BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut (AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge on Monday ruled that a defamation lawsuit in Connecticut was a host of Infowars. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
The lawsuit was filed by relatives of victims of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.Jones is false claims The country’s deadliest school shooting, which killed 20 students and 6 educators, was a hoax.
Jones’ attorneys had sought to move the case to federal bankruptcy court rather than continue the case in Connecticut state court. The move abruptly canceled the first day of jury selection earlier this month.
But Monday’s ruling by Judge Julie Manning fundamentally prevented plaintiffs from continuing their defamation lawsuit against Jones as an individual without a Free Speech System, a company Jones owns and defendant in the Connecticut case. I admit to
“The right of plaintiffs to continue that process in Connecticut Superior Court should not be barred,” Manning wrote in the decision, adding that plaintiffs’ claims for damages are ready for trial.
A message was left for Jones’ attorney, Norm Pattis, for comment.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Chris Mattei praised the bankruptcy judge’s decision. We are grateful for stopping
Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy in Texas about a week before Jones’ attorneys sought to transfer the Connecticut lawsuit.
Texas Jury of the Month ordered jones An additional $4.1 million must be paid to pay $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of one of the children killed at Sandy Hook.
Jones’ attorneys will appeal and reduce the amount. On the other hand, besides the Connecticut case, A trial is pending in Texas for damages filed by the parents of another child killed in Sandy Hook.
Prior to the Texas trial, Jones had already been convicted in separate defamation lawsuits in Texas and Connecticut by relatives of some of the Sandy Hook victims.
A Connecticut jury will determine what damages, if any, Jones owes in the case, but state law can also limit the amount he must pay.
The remaining two trials are scheduled to begin next month after jurors are selected. Jury selection in the Connecticut lawsuit could resume this week, lawyers said.
___ This article has been amended to indicate that only Free Speech Systems has filed for bankruptcy, not Alex Jones as an individual.