Key facts
- A Texas appeals court reduced a $50 million judgment against Alex Jones to $1.5 million.
- The court found the trial judge improperly allowed the parents to exceed a statutory cap on damages.
- Alex Jones falsely claimed the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.
- The ruling stated the original judgment improperly exceeded a statutory cap on exemplary damages.
- Jones faces a separate $1.4 billion verdict in Connecticut related to the Sandy Hook case.
A Texas appeals court has reduced a $50 million judgment against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to $1.5 million. The court ruled that the original award, which stemmed from Jones falsely claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax, improperly exceeded a statutory cap on damages.
The Court of Appeals, Third District, stated that the trial court abused its discretion by allowing the parents, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, to exceed the $750,000 statutory cap on damages per defendant months after the jury trial. The court found that the parents had not presented evidence that the harassment they endured from Jones impaired them to the point of being entitled to damages above the cap.
This reduced verdict marks a partial victory for Jones, who was sued for publicly claiming the shooting did not happen and subjecting the victims' families to harassment. Along with the Texas judgment, Jones faces a $1.4 billion verdict in Connecticut, which led to his bankruptcy. He has appealed the Connecticut judgment to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jones is represented by Broocks Law Firm PLLC, while Heslin and Lewis are represented by Farrar & Ball LLP.