All articles tagged with #jury award
A Santa Monica civil jury found Bill Cosby liable for drugging and raping Donna Motsinger in 1972, awarding about $59.3 million (roughly $19.25 million in compensatory damages plus $40 million in punitive damages); Cosby’s lawyers said they will appeal. The verdict comes after testimony from other accusers and ties into the broader Constand case in which Cosby faced civil claims.
After more than five years, a jury ruled in Chance The Rapper’s favor against ex-manager Pat Corcoran, finding Corcoran failed to prove claims of a 15% profit share and unreimbursed expenses, with Corcoran ordered to pay Chance $35; the jury also suggested Corcoran transfer the ChanceRaps.com domain. Chance welcomed the win—saying it was victory in the name of the Lord—as he continues to build his brand, including a new move as an AI company spokesman.
A Miami jury found online streamer Milagro Cooper liable for defamation and infliction of emotional distress against Megan Thee Stallion, awarding her $75,000 in damages, with potential for higher costs due to claims related to a digitally altered sexual depiction. The case highlighted issues of online misinformation and media liability.
A Virginia jury awarded $10 million to teacher Abby Zwerner, who was shot by a 6-year-old student at Richneck Elementary, finding the assistant principal grossly negligent for failing to act despite knowing about the firearm, highlighting issues of school safety and negligence.
A Broward jury has awarded $800,000 in damages in a lawsuit where parents alleged that hot chicken McNuggets from a local McDonald's franchise left their 4-year-old daughter severely burned. The parents were seeking $15 million for the burn, but the jury deliberated for two hours and reached the $800,000 amount. The lawsuit found fault with both McDonald's and the franchisee for failure to warn about the foreseeable risks of harm. McDonald's argued that food safety rules require McNuggets to be hot enough, and what happens to a McNugget once it leaves the drive-thru window is beyond their control.
A former Black Tesla factory worker, Owen Diaz, has requested a third trial in his race bias case against the electric automaker after a jury awarded him $3.2 million. Diaz's lawyers accused Tesla's legal team of "egregious misconduct" during the second trial, including asking improper questions and making misleading statements. Tesla has denied wrongdoing and moved to lower the award to about $1.6 million, arguing that the punitive damages were too large in light of the emotional distress granted to Diaz. A hearing on the motions is scheduled for July 19.
A federal jury in San Francisco has ordered Tesla to pay $3.2 million to a Black man who accused the carmaker of ignoring racial abuse he faced while working at its California factory. The plaintiff, Owen Diaz, said he had been subjected to repeated racist offenses while working as a contractor at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, near San Francisco, in 2015 and 2016. The jury awarded $3 million in punitive damages and $175,000 in past and future noneconomic damages. Tesla's liability for having subjected Mr. Diaz to a hostile work environment and having failed to prevent racial harassment was not on trial, as it had already been "conclusively determined."
A new trial has begun in San Francisco federal court for a racial discrimination lawsuit against Tesla filed by Owen Diaz, a Black elevator operator who was awarded $137 million by a jury in 2021 but saw the award reduced to $15 million by a judge. Diaz's lawyers are hoping to increase the payout to their client as they re-argue the case before the same U.S. District Court judge, William Orrick, in a trial that is expected to last five days. Tesla had urged the judge to reduce the jury award to $600,000.