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Settlement Reached Among Sandy Hook Families in Alex Jones Bankruptcy Case
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Families who have filed lawsuits against Alex Jones for his defamatory comments about the Sandy Hook shooting have come to an agreement regarding the division of the conspiracy theorist’s assets. This development paves the way for the potential sale of Jones’ Infowars platform, as discussed during a court hearing on Monday.
According to Joshua Wolfshohl, the attorney representing the bankruptcy trustee overseeing the sale of Jones’ assets, the newfound consensus among the families is essential to getting the bankruptcy proceedings “back on track.” This will facilitate a new auction of the Infowars brand.
The court rulings in Connecticut and Texas, where some families pursued legal action against Jones, concluded that he had defamed these families through his repeated and false assertions that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting—where 20 children and six educators lost their lives—was a hoax designed to justify gun control measures.
However, the families were at an impasse regarding the strategy to extract Jones’ assets after he filed for bankruptcy in 2022. The families based in Texas favored maximizing their cash recovery, while those from Connecticut were more focused on ensuring the termination of the Infowars enterprise.
This discord contributed to the cancellation of an earlier auction of Infowars, which had been agreed upon by the bankruptcy trustee. Initially, the plan involved selling Infowars to the satirical news outlet The Onion for $1.75 million, which had the support of the Connecticut families.
Subsequently, Judge Christopher Lopez intervened and stopped that sale, criticizing the trustee for not conducting a comprehensive auction process that could have yielded a higher offer.
The new agreement reached by the families stipulates that the Texas families will receive $4 million, with an initial payment of $1 million scheduled within a week following court approval. After this payment, the Texas families will collect 25% of any future payments awarded to the Sandy Hook families, while the Connecticut families will receive the remaining 75%.
Additionally, the Texas families have agreed to minimize their involvement in the remainder of Jones’ bankruptcy proceedings and to provide support to the Connecticut families as needed.
Avi Moshenberg, representing the Texas families, remarked during Monday’s hearing that both Texas and Connecticut families are now “100% aligned” in their objectives.
“The settlement with the Texas families is a milestone event and puts the families back on the same side,” emphasized Kyle Kimpler, the attorney for the Connecticut families.
The previous divergence among the families was largely influenced by the substantial judgments awarded to the Connecticut families, which gave them a significant amount of negotiating power in the bankruptcy context.
Judicial decisions in Connecticut resulted in a staggering $1.3 billion award for the Connecticut families, significantly overshadowing the $50 million total awarded to two Texas parents, with several others still awaiting trial before the bankruptcy paused their legal actions.
Jones’ counsel stated that discussions are underway regarding the families’ recent agreement. A court hearing has been scheduled for next week to deliberate on the approval of this settlement.
Following the halt of the sale to The Onion, the bankruptcy trustee has received a new bid from First United American Companies, linked to one of Jones’ supplement businesses, offering over $7.5 million, more than double the initial offer of $3.75 million.
The bankruptcy trustee also anticipates receiving a renewed bid from The Onion. Both offers will be assessed before the trustee seeks court approval for a new auction process.
Source
finance.yahoo.com