A Texas appeals court on Friday reduced a $50 million judgment against Infowars founder Alex Jones to $1.5 million. The court ruled that a lower court improperly allowed the award to exceed a statutory cap on damages in a case involving false claims about the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.
The case was brought by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse Lewis was killed in the attack at Newtown, Connecticut. During a 2022 trial for damages, the parents testified that they were subjected to death threats and harassment after Jones told his followers that the massacre, which resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six educators, was a hoax staged by "crisis actors."
In a unanimous opinion, the Texas Third Court of Appeals found that the trial court "abused its discretion" by permitting the judgment to surpass state limits. The court stated that the plaintiffs did not provide evidence that the harassment they faced rose to a level that would legally permit exceeding the state's $750,000 cap on certain damages. This reduction aligns with a post-trial prediction by Jones' attorney, Andino Reynal, who had argued for a $1.5 million total.
The decision establishes a precedent regarding how statutory caps on damages are applied in Texas, even in cases involving high-profile defamation and harassment claims. For Alex Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, the $48.5 million reduction serves as a legal victory as they navigate ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. However, the scale of his total legal debt remains in the billions due to the Connecticut ruling, which will continue to be processed through the bankruptcy courts.
The reduction in the Texas award may influence how future plaintiffs in the state approach damages during trial, specifically regarding the evidence required to bypass statutory caps. Following this ruling, the bankruptcy proceedings for Jones and Free Speech Systems will continue. The source does not specify if the plaintiffs intend to appeal this decision to a higher state court.