A Texas court has begun the process of determining what Alex Jones must pay the parents of Sandy Hook shooting victims for his defamatory remarks. The action for defamation is based on his denials as well as conspiracy theories about the most deadly school shootings within the U.S.
Two separate litigations in which an Texas judge has found Jones guilty on default judgement. The term “default judgment” refers to the situation the case when a defendant fails to respond to a lawsuit promptly or ignores court directives. In this instance the court granted an order of default against Jones because he failed to provide required documents for the judge.
Families of Sandy Hook victims filed defamation lawsuits against Jones for making false allegations regarding the shooting, and also claiming that the incident was an “hoax.” However, what recourse can the parents have? This article explains damages in claims of defamation.
What damages are available for Defamation Lawsuits?
The law of defamation covers a broad spectrum of scenarios where the victim is hurt. The courts determine whether the insulting statements have cause the plaintiff financial loss, or suffered mental or emotional pain. A judge may also decide to award punitive damages to penalize those who make malicious or willful remarks.
This is a analysis of the available remedies in defamation cases:
General Losses
A jury could decide to award compensation for past and the future if a plaintiff is suffering from emotional or mental distress and personal embarrassment, as well as harm to their image. In the case of an YouTube blogger made defamatory comments regarding the winner of the grammy awards Cardi B The jury awarded Cardi B one million dollars for damage to her image.
Special Damages
The special damages can be a benefit to the plaintiff who has suffered economic loss. As an example, suppose an individual falsely accuses a caterer of food poisoning, and the caterer’s job is cut off because of the allegations. The loss of money to the caterer can be compensated as damages.
In the most recent Depp and. Heard celebrity trial which was recently concluded, the actor Johnny Depp sued ex-wife Amber Heard to avenge defamation. He claimed that the comments she made in an Washington Post op-ed cost him the roles he played in his films and caused economic losses.
Nominal Damages
A jury is able to award minimal damages in the event of an evidence of defamation. However, the plaintiff did not cause any serious damage to the plaintiff’s image.
In this case Jones attorney for defense asks jurors to award small damages. The lawyer asserts that Jones is barred from the most popular social media websites for his anti-semitic speech, and that he has suffered a loss of thousands of dollars. The lawyers representing the plaintiffs contest this claim, citing Jones’s profits of $165 million in 2015 through 2018, which was a record amount.
Inflicting Punitive or Exorbitant Damages
Apart from the damages mentioned above an award can be made by a jury punitive damages as a punishment for an accused. The use of punitive damages is often to punish a plaintiff who was malicious or malicious in his assertions or set an example to others.
The plaintiffs, in this particular case seeking the general damages and punitive damages. They are citing the hurt and suffering suffered by Jones in forming the conspiracy theories, and the subsequent intimidation and threats to kill that were made by Jones his followers.
The truth is a defense to Damages
The defense for paying compensation for defamatory remarks is that the claim is accurate.
In his testimony, Jones admitted that he believed that the Sandy Hook shooting was not an untruth. So, he can’t defend his position by citing truth. Jones asserts that the case that he was aware of his assertions were not true, he’s protected by his First Amendment right to “free speech.” But, First Amendment protections do not apply to defamation, particularly when statements are made that are not true.