THE ANGELS –
On Monday, a jury handed the Kardashian family a landslide victory in former reality TV star Blac Chyna’s lawsuit against them.
The Los Angeles jury found that none of the members defamed Chyna or interfered with her contract by convincing E! network to cancel his reality show “Rob & Chyna.”
All four of the Kardashian defendants (Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner) attended almost the entire trial, but when the verdict was read they were all in New York at the Met Gala, where this year’s theme was Gilded Glamour. “
Chyna was in court for the verdict. She had no visible reaction.
After about 10 hours of deliberations, jurors decided as a long jury that the Kardashians often acted in bad faith and found they were unjustified in telling “Rob & Chyna” executives and producers that Chyna abused her. his son and brother Rob. Kardashian. But they found that it had no substantial effect on Chyna’s contract or the fate of the show, and she received no damages.
Executives of E! The network, which aired the show, testified that “Rob & Chyna” ended because the relationship ended, not because of the defendants’ actions.
Kardashian’s attorney, Michael G. Rhodes, said the family was “exuberant” when he called them with the news.
“They’re very pleased,” Rhodes said. “I hope you enjoy your gala in New York.”
Chyna’s attorney, Lynne Ciani, said that based on her reading of the verdict, “the jury found that Chyna had not physically abused Rob Kardashian” and “the jury found that all four defendants had intentionally interfered with their contract with E!Network”.
“We will appeal on the remaining questions,” he added.
The jury returned twice for further deliberation when it was discovered that on some questions in the case against Kylie Jenner the vote had been 8-4 when at least 9-3 was required in the civil case, but they quickly returned with 9-3 votes and the result remained unchanged.
Jurors were considering the defamation case against Kris Jenner, Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, after a judge dismissed the part of the lawsuit against Kim Kardashian amid deliberations.
All four women testified during the nine-day trial.
The trial largely focused on allegations that Chyna violently attacked her then-fiancé and reality TV co-star, Rob Kardashian, one night and one morning in December 2016. in the neck and hit him with a metal rod. She testified that she had put the cord around his neck and held the gun playfully as the two celebrated the renewal of her reality show, and when the celebration turned into a dispute, she was never violent towards him.
But the legal questions the jury considered were all about the fallout from that fight. Jurors had to decide whether each of the defendants knowingly lied about the abuse when they discussed it with the producers and executives who oversee “Rob & Chyna,” or spread the news with a reckless disregard for the truth. And they had to decide for each defendant whether those communications were an unlawful interference with Chyna’s contract to appear on the show.
In her closing argument, Ciani argued that it was unreasonable for the four women to believe that their client violently attacked her ex-fiancé Rob Kardashian.
“It didn’t have any markings on it,” Ciani told the jury. “There was no call to the police, no trip to the hospital, not even a Band-Aid.”
Rhodes argued during her closing that the women had every reason to believe the accounts of the attack by Rob Kardashian and Kris Jenner’s longtime boyfriend Corey Gamble, who arrived at the scene and ended the feud.
“Do you remember what Rob looked like on the stand? His pain was real,” Rhodes said. “This is a real family. Yes, they are famous, but they are real people. He got hurt a lot here.”
During the trial it appeared that Gamble would turn out to be the key defense witness. But television executives and producers, whose testimony was often technical and undramatic, were more important in the jury’s conclusions, which made the stories of women’s abuse largely irrelevant.
Jurors were free to make a split decision: find against some of the Kardashians but not others.
Instead, they gave the family a clean sweep and gave Chyna nothing.
She had sought up to US$108 million in the lawsuit. A punitive damages phase that would have been triggered by a plaintiff’s victory will not happen now.
The 5-year lawsuit overcame many hurdles, including motions to dismiss and settlement talks between the two sides, and was a long shot to even go to trial.
But the final hurdle, convincing a jury, proved too difficult to overcome.
However, the case is not quite over for Chyna. The separate allegations in the lawsuit against Rob Kardashian, with him as the sole defendant, have been split into a separate trial likely to begin in about a week.
Reference-www.ctvnews.ca