Texas Appeals Court Cuts Alex Jones’ $45 Million Sandy Hook Punitive Award to $1.5 Million
The Texas Third Court of Appeals on Friday reduced the exemplary, or punitive, damages awarded to Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis from about $45.2 million to $1.5 million. Roughly $4.1 million in compensatory damages remains intact, bringing Jones and his company Free Speech Systems’ revised liability in the Texas case to about $5.6 million before other amounts that may apply.
Texas law refers to punitive awards as exemplary damages and generally limits how large they can be through a formula tied to the amount of compensatory damages awarded. State law also allows certain exceptions when a claim is based on specified types of criminal conduct.
Heslin and Lewis were allowed after the verdict to amend their claims to invoke an exception that could permit damages above the usual statutory limit. Their attorneys relied on a provision involving injury to a disabled person as a basis for preserving the larger jury award.
The appeals court concluded that the change came too late. Chief Justice Darlene Byrne wrote that the exception depended on legal and factual issues that had not been properly presented before the verdict, including findings that were never submitted to the jury. The court ruled that the trial judge abused her discretion by allowing the claims to be amended after trial and then using the new grounds to exceed the statutory damages limit.
Applying the limit reduced the exemplary damages to $750,000 for each parent. The figure does not represent a universal $750,000 ceiling on punitive damages in Texas. The amount available in other cases depends on the statutory formula, the damages awarded, and whether a recognized exception has been properly established.
The Texas case represents only part of Jones’s financial liability stemming from his Sandy Hook broadcasts. Families in Connecticut separately secured judgments totaling more than $1 billion, and Jones and Free Speech Systems have been involved in bankruptcy and asset proceedings as the families seek payment.
Friday’s ruling does not affect the separate Connecticut judgments. The Texas judgment remains subject to further appellate proceedings.
https://www.lawcommentary.com/articles/texas-appeals-court-cuts-alex-jones-45-million-sandy-hook-punitive-award-to-15-million
