#Judge rules Charter must pay $1.1 billion after murder of cable customer
Charter Communications must pay over $1.1 billion to the estate and family of an 83-year-old woman #murdered in her home by a #Spectrum #cable_technician, a Dallas County Court judge ruled yesterday.
A jury in the same court previously ordered Charter to pay $7 billion in punitive damages and $337.5 million in compensatory damages. Judge Juan Renteria lowered the award in a ruling issued yesterday.
The damages are split among the estate and four adult children of murder victim #Betty_Thomas. Renteria did not change the compensatory damages but lowered the punitive damages awarded to the family to $750 million. Pre-judgment interest on the damages pushes Charter's total liability to over $1.1 billion.
Jury: Charter guilty of “#gross_negligence” and #forgery
Charter has already paid a portion of the judgment. "After the jury verdict, and before the entry of this Judgment, Plaintiffs have voluntarily remitted a substantial amount of the exemplary damages pursuant to Rule 315," Renteria wrote.
