Student says paper defamed him with bullying allegation – $5,000,000 Verdict

A newspaper article about an assault case falsely stated that a high school athlete routinely bullied another student at Great Bridge High School.

The article reported accurately that the plaintiff had been convicted of assaulting the father of the student who said he had been bullied, and that the plaintiff’s brother had been convicted of assaulting the student and his father.

The incident occurred 26 hours after the student appeared at the home of the plaintiff with as many as 30 other young males and demanded that the plaintiff come outside. The student and the group left after the plaintiff’s father, who was an assistant principal at another Chesapeake school, refused to allow the plaintiff to come out.

The plaintiff denied bullying the other student or anyone else, and there was testimony about only one incident in which the plaintiff allegedly bullied the student. The student’s father said he saw plaintiff taunt his son outside a store, but plaintiff testified that the father must have mistaken him for someone else.

The defense contended that the article was accurate and that any damage to the plaintiff’s reputation was a result of the assault conviction rather than the statement that he had bullied the student.

The jury awarded the exact amount sued for, plus interest from date the suit was filed.

[11-T-016]

Type of action: Defamation
Injuries alleged: Reputation, humiliation, embarrassment
Name of case: Kevin Webb v. Virginian Pilot Media Companies LLC
Court: Chesapeake Circuit Court
Case no.: CL10-451
Tried before: Jury
Judge: Randall D. Smith
Date: Feb. 11, 2011
Demand: No demand because plaintiff’s counsel believed from initial conference with client and family case had unlimited potential
Offer: Defense counsel declined to make offer absent a demand
Verdict or Settlement: Verdict
Amount: $5,000,000
Attorney for plaintiff: Jeremiah A. Denton III, Virginia Beach
Attorneys for defendant: Conrad M. Shumadine and Brett A. Spain, Norfolk