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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   23862 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of June 10, 2024

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I've always understood that the objective with these kinds of high value settlements, is that while you can't get water out of a stone, you can take a portion of what it drinks for yourself.

Alex Jones is going to be on some kind of a payment plan to the plaintiffs for the rest of his life, and in that way, it brings closure to the matter.

Alex Jones is going to be on some kind of a payment plan to the plaintiffs for the rest of his life, and in that way, it brings closure to the matter.

Depends on the jurisdiction doesn't it? If he declares personal bankruptcy this is most likely very time limited and considers the creditors as a whole -- unless there's some carveout for legal settlements, which in most jurisdictions there is not.

Judgments for intentional torts aren't dischargeable in bankruptcy.

Certainly you are much more qualified to comment on the US situation, but I had thought that there were at least some states more similar to Canada in this regard?

Debts not released by order of discharge

178 (1) An order of discharge does not release the bankrupt from

(a) any fine, penalty, restitution order or other order similar in nature to a fine, penalty or restitution order, imposed by a court in respect of an offence, or any debt arising out of a recognizance or bail;

(a.1) any award of damages by a court in civil proceedings in respect of

    (i) bodily harm intentionally inflicted, or sexual assault, or

    (ii) wrongful death resulting therefrom;

(b) any debt or liability for alimony or alimentary pension;

(c) any debt or liability arising under a judicial decision establishing affiliation or respecting support or maintenance, or under an agreement for maintenance and support of a spouse, former spouse, former common-law partner or child living apart from the bankrupt;

(d) any debt or liability arising out of fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity or, in the Province of Quebec, as a trustee or administrator of the property of others;

(e) any debt or liability resulting from obtaining property or services by false pretences or fraudulent misrepresentation, other than a debt or liability that arises from an equity claim;

(f) liability for the dividend that a creditor would have been entitled to receive on any provable claim not disclosed to the trustee, unless the creditor had notice or knowledge of the bankruptcy and failed to take reasonable action to prove his claim;

(g) any debt or obligation in respect of a loan made under the Canada Student Loans Act, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act or any enactment of a province that provides for loans or guarantees of loans to students

The US bankruptcy code (it's all Federal, except for in a few specific areas) is similar but doesn't require "bodily harm", only "willful and malicious injury". Courts have said for a long time that this basically means all intentional torts.

Huh, that is rough -- so is it Jones that's on the hook for a billion bucks, or some combination of himself and his corp?

He's on the hook himself. The problem is that he owns his corp (at least in substantial proportion) so the company itself is fair game. The Plaintiff's are looking to settle in a manner that will keep the company operational but they rejected Jones's proposal and gave a counteroffer that Jones rejected.

Here’s the pickle: it seems obvious that the best way for Alex Jones to make money is to continue producing infowars content. I’m not sure that this is the closure that the plaintiffs had in mind.

Yeah, it's a difficult situation. Jones could quite literally stop making money all together, live off welfare, and the families would barely get any money from him. Or, Jones could continue making content or even get a day job and have his wages garnished and the families would still get very little money from him.

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