UK High Court rules in favor of Craig Wright, awarding £1 in defamation damages

British high court has confirmed a judgment in favor of Craig Wright in a defamation lawsuit against podcaster Peter McCormack.

Judge Chamberlain ruled that McCormack had seriously damaged Wright’s reputation. Did.

“But he knowingly filed a false lawsuit and knowingly filed a lawsuit, He only recovers if he has false evidence up until a few days before the trial. nominal damage”

Wright’s lawyers claim victory

Between March and October 2019, McCormack posted several tweets and a statement during a YouTube discussion to the effect that Wright was not Satoshi Nakamoto.

In response, Wright filed a legal claim in April 2019 on the grounds that McCormack’s actions had tarnished his reputation by a count of 16.

The trial took place from May 23 to 25, and McCormack presented evidence that the complainant was not Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. This included tweets such as:

“”Craig Wright is a cheater, bring it or go jogging”

When

“I confirm receipt of your letter regarding my expert Craig Wright. That opinion is definitely not the person behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. ”

Justice Chamberlain concluded:it is not a proportional use of justice In other words, there was no ruling that Wright was Satoshi Nakamoto.

However, the judge said 16 publications from McCormack were damaging to Wright’s reputation and that the 16th publication (a video discussion on YouTube) was inherently defamatory.

Simon Cohen of law firm ONTIER LLP, which represents Wright, said in an email that the ruling made it clear that McCormack’s “deliberate campaign” defamed plaintiffs. Commenting on the tampering of evidence, Cohen said the legal team was considering the ruling “for the purpose of appealing Dr. Wright’s interpretation of the evidence.”

McCormack is happy with the verdict

Following the publication of the results of the incident investigation, McCormack He thanked his legal team and Judge Chamberlain about the outcome. withhold In the meantime, no further comments can be passed.

As some of you may have noticed, the judgment in my case against Dr. Craig Wright has been handed down.

I would like to thank the lawyer for his diligence in dealing with this case.

I also want to thank Judge Chamberlain for this result. We are very happy with his findings.

— Pedro ☠️ (@PeterMcCormack) August 1, 2022

Comments on McCormack’s tweet included multiple messages of congratulations and offers of damages.

A similar case was filed against Magnus Granath.aka Twitter handle @hodlnaut. According to ONTIER LLP updates, the High Court plans to hear his defamation case in late 2023.