Patreon Loses Lawsuit With Owen Benjamin Fans, Likely To Pay Millions In Arbitration and Legal Fees

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Last year, Owen Benjamin was kicked off of Patreon for violating their terms on “hate speech.” Benjamin then encouraged his fans to sue the site, given they had participated in, in legal terms, “tortious interference with a business relationship.”

Patreon’s terms included language that allowed any users of the plaltform to litigate their case individually under California’s JAMS arbitration scheme.

Under California law, Patreon would have to pay the arbitration fees up front, as each user would have to be dealt with on a one to one basis. These fees range from a few thousand dollars to over ten thousand dollars per case. It is unclear how many users intended to sue the platform.

https://nationalfile.com/patreon-lo...o-pay-millions-in-arbitration-and-legal-fees/

 

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Court’s final ruling against Patreon opens legal avenue to defend against deplatforming


A court has issued a final ruling denying fan-funding platform Patreon’s request for an injunction against 72 former backers of comedian Owen Benjamin who are seeking arbitration against the company for disrupting the economic relationship between themselves and Benjamin.

The final ruling follows a tentative ruling against Patreon from earlier this month and means that the company now has to pay upfront filing fees on each of the 72 individual arbitration claims within 30 days of the due date on the invoice. These fees can be upwards of $10,000 per arbitration.

When the arbitration commences, Patreon will also have to pay further legal fees and have a rolling obligation to pay them within 30 days. Lawyer, commentator, and producer Mike Cernovich has predicted that these fees could be as high as $20 million.

 

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