Alex Jones back on the hook for damages after chapter decide sends Sandy Hook cases to Texas courtroom

NEWTOWN — A federal chapter judge has released extremist Alex Jones from Chapter 11 safety and sent his defamation circumstances again to state courtroom in Texas, where the mother and father of two boys slain within the Sandy Hook massacre await jury trials to see how much Jones must pay them.

“(We) are relieved however not surprised that Mr. Jones’ latest stunt has failed like all the others,” mentioned Mark Bankston, an attorney representing 4 parents who gained two defamation instances against Jones in Texas final year. “Mr. Jones will now be held to account in a Travis County courtroom within the coming weeks, and these households will finally have the closure and recompense they deserve.”

Bankston was referring to a month-long saga in Texas chapter court docket where three Jones-controlled entities filed for Chapter 11 safety one week earlier than a jury trial was to begin to determine what damages Jones owed two dad and mom he defamed when he known as the worst crime in Connecticut history “staged,” “artificial,” “manufactured,” “a large hoax,” and “completely pretend with actors.”

The bankruptcy decide’s ruling means the first postponed defamation awards trial in Texas might begin as quickly as June, Bankston instructed.

Among the many disclosures that got here out of the bankruptcy court hearings is that Jones has suffered financially as the Sandy Hook defamation instances have progressed. Jones has spent no less than $10 million on authorized charges and has lost not less than $20 million, his representatives stated in courtroom. Jones didn't file for bankruptcy protection himself, his representative said in court, because he feared it could damage his brand in the conspiracy theory market.

Meanwhile in Connecticut, where an FBI agent and eight households who misplaced loved ones in the bloodbath of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty additionally gained a defamation case towards Jones in 2021, a hearing was planned in Connecticut bankruptcy courtroom on Tuesday that is expected to lead to an identical consequence as the Texas instances.

The rationale has to do with a maneuver the Sandy Hook families took here and in Texas to outflank Jones in chapter courtroom.

Jones’ Chapter 11 submitting placed on maintain the 2 trials in Texas and the third planned in Connecticut, since federal court trumps state proceedings. Attorneys for families here and in Texas fought Jones’ Chapter 11 petitions as “unhealthy faith” filings, since Jones himself and his money-making Free Speech systems did not file for chapter. The three Jones-controlled entities that sought Chapter 11 protection have a mixed month-to-month earnings of $38,000 while Jones himself made not less than $76 million in 2019, his representatives mentioned in courtroom.

In response, the households dropped Jones’ three business entities in chapter from their lawsuits. Because the households not had a stake in the bankruptcies, they argued, their lawsuits towards Jones and Free Speech methods could be released back to the state courts for trial. The families argued that their target was Jones himself and Free Speech Systems, who were not celebration to the bankruptcies.

In rulings on Thursday and Friday, the federal chapter court docket in Texas agreed.

It remains to be seen whether Connecticut chapter court docket will rule equally. The trial to award defamation damages to the Sandy Hook families in Connecticut had been scheduled for August.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342