Like @[email protected] said, he could appeal. But the judge also ruled that if he had needed to award damages, they would have been very low. So if he did appeal, he’d have to not only prove that the judgment was wrong to go against him, but also that damages should have been much higher. That makes the idea of an appeal much less…appealing.

Mr Lehrmann would have been entitled to more than a nominal award but as the above analysis demonstrates, his award of ordinary compensatory damages would be very modest. Hence any augmentation of damages occasioned by the aggravating conduct, comes from a very low base. If it had been necessary to assess damages in favour of Mr Lehrmann, the appropriate and rational relationship between the actual harm sustained and the damages awarded would lead to total damages of $20,000.