Cottrell v. Smith

The trial court properly granted judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the plaintiff's claims for defamation, breach of fiduciary duty and invasion of privacy after the defendants posted information on the internet about extra-marital affairs the plaintiff, a public figure in the spheres of running and Christian evangelism, had.

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This is an appeal by plaintiff, Stanley W. Cottrell, Jr. Cottrell, from the grant of judgment notwithstanding the verdict JNOV and earlier grants of directed verdicts in this action alleging defamation and related torts, and potentially implicating the constitutionality of portions of the Georgia Computer Systems Protection Act GCSPA, OCGA § 16-9-90 et seq. The suit against five defendants: Glenn and Marian Crocker Crockers, Hugh Johnson Johnson, Peggy Smith Peggy, and Karen Smith Karen, hereinafter collectively Defendants, arises out of online postings and other communications by Defendants about Cottrell. For the reasons which follow, we affirm.

A brief overview of the facts is in order. Cottrell for many years engaged in a number of solo running exhibitions with a Christian evangelical emphasis, some of which have been portrayed in the media, and was subsequently involved in various multi-level marketing endeavors, executive leadership positions, and motivational speaking. Cottrell’s notoriety grew along with media controversy relating to his character, which questioned the authenticity and integrity of his claims and achievements. The Crockers worked for Cottrell planning two running exhibitions; Johnson was a long-time friend of Cottrell’s who came to know some women with whom Cottrell was involved outside of his marriage; Peggy is one of the women with whom Cotrell had an extra-marital affair; and Karen is Peggy’s daughter-in-law. Karen located and contacted several people she believed had information about Cottrell, including the Crockers and Johnson. Karen and her husband created a WordPress blog the Blog and posted stories based on this information, which portrayed Cottrell as having a long history of misrepresentation and deception for personal gain. Karen sent emails to a list serve group criticizing Cottrell and sharing links to the Blog posts, and Peggy sent messages to multiple Cottrell Facebook friends along the same lines.

Cottrell v. Smith

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