Alex Jones must pay full $49M to Sandy Hook parents, judge orders, overruling Texas damages cap
Source: Newstime
A Texas judge sided with the parents of a slain Sandy Hook boy and against Alex Jones Tuesday by disregarding a state law that caps punitive damages in lawsuits at $750,000 and giving the parents the full $49 million awarded by a jury in August.
"The law in Texas enforces this cap without looking at the facts behind the liability, and without looking at the jury verdict that ... this person and this company has done something horrible," said Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble at the end of a daylong livestreamed hearing on Tuesday, referring to Jones and his parent company Free Speech Systems. "For this reason, I am going to enter the full amount that the jury awarded in this case."
Neil Heslin, the Sandy Hook dad who was awarded $49 million in defamation damages along with the mother of his slain son, Scarlett Lewis, said he was pleased with the judge's ruling but referred questions to his lead attorney in Texas, Mark Bankston......
On the issue of the $750,000 cap, the parents' attorneys argued that the Texas cap on damages does not apply to the $45 million punitive portion of their jury award, because the parents qualify as disabled individuals due to their severe emotional disturbance.
The Texas judge was not persuaded by Jones' attorneys, who argued that the parents were attempting an 11th-hour stunt to exploit a loophole in the cap law, and that the parents never claimed they were disabled people during the trial.
Read more: https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Sandy-Hook-Alex-Jones-post-trial-battles-CT-Texas-17604398.php
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