TERRE HAUTE — A Sullivan County jury awarded a Clay County law-enforcement officer $1.5 million in damages Thursday after ruling he was defamed by stories published in the Tribune-Star.
The lawsuit was filed in June 2004 by Jeff Maynard, then a Clay County sheriff’s deputy who has since been promoted to detective.
The trial in Sullivan Circuit Court started Tuesday and ended Thursday, and a six-member jury deliberated for about two hours.
The jury found in Maynard’s favor and awarded him $500,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages.
Tribune-Star publisher Jeremiah Turner said, “We are very disappointed with the jury’s decision and the outcome of the trial. We have always felt and still do that the way we reported the story was truthful, accurate and fair. At this point, we are considering all the options available to us, including an appeal.”
Attorney David Sullivan, who along with attorney Scott Craig represented the Tribune-Star in the lawsuit, echoed Turner’s comments. Sullivan and Craig are with the Terre Haute law firm of Cox, Zwerner, Gambill and Sullivan.
In the lawsuit, Maynard contended that the Tribune-Star published two articles in March and April of 2004 containing allegations against him that “were false and defamatory.”
A Clay City woman had made allegations of misconduct following a Feb. 28, 2004, traffic stop, according to the two news stories.
As a result, then-Clay County Sheriff Rob Carter asked Indiana State Police to investigate the allegations.
The Tribune-Star published a third article on June 9, 2004 — not cited in the lawsuit — stating that Maynard had been cleared of wrongdoing, and the Clay City woman who made the allegations had been charged with false reporting, a class-B misdemeanor. The false-reporting charge was later dismissed as part of a plea agreement that included other unrelated charges.
Eric Frey, Maynard’s attorney, said his client “is very pleased with the jury’s verdict. I think he felt that he was certainly defamed by what was printed and felt the jury agreed
with that.”
In Indiana, 75 percent of punitive damages in a civil lawsuit brought by a private plaintiff goes to the state’s violent crime victims compensation fund.
Frey said he’s not sure his client understood until after the jury’s verdict that 75 percent of punitive damages must go to the state. Regardless, “It wasn’t about the money with him. It was about vindication.”
Maynard initially filed the lawsuit in Vigo Superior Court on June 30, 2004. The suit later was transferred to Sullivan Circuit Court. Each year, 100 civil torts are transferred to Sullivan Superior and Circuit courts to alleviate the backlog of civil cases in Vigo courts.
The Tribune-Star had unsuccessfully asked a Sullivan County judge to dismiss the lawsuit based on an Indiana law that shields the public and press from lawsuits that attempt to curb free-speech rights in matters of public interest.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
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