$274.5 Million Defamation Verdict Against Mortgage Company Owner Who Called Three Manchester Businessmen Drug Dealers

Dick Anagnost, Andy Crews, and William Greiner had nothing in common with Michael Gill. Anagnost was a well-known Manchester real estate developer. Crews ran AutoFair, one of the region's larger auto dealerships. Greiner had founded Primary Bank. All three had donated to a nonprofit drug and alcohol recovery center in Manchester. None of them had ever had any business dealings with Gill, the owner of The Mortgage Specialists.

Gill ran for governor of New Hampshire in 2014 and mounted a prolonged public attack on lawyers, local politicians, and businesspeople he accused of corrupting the state. Starting around 2014, he placed large electronic billboards outside his Manchester office on South Willow Street, a corridor that feeds traffic toward the Mall of New Hampshire. The signs displayed photographs of Anagnost, Crews, and Greiner alongside words like "Drug Dealer" and "Extortion." The same accusations spread through Gill's radio program and across his Facebook and Twitter accounts, where individual posts reached audiences in the thousands to millions.

Judge Brian Tucker of Merrimack County Superior Court granted summary judgment on liability before trial, finding that Gill's statements were false and defamatory as a matter of law. The court also ordered the billboard messages taken down and directed the radio station carrying Gill's program to remove it from the air. By the time the case reached a jury, the only question was the size of the damages.

Steven M. Gordon of Shaheen and Gordon, P.A. represented all three plaintiffs. Gill, who had been representing himself throughout the case, left before jury selection, describing the proceeding as a criminal enterprise. Gordon asked the jury to award approximately $110 million. The jury went further. On September 29 and 30, 2017, it returned verdicts totaling $274.5 million: $97 million for Crews, $92.5 million for Anagnost, and $85 million for Greiner. Each award included special damages for reputational harm and emotional distress, plus additional amounts reflecting the jury's finding that Gill acted with hatred, hostility, or evil motive. Gordon said at the time the award was believed to be the largest jury verdict in New Hampshire history, surpassing a 2013 $236 million judgment against Exxon Mobil.

Gill stated he would appeal. The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed the defamation ruling on September 25, 2018, rejecting arguments that relied largely on evidence not introduced at trial. The Superior Court then entered a final judgment in November 2018 of $274.5 million plus $17.6 million in prejudgment interest, bringing the total to approximately $292 million. The three plaintiffs subsequently filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Gill's mortgage company in June 2019 to pursue collection.