Steyn: This week Judge Anderson further focused the case. Responding to a motion by my co-defendants the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Rand Simberg, the Court has now ordered Mann to cough up his income records from 2007 along with any evidence of reputational damage. If m'learned friends will forgive a zippy generalization, when you sue for defamation, there are various kinds of damages: "Defamation per se" commands damages in and of itself without evidence of actual losses; on the other hand, compensatory damages requires evidence that you lost 27 grand here and 49 bucks there. Mann had argued that, as he was claiming defamation per se, he didn't need to show evidence of monetary loss. Judge Anderson has now reminded him that that's not what his statement of claim actually says:
Plaintiff [Mann] is, in fact, seeking compensatory damages that require proof. At the end of the Amended Complaint, Plaintiff "demands judgment against Defendants for compensatory damage in an amount to be proven at trial." (Amend. Compl. at 25.) In each paragraph that alleges damages, Plaintiff states "as a proximate result of the aforementioned statements, Dr. Mann has suffered and continues to suffer damages in an amount to be determined at trial" (Amend. Compl. ¶ 56, 92, 110), which is a clear call for compensatory damage because it includes causation and a determinable amount. Plaintiff must undertake the required burden of proof associated with compensatory damages and submit evidence which for Defendants are then entitled to challenge.p
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