Financial Times reports on New York case in which a judge has awarded $50 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages to billionaire hedge fund founder Louis Bacon. The defendant is Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard. Bacon claims Nygard defamed him in multiple ways—by falsely asserting that Bacon is a Ku Klux Klan member, that he was guilty of insider trading, that he was involved in the death of an employee, and that he was involved in arson.
The $100 million damages award in this case may be the least of Nygard’s legal problems. He is in jail awaiting trial in Canada on charges of sexual assault, and has been charged in the US with racketeering and sex trafficking. His businesses are already in bankruptcy, so he may not have the resources to pay the damages award in this case anyway.
