Jury awards nearly $1 billion to Sandy Hook families and first responder From CNN's Melanie Schuman
The jury awarded nearly $1 billion to the Sandy Hook families and a first responder who sued Alex Jones.
This is a significant victory for the plaintiffs.
Families of Sandy Hook victims get emotional in court as damages are read
From CNN's Brynn Gringras
Several of the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims got emotional as the amount of compensatory damages the jury decided to award each of them was read in court on Wednesday.
David Wheeler, the parent of 6-year-old Ben Wheeler, put his hand to his mouth and was visible shaking as the amounts were read out.
Robert Parker, the father of 6-year-old Emilie Parker, was crying with his head in his hands.
William Sherlach, husband of 56-year-old school employee Mary Sherlach who was killed in the massacre, was seen tapping Nicole Hockley, the mother of 6-year-old Dylan Hockley, on the knee as she shook her head in disbelief.
There are 15 plaintiffs in this trial, which was a consolidation of three other cases.
Jury awards additional punitive damages to Sandy Hook parents and first responder
From CNN's Melanie Schuman
Jurors also awarded punitive damages for defamation to Sandy Hook families and a first responder.
In Connecticut, punitive damages are limited to attorneys' fees and costs. The judge will determine the exact amount conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his company will have to pay. That will happen at a hearing after the trial concludes.
In the coming weeks, the judge will also decide whether to award punitive damages for plaintiffs' claim that Jones violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA), and if so, how much to award.
While Connecticut law caps punitive damages for defamation claims, it does not limit punitive damages for CUTPA claims.
Jury awards compensatory damages to plaintiffs
From CNN's Melanie Schuman
A jury has awarded compensatory damages to Sandy Hook families.
The Connecticut jury, made up of six people, was asked to decide how much conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his company Free Speech Systems should pay for defamation, invasion of privacy and emotional distress damages to the families who lost a child in the 2012 shooting.
Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the plaintiffs, urged jurors to award at least a half a billion dollars for having permanently damaged the lives of his clients.
The figure, he said, would represent the more than 550 million online impressions Jones' Sandy Hook lie allegedly received online.
Judge sends jury back to complete form
From CNN's Melanie Schuman
Judge Barbara Bellis is sending the jury back to complete the verdict form.
The foreperson is required to initial and sign each page and that has not been done, according to Bellis.
The judge also referenced there are no decimal points as requested, but because that is consistent throughout the document, she did not request any changes.
Here's what you need to know about punitive and compensatory damages
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
There are two types of damages that are under consideration in this defamation case against Alex Jones — compensatory and punitive. CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson explains what they mean and their key difference.
The big difference between the two is that in the state of Connecticut, punitive damages have a cap and compensatory damages don't.
Compensatory damage:
“It means damages that are designed to make you whole, to compensate you for what you've endured,” he said.
Punitive damages:
“These are to punish you for what you did wrong,” Jackson said. “As it relates to the unfair trade practices, punitive damages are capped in Connecticut at attorneys' fees and litigation costs. The unfair trade practices are uncapped. So the award there could be not only significant, but ruinous.”
