Democrat Katie Hill, a former California congresswoman who owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to media parties she unsuccessfully sued over the publication of salacious pictures while she was in office, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

If successful, the move could allow Hill to avoid paying attorneys’ fees to the defendants, including a conservative website, a British tabloid and two journalists. The financial judgments were rendered in 2021 after a judge dismissed her lawsuit accusing multiple parties of distributing and publishing intimate pictures of Hill without her consent.

The suit received national scrutiny because it pitted California’s “revenge porn” law against the 1st Amendment.

Hill’s attorney said her client is the victim in the case and had no choice other than to file for bankruptcy because of the ruling’s financial toll.

“It’s a broken system where a plaintiff’s sensible use of our legal system to adjudicate fundamental breaches to their sexual privacy results in such financially punishing consequences for daring to file a legal case that bankruptcy is the last resort,” Carrie Goldberg said.

keep reading

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-07-12/california-former-rep-katie-hill-who-lost-revenge-porn-lawsuit-files-for-bankruptcy