COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho —
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.
To read the full story, visit our news partner, The Coeur d'Alene Press.
