Capozzi Adler, P.C. wins former owners of HMAC nearly $5 million award in defamation lawsuit

Capozzi Adler, P.C., and Lisa Basial, Esquire represented Bartlett, Traynor & London, LLC, and John Traynor in a defamation lawsuit against YC News, Shawn Cooper, Nikolaos Hatziefstathiou and Travis Wilbur. The Court awarded 4.7 million in damages, including $275,000 in damages to John Traynor personally. The award is one of the largest awards ever seen in a defamation case in Dauphin County, PA.

Lisa W. Basial, Esquire stated, “We are very satisfied with the damages award from the Court. This is an important case in which these defendants were held to account for their knowingly false online and social media postings that destroyed a thriving business and the reputation of its hard-working and upstanding owner. In particular, the award of a total of $275,000 to John Traynor for personal reputational damages was justified based on the false and scandalous materials posted online by these defendants.”

Media coverage of this precedent-setting case:

• PennLive: “Former owners of HMAC in Harrisburg awarded nearly $5 million in defamation suit”
• ABC27: “Midtown Harrisburg business’ former owner awarded damages in defamation case”
• The Burg: “Millions awarded to former H*MAC owner, business partners in defamation suit”