Car dealer wins $7.5M for "Taliban Toyota" smear

MOBILE, Ala. - An Alabama jury has awarded $7.5 million to an Iranian-born car dealer who sued a Florida competitor for defamation, claiming workers there portrayed him as a terrorist.

A jury in Mobile awarded the judgment Monday to Shawn Esfahani in his lawsuit against Bob Tyler Toyota in Pensacola, Fla. The Iranian-born Esfahani owns Eastern Shore Toyota.

The Press-Register reports that the man filed suit claiming workers at Bob Tyler Toyota told customers that Esfahani is from the Middle East and was funneling money to terrorists, calling his business "Taliban Toyota."

Esfahani says the claims were very hurtful. He fled Iran in 1980 after the Islamic revolution and is now a U.S. citizen.