Rudy Giuliani and Alex Jones are two high profile examples of instances where losing a defamation case at trial leads a defendant directly into bankruptcy. Christopher Hampson, a law professor at the University of Florida, calls this the "defamation-to-bankruptcy pipeline."
However, election-denying former mayors and conspiracy-peddling shock jocks aren't the only ones who might find themselves sucked in. Hampson says damages in defamation cases are becoming increasingly enormous because of the ability of falsehoods to spread online. Additionally, he says bankruptcy filers might not be able to shed their debts if they go to trial and lose in a defamation case.
On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Hampson talks about the implications of this pipeline on bankruptcy law and on the freedom of speech. If defeat in a defamation case means huge debts that will follow you for the rest of your life, can a defendant afford not to settle?
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