Woman Sues for $170 Million for Being Defamed

Actor Richard Gadd and actress Jessica Dunning appearing in an episode of “Baby Reindeer”

No one likes to feel falsely judged and worse, inaccurately, cruelly portrayed as a shameful person in public. Fiona Harvey doesn’t like it either and decided to punch back against the alleged perpetrator, filing a defamation lawsuit against Netflix for a whopping $170 million.

Harvey asserts that she is the creative inspiration for the embarrassing, criminal character “Martha Scott” in the show “Baby Reindeer,” created by comedian Richard Gadd, who also plays the character, “Donny Dunn.”

Dunn is reportedly based on Gadd, who has communicated that the entertainment project is about his personal experiences and being stalked.

Harvey is asking the court for $50 million in actual damages, at least $50 million in compensatory damages due to “mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of business” and at least $50 million “for all profits from Baby Reindeer.”

She is additionally requesting for least $20 million in punitive damages.

Those totals exclude "legal fees, costs and statutory interest."

As the story unfolded, viewers became curious about who the female stalker could be and went to work with their research. Harvey mentioned in an interview with Piers Morgan that she knew Gadd but was certainly not a stalker.

If Harvey is being truthful and her and her legal team can meet the high bar to prove defamation, it’s reasonable that she is extremely upset being associated with a woman who stalked a man.

Harvey says that Netflix is guilty of defamation and intentional affliction of emotional distress and she has concluded that the entertainment company has misrepresented her and made her identity easily identifiable, which has caused serious reputation damage.

Interestingly enough, the lawsuit does not name Gadd as a defendant, maybe because he isn’t the “bank account” that Netflix is and because the company has the ultimate authority and power to give a show the stamp of approval and disseminate it.

What could significantly aid Harvey in her pursuit of her desired legal remedy is brief communication “that appears onscreen near the top of the first episode of the seven-part series, which reads, ‘This is a true story,’” reports Kelsey Vlamis, writing at Business Insider.

Actress Jessica Gunning (left), who plays the character “Martha” in “Baby Reindeer” which Fiona Harvey unfairly, inaccurately portrays her.

"It is a lie told by Netflix and the show’s creator, Richard Gadd, out of greed and lust for fame; a lie designed to attract more viewers, get more attention, to make more money, and to viciously destroy the life of Plaintiff, Fiona Harvey — an innocent woman defamed by Netflix and Richard Gadd at a magnitude and scale without precedent,” the lawsuit said.

Harvey is adamant “that Gadd, who wrote Baby Reindeer after his real-life experience with a stalker, put several exact phrases she had said to him in the episodes and gave Martha her same job — a lawyer,” reports Liza Esquibias, JP Mangalindan and Danielle Bacher at People magazine.

The legal complaint hammered away at what it sees as the immorality.

"Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money," it reads.

Netflix is publicly acting in a defiant manner, which is common.

"We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd's right to tell his story,” a company spokesperson said In a statement to Business Insider.

The petition details the similarities between the “Martha” character and Harvey.

“Like ‘Martha,’ Harvey is a Scottish lawyer, living in London, twenty years older than Gadd, was accused of stalking a lawyer in a newspaper article, and who bears an uncanny resemblance to ‘Martha,’” the lawsuit states. “Further, ‘Martha’s’ accent, manner of speaking and cadence, is indistinguishable [from] Harvey’s.”

The impact, Harvey claims, has been physical symptoms of emotional distress and a fear of going out in public or checking the news, according to the lawsuit.

“As a result of (Netflix’s) lies, malfeasance and utterly reckless misconduct, Harvey’s life had been ruined,” the lawsuit communicates. “Simply, Netflix and Gadd destroyed her reputation, her character and her life.”

Tre Lovell, a Los Angeles entertainment attorney with The Lovell Firm, told BI he thinks Harvey has a "very strong case" based on her complaint if she can demonstrate that the show made her readily identifiable and made false claims.

On the surface, Netflix seems to be a dangerous legal position and Harvey, regardless of how unsympathetic a person as some in the court of public opinion — and maybe the media too — have decided she is, could have a fighting chance to succeed in proving that she was in fact defamed and because of it, has unjustly suffered pain and misery of multiple types due to Netflix’s alleged misconduct.

Yet the company feels confident that it has not committed defamation and believes it can successfully argue and defend itself in the lawsuit. Maybe Netflix and its legal team will be proven correct. Yet this isn’t likely the expected victory it may be inferring in the media.

Winning a multi-million-dollar settlement and having the media widely report it would no doubt be welcomed validation for Harvey yet her name might always be a punchline, even if she ends up with a favorable court ruling, especially if the court of public opinion holds on to biases which are in conflict with what the court rules and maybe, also the facts and truth.

Harvey, win or lose with her lawsuit, might consider additional reputation or public relations assistance upon the conclusion of the case.

Why, you ask? Even if she wins and becomes wealthy, she could still experience emotional and psychological pain that is severe and possibly crippling, which of course can negatively impact her physical health and overall quality of life.

Michael Toebe is the founder and specialist at Reputation Intelligence - Reputation Quality and helps individuals and organizations further build, protect, restore or reconstruct trust, relationships, reputation, opportunities and peace of mind.

Contact Michael at 316-226-4071, reputation.intelligence.rq@gmail.com or through the form below.