A Los Angeles judge overseeing what may be the first Instagram-related libel case said Thursday he is closer to having enough information to issue a default judgment against the rapper The Game, who’s accused of defaming the former nanny of his children in a rant on social media.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff said he still needs more information on what attempts Karen Monroe has made to get work and how much her therapy is costing.
Monroe sued the 35-year-old rapper in July 2013 after he allegedly ranted about her on Instagram, accusing her of neglecting his children and describing her as “a very dangerous baby sitter.”
Mitchell said he is unlikely to issue a seven-figure judgment against the entertainer.
“I think it’s going to be tough to get millions of dollars on this,” Beckloff told Monroe’s attorney, Manu Elloie.
Beckloff said he was satisfied that Monroe has suffered emotional distress and he declined Elloie’s offer to have her testify. He said printouts of social media sites that the lawyer provided him contained statements about the plaintiff that were “atrocious … not one page was not full of hateful comments.”
Beckloff suggested that Elloie provide a sworn declaration from Monroe’s therapists about his or her hourly rates as well as documentation that his client is looking for work as a nanny for non-celebrities and not just famous people.
Elloie moved for a default judgment after The Game, whose real name is Jayceon Terrell Taylor, did not respond to the suit. He said outside the courtroom that he was encouraged by today’s developments.
The suit alleges The Game falsely stated that he fired Monroe for screaming at his children, having sex with her boyfriend in his children’s room, and that she left Northern California to “escape from her past of inappropriately touching children.”
Elloie said millions of people saw the posting, prompting death threats against Monroe and causing her to lose her job as a nanny to singer Kelis.
— City News Service