Alex Jones back on the hook for damages after chapter judge sends Sandy Hook instances to Texas court docket

NEWTOWN — A federal bankruptcy choose has released extremist Alex Jones from Chapter 11 safety and sent his defamation instances back to state court in Texas, where the mother and father of two boys slain within the Sandy Hook bloodbath await jury trials to see how a lot Jones should pay them.

“(We) are relieved however not shocked that Mr. Jones’ latest stunt has failed like all of the others,” said Mark Bankston, an legal professional representing 4 dad and mom who gained two defamation instances against Jones in Texas last 12 months. “Mr. Jones will now be held to account in a Travis County courtroom in the coming weeks, and these households will lastly have the closure and recompense they deserve.”

Bankston was referring to a month-long saga in Texas bankruptcy court docket the place three Jones-controlled entities filed for Chapter 11 protection one week earlier than a jury trial was to start to determine what damages Jones owed two dad and mom he defamed when he referred to as the worst crime in Connecticut historical past “staged,” “artificial,” “manufactured,” “a giant hoax,” and “fully pretend with actors.”

The chapter judge’s ruling means the first postponed defamation awards trial in Texas could start as soon as June, Bankston prompt.

Among the many disclosures that came out of the bankruptcy courtroom hearings is that Jones has suffered financially because the Sandy Hook defamation circumstances have progressed. Jones has spent no less than $10 million on authorized charges and has lost no less than $20 million, his representatives said in court. Jones didn't file for bankruptcy protection himself, his consultant stated in court, as a result of he feared it will injury his brand within the conspiracy principle market.

In the meantime in Connecticut, where an FBI agent and eight families who misplaced family members within the massacre of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty also received a defamation case towards Jones in 2021, a listening to was deliberate in Connecticut bankruptcy court docket on Tuesday that is expected to end in the same outcome as the Texas cases.

The reason has to do with a maneuver the Sandy Hook households took here and in Texas to outflank Jones in bankruptcy courtroom.

Jones’ Chapter 11 filing placed on maintain the two trials in Texas and the third planned in Connecticut, since federal court docket trumps state proceedings. Attorneys for households here and in Texas fought Jones’ Chapter 11 petitions as “bad faith” filings, since Jones himself and his money-making Free Speech methods didn't file for bankruptcy. The three Jones-controlled entities that sought Chapter 11 safety have a combined monthly revenue of $38,000 whereas Jones himself made at least $76 million in 2019, his representatives mentioned in courtroom.

In response, the families dropped Jones’ three enterprise entities in chapter from their lawsuits. As a result of the households now not had a stake in the bankruptcies, they argued, their lawsuits in opposition to Jones and Free Speech methods may very well be launched again to the state courts for trial. The families argued that their target was Jones himself and Free Speech Methods, who weren't celebration to the bankruptcies.

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

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

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342