Fr. Jay Fostner. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The punitive damage award to a De Pere priest after he won a defamation was increased from $1 to $100,000 after the defendant apparently broke the settlement terms. But the ruling may be revisited next month.
The Rev. Dr. Jay Fostner filed the suit against Jason Jerry for posts Jerry made on social media and other digital platforms regarding claims of sexual abuse. A judge ruled in Fostner’s favor in April 2021. The two parties then agreed to a settlement, which awarded Rev. Fostner $1 in damages, provided Jerry follows the terms of the agreement to remove ‘defamatory statements’ and does not make such statements in the future. If the terms were violated, however, the penalty would be increased to $100,000.
Rev. Fostner’s attorney filed a motion in September, alleging those terms had been violated.
It claimed that on social media accounts Jerry used – posting as GreenBayLlama on his “Greater Green Bay Society of the Llama” Facebook page, as well as the “Norbertine Accountability” Facebook page – several posts violated the agreement.
For example: “In the comments, Jerry, posting as “Norbertine Accountability,” violated the Injunction by repeating the allegation that Rev. Fostner sexually assaulted minors and posting to an article that repeated his allegations in this lawsuit,” the affidavit states.
The attorney sent two cease-and-desist letters. After the first one, “Defendant subsequently removed all posts and comments, but left the original news stories that were shared, with the statement “[d]ue to threats of legal action, we are unable to comment on this post,” the document states.
A motion hearing was scheduled for Tuesday. After neither Jerry nor his attorney showed, Judge Donald Zuidmulder granted the motion to award the punitive damages of $100,000.
On Wednesday, Jerry wrote a letter to the court “out of desperation.”
His attorney is Jevon Jaconi, who has been out ill for several months, requiring multiple cases in the court system to be rescheduled. Jaconi assured him that the hearing would be rescheduled due to his health issues.
“I confirmed with him that he meant my appearance had been rescheduled, that this is something he had taken care of, and he responded “yes.” Not only is this a nightmare because *l* was prepared to defend myself, but I had also previously crafted a letter to the Plaintiff that I believe could have alleviated this entire matter, but my attorney told me not to send it. Had I known the hearing would continue without my attorney, I would have gladly appeared to see what my options were,” Jerry’s letter to the court states.
On Friday, a status conference was scheduled for Dec. 16.
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