UK High Court rules in favor of Craig Wright, awarding £1 in defamation damages

The U.K.’s High Court has approved a judgement successful favour of Craig Wright successful his defamation suit with podcaster Peter McCormack.

Judge Justice Chamberlain ruled that McCormack caused terrible harm to Wright’s reputation. But due to the fact that Wright had falsified grounds successful the trial, the justice opted to grant the Claimant nominal damages of conscionable £1.

“However, due to the fact that helium precocious a deliberately mendacious lawsuit and enactment guardant deliberately false grounds until days earlier trial, helium volition retrieve lone nominal damages.”

Wright’s ineligible squad claimed victory

Between March and October 2019, McCormack posted respective tweets, and a connection during a YouTube discussion, to the effect that Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto.

In response, Wright filed a ineligible assertion successful April 2019 connected the grounds that McCormack’s actions had damaged his estimation connected 16 counts.

The proceedings was heard betwixt May 23 and 25, successful which grounds was presented of McCormack asserting that the Claimant is not Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. This included tweets that read:

“Craig Wright is simply a fraud, bring it oregon spell jogging.”

and

“I corroborate receipt of your missive regarding Craig Wright, who successful my nonrecreational opinion is decidedly not the idiosyncratic down the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto”

Judge Chamberlain concluded that “it would not beryllium a proportionate usage of judicial resources” to “resolve the differences betwixt the parties,” i.e., nary ruling was made connected Wright being Satoshi Nakamoto.

However, the justice stated that the 16 publications from McCormack did origin harm to Wright’s reputation, with the 16th work (YouTube video discussion) being defamatory successful nature.

By email, Simon Cohen of the instrumentality steadfast ONTIER LLP, representing Wright, said the ruling had successfully exposed McCormack’s “deliberate campaign” to defame the Claimant. Commenting connected the falsification of evidence, Cohen said the ineligible squad is reviewing the judgement “with a presumption to appealing the mentation of Dr. Wright’s evidence.”

McCormack is pleased with the ruling

In effect to the work of the lawsuit findings, McCormack thanked his ineligible squad and Judge Chamberlain for the outcome. However, helium besides mentioned that “the process is not complete,” and volition refrain from passing further comments successful the meantime.

As immoderate of you volition present person seen, the judgement successful my proceedings v Dr. Craig Wright has present been handed down.

I privation to convey my lawyers for their diligent enactment connected the case.

I besides privation to convey Mr Justice Chamberlain for this result. We are precise pleased with his findings.

— Pedro (@PeterMcCormack) August 1, 2022

The comments to McCormack’s tweet contained aggregate messages of congratulations and offers to screen the damages.

Similar actions were filed against Magnus Granath; AKA Twitter grip @hodlnaut. The High Court volition perceive the defamation proceedings successful precocious 2023, according to updated accusation from ONTIER LLP.

The station UK High Court rules successful favour of Craig Wright, awarding £1 successful defamation damages appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.