Texas-based conspiracy theorist Alex Jones could avoid paying 90% of the nearly $50 million in damages he was ordered to pay to parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim. His lawyers plan to appeal based on a 2003 Texas law that limits damages.
Infowars founder Alex Jones joined protestors gathered at the Texas Governor’s Mansion to protest business closures and mask mandates on Oct. 10, 2020., our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
The parents’ lawsuit had asked for $150 million in compensatory damages and additional punitive damages.What does the law say about punitive damages?Compensatory damages are a combination of awards for economic losses as well as noneconomic losses, which include the impacts on the plaintiff’s reputation and their emotional, physical or mental health.
That means Jones’ punitive damages, which amounted to $45.2 million, could be limited to $750,000 if courts decide that the cap does apply. Add that to the $4.1 million, and the parents could wind up collecting just $4.85 million in total — less than 10% of what the jury awarded them last week. The attorney representing Jesse Lewis’ parents, Mark Bankston, told reporters before the $45.2 million in punitive damages was awarded that the Texas Supreme Court could remove the cap “on a case-by-case basis” but declined to say how that might happen in this case.
“The problem that existed at the time was that there were a lot of lawsuits of questionable merit being brought where huge punitive damages were being threatened,” said former state Rep. Joe Nixon, a Houston lawyer who authored the sweeping changes to Texas lawsuits in 2003.
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