Kevin O’Leary secures $2.8 million judgment after court docket denies Armstrong’s movement to put aside default

• The court docket awarded Armstrong $2.8 million, discovering that his posts concerning the 2019 boating accident have been malicious.
• The court docket rejected the incarceration and psychological well being delay claims, and the default judgment was finalized.
• Disclosure of O’Leary’s telephone quantity resulted in enterprise closures and elevated safety prices.

A federal court docket in Florida has handed down a $2.8 million defamation judgment in favor of investor and tv character Kevin O’Leary in opposition to cryptocurrency influencer Ben Armstrong, concluding a lawsuit associated to social media posts a couple of 2019 boating accident. The ruling was issued by the U.S. District Court docket for the Southern District of Florida in Miami after Armstrong failed to reply to the lawsuit and failed to seem in court docket.

Choose Beth Bloom awarded O’Leary $750,000 for emotional misery, roughly $78,000 for reputational harm and $2 million in punitive damages, in response to the court docket’s order. The full prize cash amounted to $2.8 million.

The court docket dominated that Mr Armstrong acted with precise malice in issuing a press release accusing Mr O’Leary of being concerned in a deadly boating accident. O’Leary was a passenger within the 2019 incident. His spouse, Linda O’Leary, was charged with careless operation of a car, however was acquitted at trial. Kevin O’Leary was not charged.

Armstrong’s March 2025 submit acquired about 156,000 views and included O’Leary’s private telephone quantity. The submit inspired followers to contact him instantly. The revelations led to a suspension from the social platform and led to O’Leary rising his annual safety spending by an estimated $200,000.

In his ruling, Bloom cited Armstrong’s sample of hostile communications, together with messages despatched to the choose in separate proceedings. The court docket additionally famous the non-public {and professional} implications of the posts, noting that O’Leary had acquired inquiries from enterprise companions concerning the allegations.

A bid to overturn the judgment was rejected.

Armstrong later sought to have the default sentence thrown out, saying his incarceration and psychological well being circumstances, together with bipolar dysfunction, prevented him from responding in time. The court docket denied the request.

Mr. Bloom discovered that Mr. Armstrong did have discover of the swimsuit and was correctly served. Nonetheless, he waited almost a 12 months earlier than taking motion. The court docket concluded that reversing the judgment can be detrimental to Mr. O’Leary, who had already ready the movement and professional report and attended the total evidentiary listening to.

The choose mentioned the posts had re-induced emotional misery associated to the 2019 accident. O’Leary’s household believed they’d gotten over the incident, however the brand new costs have introduced renewed consideration to the case.

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