“The jury wanted to punish Ben Waldrep for holding a house-giveaway contest it had decided was bogus, but when jurors awarded punitive damages Monday, they wound up dealing him a much harsher financial blow than intended. The jurors apparently meant to have the contest’s 1,800 entrants split $1 million. But they accidentally awarded each of them $1 million. That means, officially anyway, Waldrep has been ordered to cough up $1.8 billion.” Superior Court Judge Andria Richey is expected to lower the damage amount on motion by the defense, but she did not question the jury at all about the amount before releasing them. (Josh Grossberg, “Mistake by jury gives essay writers a $1 billion windfall,” Daily Breeze, Feb. 8).
