"Everyone has to learn the hard way that freedom of speech is not free."

Hmm. Perhaps not. Although, surely, talking about your own experiences with a company should be protected speech, at the very least. A middle-ground result would have this case thrown out of court, because it's very clearly a SLAPP-type suit. How can it possibly be libelous to talk about your own experience? And as long as they didn't use the company logo in the banners asking for contributions to the defense fund, how can they be libelous?

Frankly, a true result based on the merits would have been a directed verdict against the company's owner.