Judge Awards $28K in Fees Against Michael Mann for Misleading Jury

Overview

• In a Thursday ruling, D.C. Superior Court Judge Alfred S. Irving ordered Michael Mann to pay $28,167.62 in attorneys’ fees to defendants Rand Simberg and Mark Steyn.
• The court found Mann left jurors with a demonstrative showing $9,713,924 in purported grant losses even though the corrected figure disclosed in discovery was $112,000.
• The award allocates $16,762.82 to Simberg and $11,404.80 to Steyn, with the judge emphasizing the need to deter bad-faith litigation tactics.
• The decision reaffirms earlier sanctions, including more than $1 million in prior fee awards under D.C.’s anti-SLAPP statute and a reduction of the jury’s punitive damages to $5,000.
• Earlier in the case, National Review and CEI won summary judgment, and Mann later settled with National Review, which waived a $530,000 fee claim; Mann remains a University of Pennsylvania professor.