Certified Guaranty Company, a leading grader in the world of comic books, lost an eight-year long defamation case this week, as a Philadelphia jury assessed $10 million in total damages against the company.
The jury found that a CGC employee had knowingly defamed Investment Grade Books, a comic book restoring business.
Plaintiffs Matt and Emily Meyers of IGB were awarded $5 million in reputational and economic damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
“We are disappointed by the latest development in this nearly decade-old case, and we will be filing an appeal," CGC president Max Spiegel said in a statement.
The Meyers sent their restored comic books to CGC for grading, according to testimony in the case. Lead CGC grader Matthew Nelson publicly questioned in an online forum how far IGB had gone in its restorations by asserting fraud, the lawsuit claimed. The Meyers believed their submissions received subpar grades and filed for defamation. The couple also asserted their company had lost future business due to the questions of fraud.
CGC asserted Nelson spoke for himself and not the company.
The jury disagreed and ruled in the Meyers' favor. The Meyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.