A former high school athlete in Chesapeake has won a $5 million libel verdict against a Norfolk newspaper.
A circuit court jury ruled Friday that Kevin Webb was libeled by a December 2009 Virginian-Pilot article that said he bullied a schoolmate.
Webb claimed he was falsely accused in a report stemming from Webb's sentencing for misdemeanor assault and trespassing convictions involving the schoolmate's father. The newspaper denied the allegations and stood behind its story.
The Virginian-Pilot reported the jury deliberated for two hours on the seventh day of the trial.
Lawyers for the newspaper asked to have the verdict set aside as being contrary to the law.
Judge Randall D. Smith postponed the verdict pending further arguments on the request.
The newspaper declined to comment on the ruling.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement