Kailyn Lowry’s lawsuit against her rival ended in a victory for Briana DeJesus.
The suit was dismissed, and Briana’s anti-SLAPP Motion was granted — indicating that the lawsuit was considered frivilous.
Even a failed lawsuit can be expensive, and Briana claims to have spent $120,000 on attorney fees defending herself.
Now she waits Kail to pay up.
WIth the case against her dismissed, Briana DeJesus is looking for reimbursement … and perhaps, for revenge.
Briana took to social media, listing her six-figure expenses in legal and attorney fees.
And given that the judge granted Briana’s Anti-SLAPP Motion for Summary Judgment, she may get her wish.
Under Florida Law (just writing that sends a shiver down my spine), the winning party is entitled to recover attorney fees from the loser following an anti-SLAPP motion.
In this case, the court did not delve into reimbursements for fees.
The judge wrote: “The court reserves jurisdiction to consider the issue of entitlement to attorneys’ fees and the amount of same.”
Briana shared that she had spent $120,096.87 in attorney fees and in court fees.
She even released a letter from her attorney to Kail’s attorney indicating plans to file a motion to recover those costs from Kailyn’s accounts.
She does, however, offer to reach an out-of-court settlement.
Kailyn could appeal the court’s decision regarding the anti-SLAPP motion.
However, if she loses (again), she could end up having to pay Briana (again).
Paying for a lawyer is expensive enough when you’re only paying for yourself. Paying for the opposition too could really hurt.
In contrast, an out-of-court settlement has obvious benefits.
At the very least, Kailyn could avoid any further attorney fees that might be paid — on her own side or to Briana’s — by another court battle.
In fact, an even better situation for Kailyn would be if Briana agrees to only partial reimbursement … but that may be out of reach.
“Y’all buggin if you think I’m dropping anything lol,” Briana tweeted on Tuesday.
“I want every cent back plus some if that’s what it takes,” she affirmed.
As a warning to Kailyn’s fans, Briana added: “It may have just ended for y’all but it just started for me.”
So far, however, there is no evidence that Briana has actually gone so far as to file the motion to recover the fees.
She is just extending the offer-slash-threat to settle out of court (or else).
If Kailyn agrees to an out-of-court settlement, this can all be over soon and they can go back to hating each other.
Understandably, Kail has not publicly addressed the possibility that she may have to pay Briana six figures, rather than the other way around.
Perhaps she will. Perhaps she is saving it for a podcast episode.
It is a sensitive subject, and we’re sure that she is speaking with her legal team. At least, we hope so.
The whole idea behind anti-SLAPP legislation is to make it more difficult for someone with money to throw around to try to silence critics.
Whether a wealthy individual or a massive corporation, the threat of an expensive and prolongued lawsuit can silence people, even if they would eventually win in court.
We don’t know Kailyn’s next move, but some fans wonder if she will simply take the L and move on.