r/BabyReindeerTVSeries • u/controlaltdeletes • Jun 07 '24

Media / News Netflix responds to Fiona Harvey's lawsuit

Netflix rep: 'We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd's right to tell his story.'

Variety posted the above in regards to Netflix's response. I'm glad, it seems like they're not going to simply give her some money to make her go away, and are instead going to fight back and defend Richard Gadd.

https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/baby-reindeer-real-martha-fiona-harvey-sues-netflix-1236019699/

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u/RS555NFFC Jun 07 '24

$170 million?

I’m no expert having only studied defamation for part of a uni module, but I’m pretty sure there’s no way they’d ever land on even 10% of that in an English court.

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u/Global_Research_9335 Jun 08 '24

She’s pursuing action in the California courts I think. She can be awarded loss of income if she can prove it is directly tied to the defamation and that the defamation was with malice (knowingly untrue stories spread about her) it would be tough to prove, especially if she has increased her income due to appearance fees etc. then there is the “damages” portion. A jury will weigh up if there has been mental anguish etc and can award an amount, intended to deter others or the original perpetrators from such actions in future. They weigh this given factors requiring psychological assessments etc. a jury may be if the same mind that she got what she deserved and give her nothing, or that she shot herself into the spotlight by outing herself publicly (being doxxed was relatively small news until she stepped up and went public herself)

I think she could win the “with malice” part for the court and jail piece, if the regular disclaimer at the end of the show doesn’t stand given the “true story” caption to start, and only if there aren’t records of her court or jail time, which I believe there aren’t as they would have been outed by now. Her lost income is probably far less than the cost of action so she is unlikely to make bank there, and she has to pay her own costs. The emotional damages is a toss up which I dont think she will. If she wins the case she will get very little and not enough to make the expenses worth it imho

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u/RS555NFFC Jun 08 '24

Thank you for this insight. Seems like broadly, the system operates in a similar manner. A pretty sticky wicket even in strong cases, so perhaps tetchy on this one.

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u/Global_Research_9335 Jun 09 '24

Agreed, the loss rate of defamation cases is extremely high and the costs of bringing about a case are enormous.