Bungie scored another major court victory this week, winning almost $500,000 (USD) in damages and compensation from someone that repeatedly harassed one of their employees. The harasser in question is James Comer, who sent several racist and abusive calls to one of Bungie's community managers.
Comer began his harassment campaign after becoming "incensed" that Bungie dared to shine a spotlight on fan art created by a Black Destiny 2 community member. Comer would spend multiple days sending racist and threatening texts and voice mails both to the phone of the community manager and their wife. Comer then tried to further intimidate the victims by showing he knew where they lived when he placed a cash-on-delivery order for pizza that was sent to the victims' house.
A Washington state court ruled in Bungie's favor. Comer, the loser (of the court battle), will now have to pay a bit over $489,000 in damages. This amount covers expenses related to the case, plus expenses related to Bungie's efforts to protect its employees with added security measures for the couple. The amount also includes the fees that will go towards Bungie's legal team for their efforts in getting Comer prosecuted.
This week's victory for Bungie does set a new precedent for all companies in general. This ruling sets a new legal precedent that will allow companies to take stronger actions to protect their employees from cyber-stalking, online threats, and online harassment.
The full court decision can be read online (PDF; Google Drive) and was shared by Kathryn Tewson, a paralegal that seems to have been brought in to consult on this case. In a lengthy write-up on Twitter, Tewson shares how this ruling establishes that there are consequences for online harassment. A few key excerpts from her Twitter thread can be seen here.
"After working with MANY outstanding professionals to identify the culprit, a racist shitstain of a human being named Jesse James Comer, we filed a complaint in King County Superior Court to hold him liable for the damages Bungie suffered due to his sociopathic conduct.
"Comer didn't show the same enthusiasm for showing up to argue his case as he did for causing the intial harm, lol. Yesterday the Court granted our motion for default judgment, making him liable for the nearly $500K Bungie accrued in investigation, protection, and legal costs.(...)
"For example, we got an official judicial recognition of the threat and harm posed by the well-documented pattern of escalating harassment that can culminate in tragedy via swatting and other real-world violence.
"Second, we got -- as a CONCLUSION OF LAW -- that when an employee is harassed *by reason of their employment,* that harassment damages the employer as well, and the employer can enforce the recovery of those damages in civil court.
"We also got a ruling that doxing and harassing an employee with unwanted deliveries by reason of their employment is an unfair trade practice that affects the public interest -- which puts this conduct within the ambit of Washington's Consumer Protection Act.
"But the really exciting news comes in at the end. In addition to finding that Washington employers can recover for damages for harassment of their employees under standard torts like nuisance and invasion of privacy, the Court also held that it would recognize A NEW TORT.
"By recognizing a new tort based on the Washington criminal statutes outlawing cyber and telephone harassment, the Court has created a path for those with the resources to identify stochastic terrorists and hold them accountable to do exactly that and recover their costs in court."
"Comer didn't show the same enthusiasm for showing up to argue his case as he did for causing the intial harm, lol. Yesterday the Court granted our motion for default judgment, making him liable for the nearly $500K Bungie accrued in investigation, protection, and legal costs.(...)
"For example, we got an official judicial recognition of the threat and harm posed by the well-documented pattern of escalating harassment that can culminate in tragedy via swatting and other real-world violence.
"Second, we got -- as a CONCLUSION OF LAW -- that when an employee is harassed *by reason of their employment,* that harassment damages the employer as well, and the employer can enforce the recovery of those damages in civil court.
"We also got a ruling that doxing and harassing an employee with unwanted deliveries by reason of their employment is an unfair trade practice that affects the public interest -- which puts this conduct within the ambit of Washington's Consumer Protection Act.
"But the really exciting news comes in at the end. In addition to finding that Washington employers can recover for damages for harassment of their employees under standard torts like nuisance and invasion of privacy, the Court also held that it would recognize A NEW TORT.
"By recognizing a new tort based on the Washington criminal statutes outlawing cyber and telephone harassment, the Court has created a path for those with the resources to identify stochastic terrorists and hold them accountable to do exactly that and recover their costs in court."
