Blogger ordered to pay $25K in costs for defamation case

COEUR d’ALENE — A Post Falls blogger found liable for defamation must pay about $25,000 in costs associated with the case, in addition to the $1.1 million judgment.

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. 

Jurors awarded Posey $926,000 in compensatory damages for defamation and $250,000 in additional punitive damages. 

Legal counsel for Posey sought $33,763 in costs, which includes travel expenses such as flights and hotels for attorneys traveling from Boise to Coeur d’Alene for hearings and depositions, as well as some of the fees for expert witnesses and other items. 

The court denied some of the requested costs Wednesday, including fees for expert witnesses beyond $2,000 each — totaling about $4,400 — and about $3,000 for professional digital storage. 

First District Judge Ross Pittman determined the rest of the costs met the standard set by the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure, which state that discretionary costs may be awarded when they are “necessary, exceptional, reasonably incurred” and should “in the interest of justice be assessed against the adverse party.” 

“I do agree, in a broad sense, this is an exceptional case,” he said. “The nature of the charge, the rhetoric around it.” 

Wendy J. Olson, one of the attorneys representing Posey, said he had to retain her Boise-based firm because he couldn’t find legal representation in the Coeur d’Alene area. This resulted in higher travel costs than would’ve been incurred by a local attorney. 

“There was simply not anyone here who would help him,” Olson told the court. 

She pointed to the highly publicized nature of the case and the social media attacks Posey’s attorneys have faced since filing the lawsuit as part of the reason why Posey had to search farther afield. 

“I think it’s unsurprising that lawyers in the area would not want to be subjected to that every day,” Olson said. 

Bushnell objected to many of the travel-related expenses that the court later deemed reasonable, saying that she, too, has had difficulty finding an attorney to represent her. She said Sandpoint-based attorney Colton Boyles, who appeared in court briefly Wednesday to finalize his withdrawal from the case, is the only attorney who’s been willing so far. 

Representing herself in court, Bushnell said she has also faced harassment due to the lawsuit about her defamatory statements. 

“Both sides have had a lot to deal with,” she said. 

The parties will convene again Aug. 21 to discuss a writ of execution issued in the case July 11. A writ of execution directs a county sheriff to seize a debtor’s money, property or real estate to pay a debt. 

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. 

“We, frankly, are ready to begin collecting,” Olson said in court Wednesday. 

Bushnell has asked the court to stay the enforcement of the judgment while she appeals the case.