A Destiny 2 player who threatened, harassed, and racially abused a Bungie community manager has been ordered to pay more than $489,000 in damages to the studio for his actions. The incident occurred after the community manager shared art created by UhMaayyze, Destiny 2's black creator, which, according to the ruling, "infuriated" defendant Jesse James Comer, who then launched a "racist and prob . and initiated 'racist and probable terrorist activity' against CM and Bungie."

The full text of the ruling was shared on Twitter by paralegal Kathryn Tewson, who noted that defendant Comer was a "racist scumbag" who engaged in "sociopathic behavior" against Bungie employees and their families. From the details of the sentencing order, this description is fitting: after using an anonymizing service and sharing UhMaayyze's work on social media, Comer made numerous calls to the community manager's personal line and left "ugly and bigoted voicemails" in which he accused players of killing people of color in the demanded that Bungie create a Destiny 2 mode in which players would kill people of color.

Comer took over CM's wife and "carpet bombed" them both with "racist texts and voice messages": he ordered a "virtually inedible, smelly pizza" from Domino's and had it shipped to him on delivery; CM was wearing headphones and needed a loud noise to know the pizza had arrived, so He instructed them to "knock at least five times. After the pizza was delivered, Comer left a message for CM's wife, "Enjoy your pizza."

Comer's actions were "more than just a prank," the ruling said, and had the potential to escalate into real-world violence, forcing Bungie to take "expensive measures" to protect its employees and their families. The studio dispatched "executive protection" to CM's home and notified local police. It then followed the process by hiring an investigator to determine Comer's identity and a lawyer in Canada to obtain an order from a Canadian court.

The harassment had a ripple effect. The community manager in question was forced to take a leave of absence, interaction with fans was limited, and other Bungie commercials were affected as word of the threats spread. The ruling states that "Bungie not only lost a dedicated veteran community manager, but was forced to protect other existing employees and potential new hires from a similar harassment campaign."

And there is no question of Comer's responsibility: by promoting the black creators' contributions to Destiny 2, Comer has not denied his intention to terrorize (the victims) (and by extension Bungie) for doing the work Bungie asked him to do. In fact, shortly after this lawsuit was filed, he agreed to a preliminary injunction and fully admitted his intent and involvement."

The final judgment is a default judgment, imposing a permanent injunction prohibiting any contact between him and Bungie, its employees, and members of the Destiny 2 community, as Comer apparently did not bother to appear for his defense. It also enters judgment in the total amount of $489,435.52 and orders him to pay interest at a cumulative rate of 12% per annum until full compensation is paid.

It may seem a bit odd for a major law firm to publicly celebrate having vanquished a particularly vicious online troll. However, in his Twitter thread, Tewson lists several reasons why this victory is "brag-worthy." These include "official judicial recognition of the threat and harm posed by a well-documented and escalating pattern of harassment that can lead to tragedy through swatting and other real-world violence."

"The court concluded that when an employee is harassed because of his or her employment, the harassment also harms the employer, and the employer can be compelled to recover those damages in civil court," Tweason tweeted. She also obtained a ruling that "Doxing and harassing employees because of their employment is an unfair trade practice affecting the public interest, and that this practice falls within the scope of Washington's consumer protection laws.

But the "really exciting news," according to Tewson, and I have to take her word for it since I am not a lawyer, is that the ruling "paved the way for those with the resources to identify the probable terrorists and hold them accountable in court."

While it is probably not likely that Bungie will be able to recover this ruling, it is clear that this major victory sets a precedent: companies whose employees are subjected to abuse and intimidation have practical recourse, and those who commit such acts cannot do so with impunity.

In the Destiny subreddit, the reaction to the ruling has been generally positive and widely supported by other developers, with Riot Games design manager Steven Lampkin saying, "This is an incredible piece of legislation and sets a great precedent." He tweeted.

"Great news.

"If you're an asshole and are thinking about harassing an actual human being just for trying to make a video game, perhaps the precedent of being sued by a studio for $500,000 will make you think twice," wrote JC Lau of Probably Monsters 'This is a huge win for developers in the industry.'

Allison Steele, senior game designer for World of Warcraft, wrote, "It's good that the courts are recognizing the very real material damage that can result from the harassment of developers by the worst players.

"This is a victory for all who struggle to provide interactive entertainment to an audience that may not see or care about the effort expended on the games they love," David Ellis, design lead for Tomb Raider, tweeted Ellis tweeted.

D.M. Schmeyer, the attorney who handled the case, also shared his thoughts on the outcome of the trial. Congratulations to my clients who stood up and fought for what matters," he tweeted. 'Congrats to my team too. We made the law. [14] [15] "And a hearty fuck you to the scum of the digital world who have caused real harm and believe they are above responsibility and accountability. You are not.