Kentucky jury awards $200K for 'false' political ad

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A Kentucky jury has ruled a former Democratic state senator knowingly aired a false TV ad in 2014 and has ordered him to pay his Republican opponent $200,000 in damages.

R.J. Palmer, the former Democratic minority leader in the Kentucky Senate, lost to Republican Ralph Alvarado in 2014. A week before the election, Palmer paid for a TV ad using courtroom footage to imply Alvarado, a medical doctor, was "getting rich off addiction" by unlawfully prescribing $3,000 worth of oxycodone to a criminal defendant. Alvarado said the footage was altered, adding the defendant had a valid prescription.

Alvarado sued Palmer and his political consultant, Dale Emmons, for defamation. The case dragged on for two years. Emmons settled the case in March and sent Alvarado a written apology. Palmer opted for a trial, and on Wednesday the jury unanimously ruled against him.

Alvarado called the verdict a "vindication."

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