HARTFORD, Conn. — Alex Jones has moved for a new trial in the Sandy Hook parents' defamation suit against the "Infowars" host and his company Free Speech Systems, LLC.
The motions were filed on Friday by Jones's Attorney Norm Pattis. The requests said Judge Barbara Bellis' pretrial rulings resulted in an unfair trial and “a substantial miscarriage of justice.”
The first motion is to set aside the verdict in which Jones was ordered to pay various families of Sandy Hook more than $965 million in a Waterbury courtroom.
Motion to Set Aside Verdict:
Defendants Alex Jones and Free Speech Systems, LLC, herewith move, pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes section 52-228 b and Practice Book Section 16-35, to set aside the verdict on grounds apparent in the record and on the basis of remittitur. In short, the defendants contend that the cumulative weight of the court’s ruling on pre-trial motions and its evidentiary rulings resulted in a complete abdication of the trial court’s role in assuring a fair trial and that the amount of the compensatory damages award exceeds any rational relationship to the evidence officered at trial. The defendants seek a new trial. The verdict in the instant case is both unjust and against the weight of the evidence.
The second motion was the defendant's motion to set aside the verdict on the basis of remittitur, citing the verdict to be a result of passion and prejudice.
Defendants' Motion for Remittitur:
Defendants Alex Jones and Free Speech Systems, LLC, herewith move, pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes section 52-228 b and Practice Book Section 16-35, to set aside the verdict on grounds apparent in the record and on the basis of remittitur. In short, the defendants contend that verdict is exorbitant and a result of passion and prejudice. Additionally, the plaintiff’s failure to offer any evidentiary standard by which the jury could calculate damages rendered the verdict a species of wild speculation unsupported by law and resulted in a verdict that denies the defendants due process of law.
Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the 15 plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Jones, declined to comment for the Associated Press on the filing Saturday but said he and other attorneys for the Sandy Hook families will be filing a brief opposing Jones' request.
Twenty first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School died in the attack on Dec. 14, 2012.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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