Post Falls blogger requests stay of $1.1 million judgment
Blogger Summer Bushnell testified in the defamation lawsuit brought by Post Falls resident Eric Posey.
KAYE THORNBRUGH/Press file
COEUR d’ALENE — The Post Falls blogger who was found liable for defamation has asked the court to stay the enforcement of a $1.1 million judgment against her while she appeals, saying she’s unable to pay.
In May, a Kootenai County jury unanimously found that Summer Bushnell defamed Post Falls resident Eric Posey when she falsely accused him of exposing himself during Pride in the Park 2022.
Bushnell posted an edited video of Posey’s performance with a blur that she claimed covered his “fully exposed genitals” and urged the public to contact police. But the unedited video showed that no exposure occurred and city prosecutors declined to file charges.
Jurors awarded Posey $926,000 in compensatory damages for defamation and $250,000 in additional punitive damages. Bushnell has not paid anything toward the judgment, and court records show that interest has accrued at a rate of 10.2% per day since the judgment was entered May 31, about $330 daily.
“(Bushnell’s) current financial situation is such that she is unable to secure the necessary funds,” Bushnell wrote in a recent court filing.
In Idaho, a district court may not stay enforcement of a money judgment unless the party against whom the judgment is entered posts a cash deposit or a type of surety bond equal to 135% of the judgment. Bushnell has asked the court to waive or reduce the bond to no more than $10,000.
“(Bushnell) has never had to do a bond and due to being in pro per, she is not sure what a bond entails,” she wrote.
Now that her attorney, Colton Boyles, has filed a motion to withdraw from the case, Bushnell is representing herself. She said in court filings that the “sociopolitical ramifications” of the case have made it a challenge to find a new attorney, but she intends to retain legal counsel for her appeal.
Bushnell filed a notice of appeal in the case last month.
Meanwhile, legal counsel for Posey has requested a writ of execution, which directs a county sheriff to seize a debtor’s money, property or real estate to pay a debt. Posey has also requested that Bushnell be ordered to pay $33,763 in attorney fees and costs.
The court was scheduled to her motions on attorney fees and costs, the writ of execution and Boyles’ withdrawal from the case Wednesday.