Alex Jones back on the hook for damages after bankruptcy decide sends Sandy Hook cases to Texas court docket

NEWTOWN — A federal bankruptcy decide has released extremist Alex Jones from Chapter 11 protection and despatched his defamation cases back to state courtroom in Texas, the place 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 but not stunned that Mr. Jones’ latest stunt has failed like all of the others,” mentioned Mark Bankston, an legal professional representing four mother and father who received two defamation instances in opposition to Jones in Texas last year. “Mr. Jones will now be held to account in a Travis County courtroom within the coming weeks, and these families will finally have the closure and recompense they deserve.”

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

The bankruptcy choose’s ruling means the first postponed defamation awards trial in Texas might start as soon as June, Bankston prompt.

Among the many disclosures that came out of the bankruptcy court hearings is that Jones has suffered financially as the Sandy Hook defamation cases have progressed. Jones has spent a minimum of $10 million on authorized fees and has lost no less than $20 million, his representatives stated in court. Jones didn't file for bankruptcy safety himself, his representative stated in court docket, because he feared it will damage his brand within the conspiracy principle market.

Meanwhile in Connecticut, where an FBI agent and eight families who lost loved ones in the bloodbath of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary College additionally won a defamation case in opposition to Jones in 2021, a listening to was deliberate in Connecticut bankruptcy court docket on Tuesday that's anticipated to result in the same outcome as the Texas circumstances.

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

Jones’ Chapter 11 filing put on hold the two trials in Texas and the third planned in Connecticut, since federal court trumps state proceedings. Lawyers for families here and in Texas fought Jones’ Chapter 11 petitions as “unhealthy faith” filings, since Jones himself and his money-making Free Speech techniques didn't file for bankruptcy. The three Jones-controlled entities that sought Chapter 11 protection have a combined monthly income of $38,000 while Jones himself made at least $76 million in 2019, his representatives said in courtroom.

In response, the households dropped Jones’ three enterprise entities in chapter from their lawsuits. Because the families not had a stake within the bankruptcies, they argued, their lawsuits against Jones and Free Speech programs might be launched back to the state courts for trial. The households argued that their target was Jones himself and Free Speech Methods, who weren't social gathering to the bankruptcies.

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

It stays to be seen whether or not Connecticut chapter courtroom 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