Summary: Ashley Patton has been awarded $1 million by a jury after testimony showed that radio DJs incorrectly identified her as a porn star, which caused her emotional distress.
KSHB.com reported late last week that closing arguments in a case involving a popular Kansas City radio station were delayed.
The court heard testimony until Thursday afternoon. Ashley Patton, the plaintiff of the suit, has accused DJs Afentra and Danny Boi of wrongfully calling her a porn star on their morning radio show “Afentra’s Big Fat Morning Buzz” back in 2012. The show is aired on KRBZ 96.5 FM.
Patton stated that she still struggles with anxiety, even two years after the episode aired. The DJs featured a segment on their show where they searched Google with her name while they covered local Kansas City porn stars.
However, Patton has never acted in any pornographic films. In fact, at the time of the radio show, she was attending law school. Apparently, the DJs were one letter off when they spelled her name as they searched the Internet.
An hour and a half of testimony revealed that Patton also still has trouble sleeping due to the DJs’ error. Defense attorneys cross-examined Patton, attempting to show the court that her anxiety was due to her enrollment in law school, not due to the radio station’s mistake. The defense attorneys attempted to show that the mistake was not intentional.
Patton asked for $150,000 to $200,000 in emotional damages. The request for such a reward caused the delay in the progression of the suit, as the court had to determine whether the judge or the jury will decide the amount of damages Patton received.
KansasCity.com reported after the trial that the jury was chosen to determine the award, and it gave Patton an impressive $1 million in damages. The jury awarded $250,000 in actual damages and $750,000 in punitive damages. The company agreed not to appeal the verdict during negotiations with the opposing side as the jury deliberated.
Both sides stipulated that Patton has never been involved in the adult film industry. Arthur Benson, Patton’s attorney, told the jury that Entercom, the company that owns the radio station, needed to be held accountable for its employees who had acted with a reckless disregard of the truth.
The radio station had not only aired the segment with Patton’s name, but had also included the list of supposed porn star names on its website. Patton called multiple times before the list was taken down.
Fritz Riesmeyer, Entercom’s attorney, admitted that the statements were false and highly offensive, but that the DJs made a mistake and that their statements were not made with malice. Demonstrating that the statements were made with malice was required for Patton to collect damages.
Kevin Geary, a spokesman for Entercom, said, “While we are very disappointed in the outcome, we will abide by the jury’s verdict.”
As for punitive damages, the jury found that the company either authorized or ratified the actions of its employees and that the actions were willful, wanton or malicious. Although Riesmeyer argued that the company took action upon realizing its mistake, Benson stated that the station made money by offending people: “It’s all about the money. If they hurt somebody, they will keep doing it unless somebody stands up and fights back.”
Photo credit: Fox4KC.com