Alabama Jury Awards Iranian-American $7.5 Million In Slander Case

On November 1, 2011, an Alabama jury awarded Iranian-born Shawn Esfahani $7.5 million in damages for his slander claim. Esfahani, owner of Eastern Shore Toyota, had sought $28 million in compensatory and punitive damages from Bob Tyler Toyota for falsely portraying him as an Islamist militant. Employees at Bob Tyler Toyota attempted to dissuade potential customers from purchasing cars from Esfahani by calling Esfahani a “terrorist”, labeling his dealership as “Taliban Toyota” and alleging that Esfahani funneled money to terrorists in Iraq to kill U.S. soldiers. Esfahani called these slanderous tactics “un-American.”