DRC Congratulates its Founder, Josh Dubin, on $50 Million Jury Verdict on Behalf of Laura Perlmutter, Wife of Former Marvel Chairman, Ike Perlmutter

November 24, 2025

After more than a decade of litigation, Laura Perlmutter prevailed in her case against Harold Peerenboom for defamation, resulting in a $50 million verdict. The jury also found in favor of both Ike and Laura Perlmutter against both Peerenboom and his then-attorney and house counsel for Chubb Insurance Company, William Douberley, for civil conspiracy and abuse of process. The jury awarded damages for loss of enjoyment of life to both Perlmutters in connection with these claims. The court previously found in favor of the Perlmutters against both men for conversion of the Perlmutters' DNA. 

Following a three-week trial, Mr. and Mrs. Perlmutter were fully vindicated when a six-person jury in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, presided over by the Honorable G. Joseph Curley, returned a unanimous verdict in their favor on all counts Friday afternoon.

Both Perlmutters testified at trial about how Peerenboom, assisted by William Douberley, orchestrated a plot to steal and analyze the Perlmutters’ DNA without their knowledge, consent, or authorization. 

Peerenboom sought to connect the Perlmutters’ DNA to a series of hate mail he and others received in 2012. In early 2013, Douberley subpoenaed the Perlmutters for depositions where their DNA was surreptitiously collected and sent to a lab for analysis. The illicit DNA scraping was done without the knowledge or consent of either of the Perlmutters. 

"This has been a long, difficult journey for the Perlmutters. I am especially thrilled for Laura Perlmutter that the jury recognized that her name and reputation matter. Ike and Laura are wonderful people, and this was the right outcome," said Josh Dubin, who has represented the Perlmutters in the litigation for the past decade. 

As far back as October 2013, the DNA report from the lab that conducted the testing conclusively found that the Perlmutters were not involved in the hate mail. Over the next three years, Peerenboom continued to investigate the perpetrator of the hate campaign, ultimately learning it was committed by a former colleague, David Smith, and not the Perlmutters. 

Despite conclusive DNA evidence exonerating the Perlmutters, and knowing the identity of the real culprit, Peerenboom continued his own vindictive campaign to terrorize the Perlmutters, their lawsuit claimed. 

The Perlmutters alleged that, through his counsel at national law firm Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, Peerenboom disseminated false statements to The New York Times and other media outlets. It was also alleged that Peerenboom, a Canadian native, gave an interview to The Globe and Mail—falsely implicating Mrs. Perlmutter. In 2016, both outlets published articles claiming the DNA implicated Mrs. Perlmutter.  

DRC assisted the trial team with jury research, jury selection, demonstrative aids, and trial strategy consulting.