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

[Valin]

USSA News

July 30 2020

The post Patreon Loses Lawsuit With Owen Benjamin Fans, Likely To Pay Millions In Arbitration and Legal Fees appeared first on National File. Visit NationalFile.com for more hard-hitting investigative journalism.

Patreon has lost a lawsuit they filed against fans of Owen Benjamin, a comedian kicked off the platform due to hate speech concerns, and now will have to pay millions in arbitration fees.

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.

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