Tom Scholz of the band Boston has found himself $132,000 poorer after losing a lawsuit for defamation.
Scholz had sued the Boston Herald for suggesting that he was responsible for the death of bandmate Brad Delp in 2007; however, the court sided with the paper saying that, for their statements to be defamation, there would have had to be evidence on the reason that Delp took his own life.
The judge in the case then went on to order Scholz to pay the $132,000 in lawyer and court costs that the paper had to spend to defend itself. Judge McIntyre made the decision saying that “This court favors allowing costs in order that the expenses of litigation do not induce an unnecessary and undesirable self-censorship.”
Patrick Purcell, publisher of the Boston Herald, said “Judge McIntyre’s decision is a reminder of the chilling effect that meritless defamation lawsuits can have on journalists, and of the harmful impact such suits can have on the public at large.”
