Cable company ordered to pay victim's family $7 billion after worker killed her in her home
A cable company was initially ordered to pay over $7 billion to the family of a woman killed by one of its employees.
In December 2019, 83-year-old Betty Thomas was murdered in her home in Irving, Texas.
Roy Holden Jr had been at the property carrying out some work on behalf of Spectrum Cable - Charter Communications, Inc. an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum.
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Despite completing the work, he returned the next day and stabbed Thomas to death, stole her credit card and started spending, until later being apprehended by police.
He pleaded guilty to Thomas' murder and is currently behind bars serving a life sentence, however, in 2022, a Dallas County jury ruled Charter Communications held 90 percent of the blame for civil liabilities.
The jury initially awarded the family $7 billion in punitive damages after already awarding them $357 million in compensatory damages.
Speaking after the trial, Thomas’ family’s lawyer, Chris Hamilton, said in a statement: "This was a shocking breach of faith by a company that sends workers inside millions of homes every year.
"This verdict justly reflects the extensive evidence regarding the nature of the harm caused by Charter Spectrum’s gross negligence and reckless misconduct.
"For the safety of the American public, we can only hope that Charter and its shareholders are listening."
At the time, the company said it was planning on appealing the verdict and released the following statement: "Our hearts go out to Mrs. Thomas’ family in the wake of this senseless and tragic crime.
"The responsibility for this horrible act rests solely with Mr. Holden, who was not on duty, and we are grateful he is in prison for life. While we respect the jury and the justice system, we strongly disagree with the verdict.”
The company claimed the murder was ‘not foreseeable’ and that relevant background checks were made.
A news release from the company read: "The law in Texas and the facts presented at trial clearly show this crime was not foreseeable — and the plaintiffs’ claims of wrongdoing by Charter are categorically false.
"We are committed to the safety of all our customers and took the necessary steps, including a thorough pre-employment criminal background check — which showed no arrests, convictions or other criminal behavior.
"Nor did anything in Mr. Holden’s performance after he was hired suggest he was capable of the crime he committed, including more than 1,000 completed service calls with zero customer complaints about his behavior."
The amount of damage has since been reduced to $1.15 billion, Data Center Dynamics reports.
The judge looked at 'evidence introduced at trial, the verdict of the jury, the voluntary remittitur of the plaintiffs, the written and oral arguments of counsel, and the applicable law' before resolving to reduce the damages amount.
Claire Reid