Federal jury awards former legislative candidate $700,000 in defamation lawsuit

A federal jury this week awarded $700,000 in damages in a defamation lawsuit lodged by a former legislative candidate.

The jury, following two days of testimony that ended Wednesday in Tulsa federal court, determined the contents of a one-page flier attributed to former longtime Creek County resident Don Farley defamed Carl Parson of Inola.

The jury awarded Parson $200,000 in actual damages Wednesday and $500,000 in punitive damages Thursday.

Parson, 65, alleged in his lawsuit that the flier, which was a sealed court record until just prior to trial, was distributed while he was campaigning in 2016 for the state House of Representatives.

Read more: https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/courts/federal-jury-awards-former-legislative-candidate-in-defamation-lawsuit/article_3249e4e7-3640-5a27-ae35-bccf6f2aac5b.html