Hunter Biden won $1.7 million in punitive damages on Friday, July 10, after a federal judge ruled that former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne defamed him with false claims about an Iran bribery scheme.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson of the Central District of California said Byrne acted with “intentional misrepresentation” and “conscious disregard” for Hunter Biden’s rights. The judge, a Reagan appointee, wrote that Byrne’s actions went far beyond mere negligence.
Byrne, a vocal denier of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, had accused Hunter Biden of seeking an $800 million bribe from Iran.
He claimed the younger Biden wanted the money in exchange for persuading his father, then the president, to release $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets and go easy on nuclear negotiations.
Byrne kept pushing the story on social media even after Hunter Biden sued him. He encouraged his followers to spread the claims further.
Court Finds Patrick Byrne Defamed Hunter Biden
“Here, the evidence is clear and convincing that [Byrne] has engaged in intentional misrepresentation with conscious disregard towards [Hunter’s] rights,” Wilson wrote in his 25-page ruling.
The judge also criticized Byrne’s handling of the case, including delaying tactics that dragged out the years-long litigation.
He fired his lawyers on the first day of a scheduled trial in Los Angeles last July and failed to appear in court as promised.
Wilson called the behavior a “campaign of dilatory tactics” and at one point described it as a “three-ring circus.”
Hunter Biden had asked for $1 in nominal damages for defamation per se, which does not require proof of specific harm. The judge awarded that amount along with the $1.7 million in punitive damages.
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Byrne must also pay nearly $35,000 in previously ordered court sanctions within 14 days. If he misses the deadline, he will face an extra $1,000 penalty for each day it is late.
“This is a complete vindication for Hunter Biden against the false statements made about him by Patrick Byrne,” said Bryan Sullivan, Hunter Biden’s attorney. “As found by the court, Byrne had no basis to say that Hunter had any involvement with Iran whatsoever.”
The lawsuit started after Byrne repeatedly made the bribery accusations. Hunter Biden said the claims were baseless and that Byrne knew it.
Byrne, 63, resigned as Overstock.com CEO in 2019 after reports linked him to Maria Butina, a Russian national convicted of acting as a foreign agent.
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He later became active in efforts to challenge the 2020 election results and has promoted various conspiracy theories.
The judge also noted Byrne’s persistent refusal to follow court orders. At one hearing in October, no lawyer showed up for him. The judge eventually moved toward a default judgment because of the repeated failures to comply.
Byrne’s last attempt to bring in new counsel failed. The lead attorney from that effort had previously been disqualified in another high-profile defamation case involving Dominion Voting Systems.
Hunter Biden’s team had tried to question Byrne about his finances to support the punitive damages request. Byrne’s actions prevented that from happening smoothly.
Byrne has not commented publicly on the latest ruling.
