US jury orders Alex Jones to pay another US$45 million for Sandy Hook lies
- The sum for punitive damages comes on top of the US$4.1 million earlier awarded to parents of a victim in the 2012 massacre, which Jones had called a hoax
- The Infowars owner is expected to return to court in August, where further damages are expected to be rewarded in connection to two other Sandy Hook lawsuits
A Texas jury on Friday ordered Alex Jones to pay US$45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim, a day after he was ordered to pay US$4.1 million in actual damages for claiming that the school shooting was a hoax.
The two awards total nearly US$50 million, well below the US$150 million that parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis sought for the InfoWars host’s assertions that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, was fabricated. Their six-year-old, Jesse Lewis, was killed in the shooting.
“I am asking you to take the bullhorn away from Alex Jones and all others who believe they can profit off fear and misinformation,” plaintiffs’ lawyer Wesley Ball said during closing arguments on Friday.
“I suggest to you to return a verdict that is proportionate,” Jones’ lawyer Andino Reynal said during his own closing, asking jurors to order just US$270,000 in punitive damages.
“You’ve already sent a message. A message for the first time to a talk show host, to all talk show hosts, that their standard of care has to change.”
Friday’s unanimous ruling closes the two-week trial in Travis County, Texas.
“This case can be a bellwether case for future settlement cases,” Holly Davis of Kirker Davis LLP, a trial lawyer in Austin who assisted the plaintiffs’ lawyers with the case, said. “Future lawsuits and litigants can look to the jury award in this case to help them determine the range of awards juries are giving plaintiffs.”
Jones is expected to return to court in August where further damages are expected to be rewarded in connection to two other Sandy Hook lawsuits.
Further judgments could be complicated by the fact Jones’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, submitted a bankruptcy filing late last month.
Friday’s damages are punishment for Jones’ statements, while Thursday’s damages were meant to compensate the parents for economic and noneconomic damages like emotional distress.
In Texas, there are statutory limits on punitive damages, with a per-defendant cap of two times the amount of economic damages, plus the amount of noneconomic damages found by the jury – the latter part not to exceed US$750,000.
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of the 459th District Court in Travis County may reduce the punitive damages given those caps, and Jones’ lawyers said immediately after the verdict that they would file a motion to reduce the punitive award.
“We do not believe punitive damage caps are constitutional as applied to our case and will certainly litigate that issue if necessary,” said Mark Bankston, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers.
The trial was shocking at times, including when Bankston told Jones earlier in the week that his defence team had accidentally sent the plaintiffs’ lawyers a record of previously requested text messages.
Immediately after the Friday ruling, Bankston said he would seek sanctions against Jones’ lawyers for their handling of evidence and their conduct at trial.
Reynal said he would tell the court which communications he would seek to reseal, and Gamble said she would set a hearing on those motions.
Jones conceded under oath earlier this week that the massacre was “100 per cent real”. He also admitted that it was irresponsible of him to declare the shooting a hoax.
Additional reporting by Tribune News Service
