( CNN ) -- A federal court jury in Detroit has awarded a $ 4.5 million judgment to the University of Michigan 's first openly gay student body president in his suit against a former Michigan assistant attorney general who had written disparagingly about him on the Internet , the student 's lawyer said . The jury came back with the award late Thursday against Andrew Shirvell , said Deborah Gordon , a lawyer representing the plaintiff , Chris Armstrong , 22 , who graduated last year . A U.S. District Court jury found in Armstrong 's favor on four counts -- defamation , stalking , intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy , Gordon told CNN in a telephone interview . Shirvell was fired from his job in the attorney general 's office in 2010 after targeting the student leader online and in person -- then lying about his actions to investigators , state Attorney General Mike Cox said at the time . Targeted student : 'It 's hard not to say something ' Shirvell `` repeatedly violated office policies , engaged in borderline stalking behavior and inappropriately used state resources , '' Cox said , referring to Shirvell 's activities during his work day . Asked for specifics about Shirvell 's conduct , Armstrong lawyer Gordon said , `` He said ( Armstrong ) had an orgy in a dorm room and sex in a park and that he had liquored up underage freshmen to recruit them to the 'homosexual lifestyle . ' '' Shirvell also referred to Armstrong as `` Satan 's representative '' on the Michigan Student Assembly , she said . `` He 's a little out there , '' Gordon continued . Shirvell , himself a University of Michigan alumnus , told CNN that he is `` 100 % confident that the verdict will be overturned on appeal . '' `` I think the jury award is grossly excessive , '' he said . `` It 's absolutely outrageous . The jury 's verdict was a complete trampling of my First Amendment rights . '' He told CNN in 2010 that Armstrong `` is a radical homosexual activist who got elected ... to promote a very deep , radical agenda at the University of Michigan . '' From the archives : Assistant attorney general blogs against gay student body president . Shirvell cited Armstrong 's push for gender-neutral campus housing as something he opposed . `` What we 're talking about is any man or woman wanting to choose to live together , '' he said at the time . `` That 's a radical redefinition of gender norms . '' Gordon said that Shirvell 's claim is without merit . `` It 's really simple , '' she said . `` Defamation refers to statements that are false that you say about another person . If you say my neighbor is having sex in a park with children , which is literally kind of what he said here , that is defamation . That is not First Amendment-protected . It 's not opinion . It 's provable as false . You can be held responsible financially . `` He wants to put all his crap -- which is nothing but a bunch of fabricated lies -- under the umbrella of the First Amendment . Shame on him . '' Gordon said the multimillion-dollar judgment `` is probably not collectable '' at this time , since Shirvell has no job . But she said that had never been the point of the lawsuit . `` We 've only always wanted Chris ' name cleared , '' she said . `` All he ( Shirvell ) had to do was retract his lies '' and Armstrong would have dropped the case . She said Armstrong has graduated and is currently employed , but did not want to divulge for whom he is working .
NEW : Shirvell calls jury award ` ` grossly excessive '' Jury finds in Armstrong 's favor on all counts , including defamation . ` ` He 's a little out there , '' Armstrong says of Shirvell . He accused Armstrong of promoting a ` ` radical . ''