Two plaintiffs in a defamation suit stand to lose over $1.3 million to a pro se defendant after a federal judge gutted a verdict in their favor by nearly 95%.

In a Friday order, U.S. District Judge John Gallagher of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania directed plaintiffs James and Patricia Amor to choose between accepting $71,500 of what had initially been a $1.4 million award, or going to trial again.