstream media next for not thoroughly investigating the incident and helping the couple spread falsehoods that destroyed a business. The media needs to learn responsible journalism again and big damage award certainly won't hurt.

She might actually have a chance of collecting something that way as well.

My opinion? This marriage as currently constituted is doomed. Marriages rarely survive selfishness. It only takes one selfish person to destroy a marriage. This one has two. What these two did was wildly selfish. To a selfish person, everyone is a target, especially other selfish people. A spouse is a convenient target. This marriage is doomed if they don't learn to abandon their nature.

Glad to see this. I'm not one to sue others, but have had folks put totally fabricated lies online (they dropped my dog from a 4' table onto his head with me standing there, etc) and get away with it, then have the review website block ANY response I might attempt to give input with actual facts documented with video evidence.

Hope they suffer as much with this verdict as the photographer did while they were having their fun.

If you're not satisfied with a service or product, I'm all for saying your peace and let others either take your advice or learn for themselves.

But to go after a person's livelihood as they did and they were in the wrong anyway is out of bounds in my opinion. A million dollars does seem excessive though and would probably be appealed. It certainly does make a statement.

sometimes the attention that you so desperately seek, is not the attention you actually receive

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Originally posted by Rey HRH:
A million dollars does seem excessive though and would probably be appealed. It certainly does make a statement.

I don't know. It said in 2015 she only booked two weddings when normally she would have 75-100. Good wedding photographers aren't cheap. It does not say how much business she did in 2016 or what she has done and has booked this year but I doubt her number bounced back to normal yet. So three years of slow work work plus the assumption of work you will miss until you can rebuild your reputation plus expenses of having to move your studio? It could run into the mid to high six figures quick.

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A jury determined Friday that the Moldovans were liable for $1.08 million in damages for the defamatory, disparaging and malicious statements, according to court documents.

If they don't have the money... it may not be collectable.

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Originally posted by Rey HRH:
A million dollars does seem excessive...

They knew what they were doing, and they knew they were in the wrong. If this judgement does get appealed, I hope the verdict remains the same - or adds more punishment. I wish this couple to go bankrupt and have it negatively affect the rest of their smug, arrogant, narcisistic, selfish lives.

This is good to see. Even if the photographer never collects a dime, it’s a valuable message to send to other vindictive people with too much free time.
Modern communications make things easy that would have required a lot of expense and effort in the past. This is a perfect example of “Just because you can ….”

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It Starts With Coffee"

Now that the story is out her "blog" and facebook blog are getting hit with comments against her for the actions, not a ton yet but the latest have a few pop up about the judgement.....

https://www.facebook.com/Neelykins/

In America, anyone can sue anybody. Winning is another matter and collecting is even harder!

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Originally posted by HRK:

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It Starts With Coffee"

Now that the story is out her "blog" and facebook blog are getting hit with comments against her for the actions, not a ton yet but the latest have a few pop up about the judgement.....

https://www.facebook.com/Neelykins/

It appears her blogs down and facebook comments are getting deleted....she toast!

Karma

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Originally posted by Pale Horse:

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
A million dollars does seem excessive though and would probably be appealed. It certainly does make a statement.

I don't know. It said in 2015 she only booked two weddings when normally she would have 75-100. Good wedding photographers aren't cheap. It does not say how much business she did in 2016 or what she has done and has booked this year but I doubt her number bounced back to normal yet. So three years of slow work work plus the assumption of work you will miss until you can rebuild your reputation plus expenses of having to move your studio? It could run into the mid to high six figures quick.

To add what Pale Hose said, I don't think it's too ridiculous. Good wedding photographer can run you $3,000+ and if she has the portfolio she claims she has, I wouldn't be surprised if she has lost mid to high six figures from 2015 until now.