Va. Daily Socked with $5m Libel Judgment

Image via WikipediaA 19-year-old former Great Bridge High School athlete last week scored a $5 million libel verdict against The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot, which a jury found defamed him in a December 2009, article that accused him of bullying a classmate, the Associated Press reported.

Chesapeake Circuit Court Judge Randall D. Smith postponed recording the verdict awarded Kevin Webb by the seven-member jury pending argument on the newspaper's attorneys' motion to set aside the verdict as contrary to law. Webb alleged he was wrongly accused by the daily of bullying the classmate based on a report concerning Webb's sentencing for misdemeanor assault and trespassing involving the classmate's father.