Firm Obtains Landmark $250,000 Civil Verdict in Revenge Porn Case

A jury in Santa Clara Superior court returned a verdict for the plaintiff in a landmark “Revenge Porn” case on February 18, 2014, awarding $250,000 in damages to the plaintiff. Kronenberger Rosenfeld served as counsel for the plaintiff, in the case of [Names Redacted for Privacy], Case No. 112CV233490, Santa Clara Superior Court.

At the trial, the plaintiff presented evidence that her ex-boyfriend was negligent in safeguarding intimate pictures taken consensually while they were in a relationship years prior. The plaintiff also presented evidence that her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend obtained the photos from the ex-boyfriend, created a fake Facebook profile in the name of plaintiff; posted the intimate pictures of plaintiff on this Facebook profile, and sent from the fake Facebook profile “friend requests” to plaintiff’s friends, relatives and work associates. The plaintiff asserted claims of invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and statutory impersonation, seeking both emotional distress and punitive damages. The jury returned a verdict of $250,000 in favor of the plaintiff.

“This is a landmark case because to our knowledge it is the first civil verdict for a revenge porn case in California. This sort of conduct is truly despicable and an outrageous invasion of victims’ privacy. There’s no question, we’ll see many other victims of revenge porn fighting back through civil lawsuits in the future,” says Karl Kronenberger, counsel for the plaintiff.