Bouveng v. NYG Capital LLC (175 F. Supp. 3d 280, 2016)

MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER

PAUL G. GARDEPHE, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.

Plaintiff Hanna Bouveng brings this action against Defendants NYG Capital LLC, d/b/a New York Global Group (“NYGG”), FNL Media LLC (“FNL Media”), and Benjamin Wey alleging claims of (1) quid pro quo sexual harassment under the New York State Human Rights Law (the “NYSHRL”) and New York City Human Rights Law (the “NYCHRL”) against all Defendants; (2) retaliation under the NYSHRL and NYCHRL against all Defendants; (3) defamation against all Defendants; and (4) assault and battery against Defendant Wey.

Following a ten-day trial, a jury returned a verdict in Plaintiffs favor on all claims except the assault and . battery claims against Defendant Wey. As to compensatory damages, the jury awarded Plaintiff (1) $500,000 on her quid pro quo sexual harassment claims under the NYSHRL and NYCHRL against all Defendants; (2) $1,5 million on her defamation claim against all Defendants; and (3) $1.00 on her retaliation claims under the NYSHRL and NYCHRL. As to punitive damages on her defamation claim, the jury awarded Plaintiff: (i) $10 million against Defendant Wey; (2) $1 million against Defendant NYGG; and (3) $5 million against Defendant FNL Media. On Plaintiffs NYCHRL retaliation claim, the jury awarded her $1.00 as against each Defendant.

Defendants have moved under (1) Fed. R. Civ, P. 50 for judgment as a matter of law; (2) Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(a)(1)(A) for a new trial as to liability; and (3) Fed. R. Civ. P. 59 for a- new trial or a remittitur concerning the damage awards. (Dkt. No. 255) For the reasons stated below, Defendants’ motion for judgment as a matter of law or for a new trial as to liability will be denied. Defendants’ motion for a new trial with respect to the compensatory and punitive damage awards will be granted unless Plaintiff accepts a remittitur as to (1) the compensatory damage award on her quid pro quo sexual harassment claim; and (2) the punitive damage awards against Wey and FNL Media.

BACKGROUND

I. THE EVIDENCE AT TRIAL

A. The Parties

Plaintiff Hanna Bouveng was raised in Vetlanda, Sweden. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 896) After high school, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in media communication from Sweden’s Halmstad University. (Id. at 897-98) Plaintiff was an exchange student in Hong Kong during her last semester, and then worked in marketing in Hong Kong for several months after completing her studies. (Id. at 899) She also worked as a model in Hong Kong. (Id. at 901)

After graduation, Plaintiff was employed at Pecto Media, a marketing company, in Oslo, Norway, with banking and other corporate clients. (Id. at 898) Plaintiff had “sales and branding” responsibilities at Pecto, and called on clients throughout Norway. (Id.) Plaintiffs responsibilities included making presentations to Pecto clients and obtaining renewal of Pecto’s contracts with clients for annual marketing plans. (Id.) Plaintiff speaks Swedish, Norwegian, and English, and has also studied French, German, and Spanish. (Id.)

In 2012, Plaintiff came to New York City on a student visa to study marketing, management, and fashion at Berkeley College. (Id. at 900) She lived in a small apartment in the East Village with a friend from school. (Id. at 900-01)

Defendant Benjamin Wey is the chief executive officer and sole owner of Defendant New York Global Group, an international business Consulting firm based in Manhattan. (Trial Tr. (Dkt! No. 232) at 487; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 234) at 759) NYGG also has offices in China, where it employs fifty people. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 536) FNL Media — a limited liability company — is a “wholly owned subsidiary of New York Global Group” and the “parent company” of an online publication called The Blot Magazine (“The Blot”), of which Wey is the publisher. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 228) at 267; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 242) at 1429) NYGG and FNL Media share office space at 40 Wall Street in Manhattan. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 228) at 138, 144, 162) Wey was born in China and moved to the^ United States to attend college at Oklahoma Baptist University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 234) at 756-58) Wey also holds an MBA from the University of Central Oklahoma and a master’s degree from Columbia University business school. (Id. at 759)

B. Meeting and Job Offer

During the summer of 2013, Plaintiff - then 24 years old - met Wey at a party at his house in the Hamptons. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 526; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 903) Wey later invited Plaintiff and a friend to a party at his penthouse apartment in Manhattan. (Trial Tr. (Dkt, No. 236) at 907) At these parties, Plaintiff told Wey about her family background, including that her grandfather had founded SAPA, a large, successful aluminum company in Sweden. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 527; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 234) at 760; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 908, 914) Plaintiff also told Wey that she had finished her studies and was “looking for an internship or a job” in New York City. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 908)

Later in the summer of 2013, Plaintiff and Wey met for lunch. (Id. at 909) According to Plaintiff,

[Wey] ordered wine for us. And when we got the wine he asked me if he could move - jump over and sit next to me. And so he did. And then he started to [say] ... that he was lonely and that he needed someone in his life and that he needed someone that he could show the world.... And then well he basically said that he wanted a girlfriend. So I told him that I was not interested. I think you have to keep on searching because I’m interested in a job.... So then he moved back over. And we had lunch. And that was it.

(Id. at 909-10)

A few days later, however, Wey called Plaintiff and “basically said that he thought that [she] was brave that [she] would say no to him[,] [b]ecause a lot of people don’t say no to him.” (Id. at 910) Wey also told Plaintiff that she “should come in to discuss a position at his company,” and she agreed to do so. (Id.)

In July 2013, Plaintiff met with Wey and James Baxter - NYGG’s general counsel and chairman of the board - at NYGG’s offices at 40 Wall Street. (Id. at 911; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 240) at 1255) Plaintiff testified that she was offered a marketing position at NYGG (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 911); Wey testified that he agreed to hire her as an intern. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 529-30) Both sides agree that Plaintiff, Wey, and Baxter completed paperwork relating to Plaintiffs application for a J-l visa, which would enable Plaintiff to work in the United States. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 528; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 911-12)

C. Summer 2013 Trip to Sweden

In August 2013, after the J-l visa paperwork had been submitted, Plaintiff returned to Sweden for an interview at the American embassy in connection with her visa application. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 912) Wey told Plaintiff that “he would really like to” join her on the trip, so that she could “introduce [him] to some of the people [she] know[s].” (Id.) Plaintiff drafted an itinerary for Wey’s trip, proposing visits to Stockholm, Oslo, and Plaintiffs hometown of Vetlanda, and meetings with a number of senior Swedish business executives. (Defense Exhibit (“DX”) BF; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 234) at 761-62) Plaintiff sent the itinerary to Wey via email, and ended her message with the word “Kram,” which is Swedish for “hug.” (DX BF; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 1036)

Wey testified that one of the reasons he traveled to Sweden in August 2013 was to learn about Nórdica Life Insurance Company (“Nórdica Life”). (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 539) The “people who were involved with Nórdica were friends of [Plaintiffs] father,” and Wey “came up with the idea that perhaps Nórdica Life Insurance Company could be acquired by Chinese investors.” (Id.) In the event of an acquisition, Wey believed that Plaintiffs father - Nils Sundqvist - would have “an important role in the company,” and that Plaintiff herself would become Nórdica Life’s “director of marketing.” (Id. at 540)

During this August 2013 trip, Plaintiff and Wey travelled to Vetlanda and to Vastervik, Sweden, where a preliminary meeting related to Nórdica Life was conducted. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 913) They also had meetings in Stockholm and Norway. (Id. at 913-14; DX BF) Plaintiff introduced Wey to her father and her cousin’s uncle, and she took him to see the aluminum company that her grandfather had founded. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 914) During this trip, Wey did not “make any sexual advances towards [Plaintiff],” and the “the conversation about him wanting a girlfriend [did not] come up again.” (Id. at 913-14)

D. Plaintiffs Employment at NYGG

Plaintiffs employment at NYGG began on October 1, 2013. (Id. at 916) Plaintiff testified that when she started at NYGG, she wanted only a professional relationship with Wey. (Id.)

Plaintiff was given her own office, and was told that her responsibilities would be “marketing and Communications.” (Id. at 917) During her first month at NYGG, Plaintiff did “lobbying work” in Washington, D.C., and worked on NYGG’s website and press releases. (Id. at 917-18) Plaintiff also researched individuals NYGG was scheduled to meet and the companies they worked for. (Id. at 918) Plaintiffs work also involved The Blot Magazine. (Id.) She attended meetings in which The Blot team discussed “everything from budget to [public relations] to strategies,” and she “tried to coordinate meetings with other companies that would benefit The Blot’s work.” (Id.; see also Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 228) at 161-62) During October 2013, Plaintiff worked from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and would attend after-work social events with Wey from “time to time.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 919) Plaintiff was paid $1,250 every two weeks. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 1031-32; Plaintiffs Exhibit (“PX”) 130)

Although Wey testified that the “official classification of [Plaintiffs] status [at NYGG]” — for purposes of her J-l visa— was “intern,” Wey gave her the title of NYGG’s “Director of Corporate Communications.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 489, 530-31) Plaintiffs NYGG business cards and her NYGG email reflected this title. (Id. at 530-31) Plaintiff testified that Wey “thought that it would look good if we went to meetings and he ... introduced] me as the director of corporate Communications.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 912) Wey con firmed that it “felt... appropriate to hold out to the world for marketing purposes that she was [NYGG’s] director of corporate Communications.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 532)

Plaintiff testified that, when she first began work at NYGG, Wey’s treatment of her “depended” on whether she “would accompany him to dinners or social events after work.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 959) “If [she] did that, then he would be happy and treat [her] well. And if [she] would say that [she] was going to go to dinner with friends, then he would get upset and get pouty and did not talk to [her] and treat[ed] [her] differently.” (Id.) Over time, Wey “got more aggressive regarding [Plaintiffs desire] to spend time with friends outside of work. He would bring [her] to [his] office and have these long monologues. As soon as [Plaintiff] had a dinner with a friend, he would bring [her] to [his] office. the next day.” (Id.) Between October 2013 and January 2014, Plaintiff went out to dinner with Wey “[w]eekly.” (Id. at 962) “In the beginning it was with other people, business contacts, and then it started become more just him and [Plaintiff].” (Id.)

Wey “would [also] often compliment [Plaintiff] on [her] looks and how [she] dressed, and he would make comments about [her] body.... For example, if [she] said that [she] was going to go to the. gym after work he would ■ say, oh, you don’t need that and you have a fit and thin body anyway.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 961) Wey made these remarks both when they were alone and when other employees were present, which made Plaintiff feel “[e]mbarassed.” (Id.) Alicia Lu — an associate editor for The Blot (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 228) at 145) — testified that “Wey was very complimentary of Ms. Bouveng and [was] always standing very close to her” at the office, and that Wey would often tell Plaintiff that “she looked beautiful, or looked very nice,... Things that you usually don’t hear in the office from a superior to a subordinate.” (Id. at 171-72) Yonatan Weiss — a graphic designer for The Blot— testified that Wey “often behave[d] in a lecherous manner [toward Plaintiff]. He would constantly comment on her physical appearance and shower heaps of praise on her physical appearance and her beauty and her stylishness and how glamorous and pretty she was.” (Id. at 267, 270) Wey also frequently touched Plaintiff at the office: “He would very often put his arm around me or come close to me, stand very close to me and kiss me on the cheek when he greeted me.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 961-62) Plaintiff “never saw [Wey] touch other people.” (Id. at 962) Lu testified that she observed Wey touch Plaintiffs behind, and that he “would put his arm around her.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 228) at 172) Weiss similarly testified that Wey “often put his arm around [Plaintiff], around the small of her back, [and] always had her at his side whenever we were in meetings.” (Id. at 270)

E. November 2013 Boston Trip

On November 2, 2013, Wey gave a speech at a conference at Babson College in Boston. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 474; DX BQ) The night before the speech, Wey drove from New York City to Boston with Plaintiff and her friend, Nina Chelidze. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 475; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 920) After arriving in Boston, Wey dropped off Chelidze at a friend’s house, and he and Plaintiff “proceeded to the Boston Harbor Hotel.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 475)

Wey testified that, although he and Bou-veng arrived at the hotel together, Plaintiff left when they got there. (Id. at 475-76) Wey does not recall where Plaintiff went or whether she had any luggage; he likewise does not recall whether he dined that evening. (Id, at 475) Wey likewise denied that he and Plaintiff shared a room at the Boston hotel, and denied that he tried to have sex with Bouveng. (Id. at 535) Wey testified that Plaintiff “met [him] in the hotel the next morning” and he did not ask her where she spent the night. (Id. at 476) Wey further testified that, After the conference, he “left [Plaintiff] in Boston,” because he “had to go see [his] nephew” at a school in Rhode Island. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 869)

Plaintiff gave a much different account of the November 2013 Boston trip. Plaintiff testified that, after she and Wey dropped off Chelidze, they drove to the Boston Harbor Hotel, (Id. at 921) Plaintiff further testified that, once at the hotel, they

had dinner. Then we were going to go up to the room or check in. And [Wey] only booked one room. So we went up to that room.

Q. And tell us what happened in the room.

A. Well he — he started to come close to me. Started to kiss me on the neck. And he started to take off my coat. And then I asked him if he had condoms. And he said he hadn’t, but that it was okay anyway because he was clean. And then I said I didn’t want — that I didn’t want to do anything. And he said okay. And he went to the bathroom. And I just changed and went to bed. And then nothing else happened.

(Id.) Plaintiff testified that she asked Wey if he had a condom because “[i]t was just something that [she] came up with to try to prevent what was going to happen.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 959-60) She also testified that she “didn’t sleep very well that night and [she] tried to lay as still as possible because [she] wanted to make it seem as if [she] was sleeping.” (Id. at 960)

When Bouveng woke up the next morning, she did not discuss the previous night’s events with Wey. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 921-22) She also did not tell Chelidze or “Annie” — another friend who attended the Babson College' conference— what had happened, because “[i]t was shameful” and she “didn’t know what [she] was going to say.” (Id at 922)

After the conference, Plaintiff, Chelidze, Annie, and Wey drove back to Boston and had dinner there, and then she and Wey “said good-bye to [Chelidze] and Annie and [returned] ... to the- hotel.” (Id.) Plaintiff did not “have any discussion with Mr. Wey about the fact that there was still only one room,” because she “didn’t know what [she] was going to say. I mean he knew that — he knew from the beginning what I wanted and he knew — he just knew what I wanted. And he still booked that room by himself.” (Id. at 922-23) Plaintiff testified that she “slept on the couch that night,” and that nothing happened between herself and Wey. (Id. .at 923) The next day - on the drive back to New York City - they stopped at Wey’s nephew’s college, where Plaintiff walked around the campus while Wey visited with his nephew. (Id.)

Plaintiff testified that Wey initially treated her differently after the Boston trip:

He was pretty cold and didn’t talk to me, and that was the first days. He would put a lot of work pressure on me and then he would just switch and asked if we were about to go to dinner, so we did. And then he was all happy and everything was great.

(Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 959)

F. Broad Street Apartment

In mid-November 2013, Plaintiff moved from her East Village apartment to an apartment at 25 Broad Street in lower Manhattan, close to NYGG’s offices. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 925; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 1051)

Plaintiff testified that the apartment move was Wey’s idea: Wey “thought it would be a great idea for [her] to have [her] own apartment; that it would make [her] feel like ... more of a professional successful business woman.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 925) Plaintiff testified that Wey found the apartment for her; that she had never been to the building before Wey showed her the apartment; and that she signed the 1 ease that same day. (Id. at 925-26)

On the lease forms, Plaintiff listed Wey as her “emergency contact” and as her “friend.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 1052) Plaintiff testified that, while she was signing the paperwork, Wey “was standing over [her] shoulder and said that [she] should list him as a friend ... because he lived ... in Battery Park so he was near so if something were to happen he would be close.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 240) at 1207)

Plaintiff also testified that she told Wey “that with the salary [she] had now [she] could not afford an apartment like that,” and that Wey “said that he would raise [her] salary” to “something between five and seven thousand dollars a month,” so that she could pay the rent. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 926) Wey did not give Bouveng a raise, however. Instead, he “helped [her] pay [the rent] with cash,” which she had to ask him for every month. (Id. at 927) Wey told Bouveng “not [to] tell anyone” how the rent at the 25 Broad Street apartment was being paid. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 240) at 1207)

Wey, by contrast, testified that “[i]t was Ms. Bouveng’s idea” to move into the Broad Street apartment, and that she found the apartment herself. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 791) He also testified that Plaintiff “asked [him] to become guarantor for her apartment because she ha[d] no credit history in the United States and the building would not approve her to go on her own name as a tenant.” (Id.) Wey stated that Plaintiff also “asked [him] to subsidize [the cost of the monthly rent]” because she could not afford it. (Id.) Wey conceded that he gave Plaintiff cash every month to help pay the rent for the apartment, and that he did not “run the cash expense through NYG Capital LLC.” (Id. at 793)

Wey further testified that he and Plaintiff reached an “agreement” whereby, “[b]efore she allows anybody to stay over at the apartmentf, Wey] must be notified in advance.” (Id.- at 792) Wey stated that this was a “condition for [him being] guarantor because [his] liability was on the line.... ” (Id.) Wey admitted, however, that the building required tenants to obtain liability insurance, and that Plaintiff had obtained a liability policy for the apartment. (Id. at 870-71)

G. December 2013 Trips to China and Dubai

In December 2013, Plaintiff, Wey, and NYGG general counsel James Baxter traveled to China on business. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 535; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 929) While in China, they did some sightseeing, and met with politicians, businessmen, and potential investors in NYGG. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 536-37) They also met with Roger Li, a member of the “NYGG Asia team” and a “critical decision maker of that Chinese investor group.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 821, 873) Wey, Plaintiff, and Baxter saw Li “[a]lmost on a daily basis” during their seven-to-ten-day trip (id. at 821), and some of the discussions with Li involved the potential Nórdica Life transaction. (Id. at 822) Wey testified that Plaintiff told Li about her education and professional background, including that she had “a bachelor’s degree in Communications, and ... extensive family connections in Sweden.” (Id. at 823)

From China, Plaintiff and Wey traveled to Dubai. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 537; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 930) Wey testified that the Dubai trip was the result of a “last-minute recommendation by a Chinese government official to introduce some business contacts [in connection with] [the] Nórdica Life Insurance [deal].” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 797) Wey testified that “only one hotel room was procured at the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai,” that he paid, for the room, and that Plaintiff slept in that room while they were in Dubai. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 476-77) Although-the hotel bill for the Atlantis Hotel states that “2-0” guests stayed in the room (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 865; PX 113), Wey testified that he stayed at a friend’s house while in Dubai. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 479)

Plaintiff testified that she and Wey spent one night in Dubai. See Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 1057. They “got to Dubai in the morning,” and when they checked into the hotel, Bouveng learned that there “was only one room booked.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 930) They left their bags at the hotel and attended meetings during the day. (Id.) They “had dinner at [the house of] one of Mr. Wey’s acquaintances,” and then they took a taxi back to the hotel. (Id. at 930-31) They went upstairs, and there “was only one room.” (Id. at 931) According to Plaintiff, after they entered the room, Wey “went to the bathroom. And I changed and went to bed. Pretending I was failing asleep. And he crawled in the bed. And pushed himself against me. And he asked me how I could be so tired all the time. But then I just ignored him and he left me alone.” (Id.)

When asked why she did not confront Wey about booking only one room, Plaintiff testified as follows:

I didn’t know what I was going to say— I was just in shock and humiliated and ashamed. And [I] didn’t want to upset him. I saw how he could get [enjraged at the office. That he would scream to people. He would even scream to Mr. Baxter.... [I thought] [t]hat he would get angry, kick me out or ... fire me, revoke my visa.... I thought that I would upset him. That he would come after me because I saw that if people didn’t do what he wanted them to do or if they crossed his way then he would attack them with his magazine or if it was lawsuits or whatever it could be. And I was intimidated. I met all these powerful business people through him.... I’m not from the [S]tates. I don’t know how it works here. I don’t have any family here. My friends here are college students.

(Id. at 931-32)

Plaintiff further testified that, “[a]fter the Dubai trip and once [she] [was] back at New York Global Group,” Wey “was treating [her] in the same manner as after the Boston trip. He was very pouty and chilly and would put a lot of work pressure on [her],” which made Plaintiff feel “[r]eally bad.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 960)

H. Plaintiffs Sexual Encounters With Wey

After Dubai, Wey and Plaintiff traveled to Copenhagen for a meeting concerning the Nórdica Life acquisition. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 932) Between December 24 and December 31, 2013, Wey was with his family on vacation in Costa Rica. (Id. at 804; DX BT) After Wey returned from his vacation, he and Bouveng went out for dinner and drinks. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 932-33) At dinner, Wey “gave [Plaintiff] a Prada bag as a year-end bonus.” (Id. at 933)

After dinner, Bouveng and Wey walked to Plaintiffs Broad Street apartment building, and Wey told her that he “wanted to come up for some tea.” (Id.) Bouveng told Wey that she was tired, but he complained that she “never invite[d] [him] up ... [and] never ha[d] time to do anything.” (Id. at 934) He accompanied Bouveng to her apartment. (Id.) Plaintiff testified that inside the apartment, the following took place:

We sat down on the couch. And I sat on the other end. And he asked me to come closer. So I did. And then he started to put his arm around me and started to ,.. kiss me on the neck. And then he stood up and grabbed my hand and we walked into the bedroom.... And then he started to undress me. And he said he brought a box of condoms. And then we just laid down to bed. And we had sex.

(Id.)

Plaintiff described her mental state, as follows:

I felt so used and weak and I was so ashamec] that I let this happen. That I’ve been through my entire life' and nothing like this has ever happened And everything that I’ve ever been, strong, independent, he just took that away from me. So I was not that person anymore.

(Id.) Plaintiff did not speak to Wey about what happened that night; she testified that he “just came into the office the next day and pretended as if nothing happened, as if everything was okay.” (Id. at 935)

Sometime after this first sexual encounter, Wey called Plaintiff and “said that he needed to talk to [her] and ask[ed] [her] if he could come to the apartment.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 963) Plaintiff told him that she did not feel comfortable meeting at her apartment, so they met for dinner in lower Manhattan. (Id.) At dinner, -Wey gave a “long monologue, around 45 minutes, that [Plaintiff], didn’t appreciate the chance [she] got on Wall Street and that he thinks that [she] feel[s] entitled, to things and that [she] need[s] to work for it.” ( Id.) Wey’s remarks made Plaintiff feel “[r]eally bad and guilty.” (Id.) After dinner, Wey and Bouveng returned to her apartment and had sex again. (Id. at 964) Plaintiff testified that Wey “tried to kiss me,' and I pulled away and he still kept on doing that, and everything happened again.” (Id.) She testified that she did not kiss Wey, hug him, or reciprocate in any way. (Id.) She also testified that she never wanted to have sex with Wey. (Id.) After-wards, she felt “[b]lank,” (Id.)

Plaintiff testified that she and Wey had sex two more times. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 935) These encounters made Bou-veng feel “more and more weak. That I didn’t mean anything. That everything that I felt and thought, that it didn’t matter. I felt useless.” (Id.) She did not tell anyone what was happening, however, because “[she] was ashamed.” (Id.)

On February 2, 2014, Wey came to Plaintiffs apartment at 9:00 a.m. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 966; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 240) at 1205) Bouveng testified that “Wey came into the building and was knocking on my door. And he came in.... And then he - he wanted to have- sex. And then I told him no.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 240) at 1205) Plaintiff explained the circumstances as follows:

... Mr. Wey was going to travel to China, and he wanted to meet me before then. So he came up to the apartment and he wanted to have sex again, and I said no. And then he would be very aggressive and pouty and try to make me feel guilty. And then he said that he was going to think about repercussions or consequences that he felt - he switched from that to work very quickly and said that he had to think about my role in the company. Then he left [for] China and he sen[t] an email to Mr. Baxter and myself that I needed training.

(Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 966)

Bouveng further testified that, around the “[mjiddle or end of February [2014],” she “made a decision not to let [the sexual encounters] happen again.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 935-36) She did not communicate this explicitly to Wey, however:

I just thought that I would ease out of it, ... just somehow try [to] make it stop. And I felt that I couldn’t just say no, I just couldn’t go up and make a decision ... [because] he would definitely fire me. He would kick me out of the apartment. He would ... revoke my visa. I thought that he was going to, you know, come after me. Like he said in the very beginning, no one ever said no to him before.

(Id. at 936) In order to ensure that sex between them “never happened again,” Plaintiff “started to spend a lot more time with [her friends] [James] Chauvet and [Chemme] Koluman, and [she] asked them to be in the apartment or [she] tried to be more around them so [she] wasn’t going to be alone.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 965) Koluman confirmed at trial that in February 2014, she and Plaintiff started spending more time together; Koluman testified that Plaintiff seemed “more stressed than usual” and “wanted [Koluman] to be around more than usual.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 230) at 360)

Plaintiff testified that, after it became clear to Wey that she was rejecting his sexual advances, he became “more aggressive and put a lot more work pressure on [her] and expected things that seemed very difficult to accomplish in th[e] period of time that he required.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 965)

I. January 2014 Sweden Trip

In late January 2014, Wey and Plaintiff met in Sweden for a-“critically important business trip .•.. to finalize the acquisition of Nórdica Life Insurance and [to] confirm[ ] the management team in Sweden that would be running the business[,] as well as [to] work diligently towards entering into a term sheet towards the acquisition of Nórdica Life Insurance....” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 805) Wey testified that he met with Plaintiffs father - “who was going to become the chief financial officer [of Nórdica Life]” - and her -father’s friend Lars Forseth - “the chairman of Manpower Europe, who was going to become -the chairman of Nórdica Life Insurance.” (Id. at 806) Wey-also met with Plaintiffs aunt, Helena Bouveng, a member of the Swedish Parliament, “who was going to become a consultant to [the company].” (Id.)

During this trip, Plaintiff and Wey went to Café Linne, a Stockholm coffee shop, where they met with Plaintiffs father, Nils Sundqvist. (Id. at 809; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 1084; DX J) The three then traveled to Luxembourg, where Nórdica Life is headquartered, and met with the company’s staff “to learn more about the business. ...” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No: 236) at 811) Extensive negotiations took place about “the acquisition of Nórdica Life Insurance as well as related terms and conditions,” and the parties ultimately entered into a “formal term sheet,” which is dated February 5, 2014.. (Id. at 812; DX BC) The term sheet reflects a “targeted closing date” of March 31, 2014. (DX BC at 2)

If the deal closed, “investors in Asia” would become the new owners of Nórdica Life, together with Alan Klotz, the company’s chairman and CEO. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 814) Wey testified that Plaintiffs father — as CFO — and Lars For-seth — as executive chairman — would be running the business together with Klotz. (Id. at 815) Wey further testified that the “possibility for [Plaintiff] to become the director of marketing” of Nórdica Life was also discussed. (Id.) Wey noted that Plaintiff “was the only bridge for us into this acquisition.” (Id.)

J. February and March 2014 Developments in the Nórdica Life Transaction

In mid-February 2014, Wey met with investors in China to obtain their approval “to proceed with ... closing the [Nórdica Life] transactions by March 31, 2014.” (Id. at 816, 824; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 1090) Wey discussed with the Chinese investors his proposal that Plaintiffs father serve as CFO of Nórdica Life. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 824-25) The investors were “fíne with his ... professional qualifications,” but they had “serious concerns about the close relationship involving Ms. Bouveng, [and] her family members. They considered that a concentrated management risk. If something goes wrong with Hanna Bouveng, we are losing [the] entire management team.” (Id. at 825) Moreover, Roger Li told Wey that “Hanna Bouveng would not be qualified for the job” of marketing director at Nórdica Life. (Id. at 826)

Wey told Li that he would “reach out to [his] colleague and general eounsel[— James Baxter — and ask him] to spend a few days with Ms. Bouveng in the office, provide some training and arrive at somewhat of an assessment [of] how much time it [would] take for Ms. Bouveng to learn before the March 31, 2014 closing date ... to reach some level of understanding of her professional qualifications in understanding the financial products.” (Id. at 826-27)

In mid to late February 2014 — at Wey’s direction — Baxter presented a four-day “intensive training course” on financial products to Bouveng, in an effort to prepare her to serve as Nórdica Life’s marketing director. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 557-58; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 828; Trial Tr: (Dkt. No. 294) at 966-67, 1094-95; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 240) at 1263-64) Plaintiffs education and prior employment had not involved the financial products Baxter discussed. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 967) Baxter testified that, “during the week we spent together ... [Plaintiff] said she was worried she was going to get fired.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 242) at 1442) Baxter understood Plaintiffs expressions of concern “to mean that she felt that it was obvious she ... didn’t know the material and wasn’t learning.” (Id.)

In a February 23, 2014 email, however, Wey told Nils Sundqvist — Plaintiffs father — that the intensive training course had been a success:

I would like to tell you that I am very pleased with the progress that Hanna made last week in her intensive training program. It was not easy and I believe she did an excellent job learning the complex finance industry.... It was a training success and we learned great things about Hanna.

(PX 15 at 1)

Although Wey claims that Baxter told him on February 24, 2014, that Bouveng did a “terrible job” during the training, in late February or early March 2014, Wey put Plaintiff in charge of a Nórdica Life re-branding project. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 566-67) Wey also sent Plaintiff to Europe in late March 2014 to discuss the Nórdica Life deal with two Swedish law firms and a marketing company. (Id. at 564-65; see also PX 20) Plaintiff gave a presentation to these firms concerning the ideas she and Wey had for Nórdica Life. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 969-70)

K. Evidence Concerning Plaintiffs Job Performance

Wey testified that Bouveng did a “great job” at work during October, November, and December of 2013. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 534, 541) On January 1, 2014, Plaintiff received a written evaluation from NYGG, which was provided at the request of her visa sponsor firm. (Id. at 541; PX 8) The evaluation states that Plaintiff “[air-rives promptly each day and keeps an appropriate demeanor”; has “[excellent professional relations with both [co-workers and clients]”; “[w]orks hard in team environment and impresses clients with her understanding and articulate presentations”; and “[cjompletes assigned work promptly and produces work with few areas which can be improved with supervision.” (PX 8)

Wey testified that Bouveng’s work performance began to decline during the last week of February 2014, however, and he observed a change in her behavior at work. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 546, 553; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 837) Bouveng “was regularly late for work,” and when he “ask[ed] her why [she was] always late she gave [him the] same answer, breakfast line was too long.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 837) Wey also testified that “[h]er behavior in the office became somewhat... strange, erratic.” (Id. at 838) For example, Wey “noticed that the lights in her office were always off, her head was often on the desk, and she had droopy eyes. She was tired all the time[.]” (Id.) Wey “felt like she ... just didn’t care about her work anymore.” (Id.)

In late March or early April 2014, Wey realized that Bouveng had missed the deadline for submitting an application for an H-1B visa, which is a work visa that would have allowed Plaintiff to stay in the United States for at least four years. (Id. at 835-36) Wey testified that he had hired an immigration law firm to help Plaintiff obtain an H-1B visa, and that NYGG had paid $7,000 in legal fees associated with that work. ( Id. at 834-35) Wey testified that because Plaintiff had missed the H-1B visa application deadline, she would have to wait an entire year to re-apply. (Id. at 836) Wey testified that this had a “major impact” on his decisions with respect to her employment, because “when her ... internship visa [ran] out in February 2015, [NYGG] would lose her.” (Id. at 836-37) Wey also testified, however, that as of March 2014, he still wanted Bouveng to obtain the H-1B visa, despite her alleged strange and erratic behavior. (Id. at 880)

In early to mid-April 2014, Wey sent Plaintiff to a brokerage firm — Cambridge Alliance Capital — so “that she could do some on the ground training starting from the very basic brokers’ industry.” (Id. at 832) At Cambridge, Plaintiff was given a Series 7 book to read, and she was instructed to cold-call people to ask if they would be interested in buying stocks or bonds. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 977)

In an April 15, 2014 email to Plaintiffs father, Wey states that, “[fjor Hanna, the real issue is both [an] economic and lifestyle choice: She is young and she likes to have fun as a priority in her life.... I have recently asked some Wall Street friends of mine to do [Plaintiff] a big- favor: Train Hanna .from the ground up, and learn the first step of entry to Wall Street as a hard working marketing professional.... This is our last try.” (PX 22 at 4-5)

L. Plaintiffs Termination

On April 21, 2014, Wey called Bouveng to a meeting at NYGG’s offices: (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 978) At trial, Bouveng described the meeting as follows:

It was a long meeting. And he was talking a lot. And he was talking about [how] he always wanted to see me. ■ Hé always wanted to spend time'with me. He wanted to have sex with me. He wanted to hug me. He wanted to kiss me. And he said that he’s driven by passion. And if there is no passion then there’s nothing there -for him. He was talking a lot, about - that I should stick close to him. And ... he was saying that I don’t have any friends. They don’t like me. Or even if they do, they’re not going to be able to be there for me anyway because they don’t have resources. And he has resources because he’s the top dog on Wall Street. And he was kind of saying that if I didn’t start to spend more time with him he would have to start to' look for someone else. In the beginning of the conversation he said that ... I had until December 1 to change my mind. And then at the end of the conversation he said ... that if I don’t show him tangible love he’s kicking me out by August 1.... [Throughout the entire conversation I didn’t say much because he was doing a lot of talking. And then in the end of the conversation he just said you should think about it. And then we just said bye.

(Id. at 978-79) •

On the morning of April 22, 2014, Wey went to Plaintiffs apartment. After his knocks on the. door were not answered, Wey used a key to gain entry to the apartment. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 240) at 1227-28) Inside Bouveng’s bedroom, Wey found her African-American friend James Chauvet, with whom' Bouveng had been at a nightclub the night before. (Id. at 1226-28; see also Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 282) at 489) Wey demanded Chauvet’s name, social security number, and telephone number, and an explanation of what he was doing at the apartment. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 517-18; see also Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 240) at 1228) Chauvet explained that he was a friend of Bouveng. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 240) at 1228) Wey asked, “did you fuck her?” (Id.) Wey told Chauvet that he was “going to call the cops and when I get back you better be gone.” (Id.) Wey then left the apartment. (Id.)

Wey went from Bouveng’s apartment to the offices of Cambridge Alliance Capital, where Bouveng was receiving training. “[0]ne of the partners told [her] that [she] should go downstairs because Mr. Wey [was] waiting for [her].” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 979) Plaintiff went downstairs to meet Wey, who asked her if she “had fun yesterday.” (Id.) Wey said

that he was just in my apartment. And I said well then you must have met my friend James. And then he screamed - he screamed [“]you fucking bitch. I’m gonna revoke your visa today. I want you out of the apartment today. You’re no longer hired by New York Global Group.[”]

(Id. at 979-80) Wey and Bouveng then walked to her apartment, where Wey told Bouveng “that [she] should pack [her] things.” (Id. at 980) Wey told Bouveng, “I want you out now and I’m going to be □here until you are out.” (Id.) Plaintiffs friend Chemme Koluman came to the apartment to help Bouveng pack; Wey told Koluman that “he felt betrayed.” (Id. at 980-81) Bouveng packed her bags and brought them to the hall way outside her apartment. Wey then “slammed the door in [her] face,” “scream[ing] that [she] can go and tell that black guy James to go and fuck himself.” (Id. at 982)

After Bouveng was fired and thrown out of her apartment, she “thought that everything was going to be over and that ... [she] wouldn’t have to deal with this man in [her] life ever again.” (Id. at 984) After April 22, 2014, Bouveng never called, emailed, texted, or attempted to communicate with Wey in any fashion. (Id.)

M. Wey’s Post-Termination Communications With Bouveng

In the days and weeks following Bou-veng’s termination, Wey sent a number of emails to her family and friends, telling them that he had found a “naked, dirty, totally drunk” “homeless black man” in Bouveng’s bed, and that she “parities] like crazy,” is not “hanging out with the fight people,” and leads a “double life.” (See, e.g., PX 24 (email to Plaintiffs father); PX 38 (email to Plaintiffs brother); PX 41 (email to Plaintiffs aunt, Helena Bou-veng)) Wey attached to these emails photographs of Chauvet, Koluman, and Plaintiff at night clubs. (See, e.g., PX 36 (email to Plaintiffs father and aunt, Helena Bou-veng)) Wey testified that he sent these emails and photographs to Plaintiffs family in order to inform them “about the reasons behind the termination.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 596)

At trial, Plaintiff described her reaction to Wey’s emails as follows:

Q. ... How did you feel that Mr. Wey was sending these e-mails to your father?

A. It was embarrassing. And then I thought it was scary because I couldn’t understand why Mr. Wey would send my father e-mails. And I could not understand the content of the e-mails that he is sending to my father.

Q. Did you ever discuss with your father how he felt getting these e-mails?

A. Yes.

Q. And how did those discussions with your father make you feel?

A. It stressed me out because — the impact and the effect it had on my father, who was m Vetlanda, in Sweden. It affected me a lot and it got me really upset, stressed, scared that he would keep on contacting him.

Q. How do you feel that this letter, this e-mail was sent to your dad?

A. Embarrassing. Trying to humiliate me in front of my family. I felt that he’s trying to make me look bad in front of everyone I know in order to isolate me. At it - it freaks you out when a person of his rank - he is the.. CEO ... of a Wall Street company in private equity. And he would write to my father about my boyfriend and about sex and about alcohol. And it’s just bizarre.

(Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 985-86, 989)

On April 27 or 28, 2014, while Plaintiff was with her friends and former co-workers Yonatan Weiss and Alicia Lu, Plaintiff received a phone call from Wey. Weiss recorded the call on his cell phone. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 228) at 272-73; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 240) at 1144) During the call, Wey pleaded with Bouveng to meet him for dinner or coffee, because he “really want[ed] to say something to [her].” (PX 105 at 1) Wey told Plaintiff that he had been investigating Chauvet and had videos of Chauvet going into Plaintiffs apartment as early as February 2014. (Id.) The phone conversation included the following:

Bouveng: [L]ast time we spoke you said if, if, if it’s not any tangible love or if I can’t give you time, then I, I’m done by first of August.

Wey: Hanna, you have been ... cheating on me since the end of February. We have those videos. The first day was February 28.

Bouveng: Cheating? ... what do you mean by cheating? ...

Wey: Hanna,... I’m not answering. We’re talking over telephone. All I wanna tell you, I reviewed the video since the end of February....

(Id. at 4-5)

Wey testified that he wanted to meet with Plaintiff to discuss Chauvet’s criminal record. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 851) Wey also wanted to have a “more formal termination of the employment relationship because ... [he] realized [he] had terminated [Bouveng] too abruptly without careful thinking and put her in a bad position.” (Id.)

N. Plaintiffs Counsel’s Communications to Wey and the Filing of This Lawsuit

On April 29, 2014, Plaintiffs counsel— David Ratner of the' law firm Morelli Alters Ratner — emailed the following letter to Wey:

We represent Hanna Bouveng. We are writing to you in the hope that you understand the seriousness of the situation in which you now find yourself. We suggest that you have your lawyer contact us immediately in order to resolve this situation before we are forced to commence what is likely to be embarrassing litigation. Also, be warned, that if you take any further retaliatory action against our client such as contacting Ms. Bouveng and/or her family and/or her Mends and/or her associates on the telephone or in person, we will file suit at once along with the concrete irrefutable evidence in our possession. We are also investigating whether your actions to date rise to the level of criminal misconduct that would require law enforcement intervention. If we do not hear from your lawyer by May 6, 2014, we will file anyway. Suit yourself.

(DXX)

Wey testified at trial that he regarded this letter as “an attempt to extort money from [him] by falsely claiming that [he] forced Ms. Bouveng to have sex with [him].” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 232) at 480) Wey also interpreted the letter as a “threat[ ] to file some sort of a false allegation relating to Hanna Bouveng with law enforcement.” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 2B4) at 720)

On May 7, 2014, Ratner sent the following email to Wey:

We ... told you to stop harassing Ms. Bouveng, her family and her friends. Further, we told you that if you failed to contact us by May 6, 2014, we would take steps to enforce Ms. Bouveng’s legal rights. You have failed to do as you were told. Accordingly, attached is the legal complaint we intend to file on Ms. Bouveng’s behalf on Friday May 9. You have one more chance to avoid what surely will be expensive and embarrassing litigation for you, your company and your family. In addition, if you continue to contact Ms. Bouveng, her family or her friends in any manner whatsoever, she will take steps to obtain an order of protection and restraining order.

(DX Yl) Attached to the email was a draft complaint alleging, inter alia, that Wey “forced Plaintiff to have sexual intercourse with him” - while she was intoxicated - on approximately four occasions. (DX Y3, ¶¶ 59, 62) Wey testified that, based on this email and the draft complaint, he concluded that Bouveng and her counsel were “threatening] to file a false charge of rape with [ ] law enforcement if I did not pay them money....” (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 234) at 724)

Plaintiff testified that her J-l visa expired when her employment with NYGG ended, and that she left the United States within 30 days of its expiration - ie., by May 22, 2014. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 294) at 1043-44) She also testified that she never told Wey or anyone else at NYGG or FNL Media that she had left the country. (Id.)

On May 22 and 24, 2014, however, Wey sent a number of Facebook messages to Camilla Blomqvist, Plaintiffs best friend in Sweden, indicating that he knew that Bou-veng had returned to Sweden. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 234) at 653-55; PX 103 at 4) On May 22, 2014, he wrote: “Hanna is back to Vetlanda Sweden. Left yesterday.” (PX 103 at 4) On May 24, 2014, he wrote:

Camilla, you should know that Hanna wants to get some money out of us through the threat of a lawsuit.... If she sues us, we will have to counter sue her - seeking millions of dollars in damage from her and her family for hurting our reputation. We will have to publish ALL of her relationships and photos with drug dealers, both in articles and in our counter lawsuit against her. All of her family and friends will be dragged in.... You should tell her that we have NO interest in her. We do not plan to publish any articles about her.... If she sues us, we will NOT give her a penny, and we will spend millions of dollars going after her forever.

(Id.) Wey also stated: “If Hanna Bouveng would like to have a ’fight,’ welcome. Is she ready to have her entire family and friends involved in a counter suit against her seeking millions in damage against her brother, father, mother, aunt, uncle, friends, boyfriends .... ” (Id. at 4-5)

Plaintiff filed the Complaint in this action on July 21, 2014. (Dkt. No. 1) The next morning, cameramen confronted Wey outside his apartment building, and the New York Post' published an article concerning Bouveng’s allegations in the Complaint. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 234) at 725-26; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 236) at 867; Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 242) at 1359; Court Ex. 2 (Stipulation))

O, Articles About Bouveng in The Blot Magazine

At trial, redacted versions of six articles from The Blot Magazine — the online publication owned by FNL Media and published by Wey — were received into evidence. (PX 61, 68, 64, 85, 87, 98) The parties stipulated that “[s]ome or all of the statements contained within [these articles] appeared ... online at TheBlot.com on virtually a daily basis from late July 2014 until early June 2015, other than during the period August 28, 2014 to October 3, 2014.” (Court Ex. 2 (Stipulation))

The first Blot article is entitled “BURNED: Swedish Party Girl Hanna Bouveng Swims in Criminal Hot Water.” (PX 61) The author is listed as “Sam Patterson,” which is a pseudonym used by Wey and others at The Blot Magazine. (Trial Tr. (Dkt. No. 234) at 674) The article contains the following statements, among others:

The pimp and the sex slave? Meet criminal James Chauvet... and party girl Hanna Bouveng

Of the many young Swedish women aspiring to be the next Lindsay Lohan .,,, a party girl named Hanna Bouveng ... stood out from the crowd vying for the attention of drug dealers and male patrons ready to pay for some “special services” at a price.

Extortion artists, a failed $10 million extortion attempt on a Wall Street financier Benjamin Wey ...

In July 2014, in a mafia style, Hanna Bouveng ... blackmailed a famous investigative reporter and Wall Street Financier, Benjamin Wey.... The failed $10 million extortion attempt on Wey was orchestrated by a notorious Morelli Alters Ratner ... law firm, which apparently used the alcoholic Hanna Bou-veng ... as free advertising.

Crimes and prostitution, the criminal James Chauvet... and Hanna Bou-veng. ...

Behind the flashy neon lights and loud rap music in New York’s nightclubs are often problems of prostitution, illegal drug use, illegal gun possessions and shattered dreams of naive Swedish women visiting New York — many of whom are looking for “sugar daddies” for some “good times,” sources say. So long as the money is paid, the alcoholic Swedish girls like Hanna Bouveng ... may just jump on the donkeys. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation ..., James Chauvet was twice arrested and convicted of cocaine dealing and illegal gun possession....

Hanna Bouveng ..., prostitution and massage parlors?

[Hanna Bouveng’s] aunt is Helena Bou-veng ..., a junior member of the Swedish Parliament for the Vetlanda region. Readers may wonder to what extent the Hanna Bouveng ... affiliation with cocaine dealers may affect Helena Bou-veng[’s] ... already tough re-election campaign.

(PX 61) (emphasis in original). The article includes photographs of Plaintiff, Chauvet, Koluman, and Helena Bouveng. (Id.)

The second Blot article is entitled “HANNA BOUVENG, Fake Sexual Harassment Accuser Fled America, BREAKING NEWS,” and the author is listed as “Sam Patterson.” (PX 63) This article contains the following statements, among others:

Hanna Bouveng... is on the run. After blackmailing an investigative journalist and Wall Street financier Benjamin Wey ... with a failed $10 million extortion plot, frivolous sexual harassment accuser Hanna Bouveng ... caught on the run fleeing America.... The timing of Hanna Bouveng[’s] sudden departure from America is highly suspicious. Legal experts say that the sudden departure of the Swedish “street walker” and “vixen” Hanna Bouv[en]g .,. from the United States may have a lot to do with her lawyers David Ratner and Martha McBrayer at the ... law firm Morelli Alters Ratner ..., acting in concert to evade legal consequences, after she lied in a sworn affidavit submitted to the New York federal court on the same day when she fled America.

Immediate arrest? The Hanna Bou-veng visa fraud: The People of United States Vs. fraudster Hanna Bouveng?

Sources told the investigators led by a former NYPD police detective that Han-na Bouveng was in the United States on illegal visa status. It’s almost certain that she could be arrested by the U.S. government agents upon re[-en]try into the United States.... [A] State Department official confirmed the Hanna Bou-veng’s status would be a serious visa violation subjecting] her to immediate arrest and deportation.

(PX 68) (emphasis in original) The article includes several images, including a photograph of plaintiff and Chauvet with the word, “BUSTED” printed next to it in large, brightly colored block letters. (Id. at 1)

The third Blot article is entitled “Wall Street Financier Fights Back at ’Fugitive’ Hanna Bouveng,” and the author, is listed as “John Sterling.” (PX 64) This article contains the following statements, among others:

Meet Hanna Bouveng...., “sexual harassment” accuser fled America, a “fugitive” hiding in Sweden....

Hanna Bouveng, “Sexual harassment” accuser without evidence

According [to] the U.S. State Department, a visitor terminated for visa violations may be barred from entering the United States for as many as 10 years. If [she] entered the U.S. illegally, Hanna Bouveng may be subject to immediate arrest and deportation...,

“Sexual harassment” sponsored by drug dealers, Hanna Bouveng’s failed $10 million extortion attempt....

(PX 64 (emphasis in original)) The article also contains several images, including a photograph of Plaintiff and Chauvet with the caption: “Criminal pimp James Chau-vet and his girl Hanna Bouveng.” (Id. at 5)

The fourth Blot article is entitled “HAN-NA BOUVENG, CAUGHT WITH COCAINE AND GUN CRIMINAL, KICKED OUT OF AMERICA, SWEDISH SHAME,” and the. author is listed as “Sam Patterson.” (PX 85) This article contains the following statements, among others:

Hanna Bouveng, a Swedish party girl from Vetlanda, Sweden caught with entanglement with a twice arrested and convicted cocaine and gun criminal club promoter, boy friend James Chauvet is on the run and has fled America, after blackmailing an American in a mafia-styled shakedown. Helena Bouveng, the Swedish fugitive Hanna Bouveng’s aunt[,] has declined to comment on Han-na Bouveng’s failed US$10 million extortion plot on an American journalist and finance executive.

A bizarre twist in the Swedish party girl Hanna Bouveng’s frivolous “sexual harassment” claim against a well respected Wall Street financier and investigative reporter Benjamin Wey, new development has just emerged: like a burglar stealing under the cover of dark clouds, the accuser of “sexual harassment”-, the chain smoker and party girl Hanna Bouveng fled America on July 25, 2014 and rushed back to her hometown of Vetlanda, Sweden.

“Hanna Bouveng was terminated for alcohol abuse, hangover at work and her associates with a twice convicted drug and gun criminal James Chauvet, according to the FBI’s investigative report on James Chauvet. We terminated Han-na Bouveng’s short 6 month internship with us and so did her independent visa sponsor firm, after their own investigations into Hanna Bouveng’s activities,” said a New York Global Group executive.

(PX 85)

The fifth Blot article is entitled “NYPD ARREST RECORD, NIGHT CLUB PROMOTER JAMES CHAUVET, EXTORTIONIST HANNA BOUVENG SWIMS IN CRIMINAL HOT WATER,” and the author is listed as “Sam Patterson.” (PX 87) This article contains the following statements, among others:

Editor’s Note: James Chauvet’s extensive criminal records were verified by the NYPD and the FBI....

PARTY GIRL HANNA BOUVENG, FROM NEW YORK TO A WAITRESS IN A COFFEE SHOP, CAFÉ LINNE STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN....

In early 2014, Hanna Bouveng worked as an intern at a prominent New York company on Wall Street before she was fired in April 2014 for associations with convicted cocaine criminals, alcohol abuse, lies and fraud. According to various media reports, Hanna Bouveng attempted and failed to extort more than $ 10 million out of her former employer.

Before the Swedish party girl Hanna Bouveng’s termination by an American company, Hanna Bouveng defrauded JP Morgan Chase bank in New York by writing bad checks without any money in her bank account....

(PX 87 at 6, 8 (emphasis in original))

This article contains a number of images, many of which are collages of photographs with words superimposed. One of these images — a photograph of Plaintiff and Chauvet — has the words “Cocaine Dealer James Chauvet” and “Café Linne Waitress Hanna Bouveng” superimposed on it. (Id. at 3) Another image - a photograph of Plaintiff with Chemme Koluman’s brothers, who operate Café Linne - includes the Street address of Café Linne in Stockholm. (Id. at 5) Another image contains a collage of photographs of Plaintiff, Chauvet, and Helena Bouveng, and includes the words “Extortionist Hanna Bouveng,” “Felon James Chauvet, Drug Dealer, Gun Criminal, Got Caught,” and “FRAUD! Helena Bouveng.” (Id. at 11) This article also includes a photograph of Plaintiff and Chauvet with the words “FBI: LOVE IN COCAINE...” and “BUSTED! NYPD Criminal James Chau-vet[,] Party Girl Hanna Bouveng” superimposed. (Id at 14) Another image superimposes a photograph of Plaintiff and Chauvet on top of a photograph of a white powdery substance on a tabletop, with the caption “BUSTED.” (Id. at 19)

The last Blot article received in evidence - also authored by “Sam Patterson” - contains the following statements, among others:

According to the FBI and the New York Police Department, Hanna Bouveng was deeply implicated in the James Cha[uv]et criminal acts: FBI criminal record James Chauvet, Hanna Bouveng, cocaine dealing, gun criminal prisoner

Since being fired from an internship in New York, the Swedish party girl and cocaine dealer’s honey Hanna Bouveng has attempted to extort US$1 billion out of an American financier and investigative