KANSAS CITY, Ks.—A woman who sued radio station 96.5 The Buzz after morning show hosts falsely called her a porn star has been awarded at least $250,000 by the jury following a weeklong trial in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas.
"Ashley Patton filed the suit against the radio station’s owner, Entercom Kansas City, seeking damages for mental suffering, shame and humiliation," reported the Kansas City Star.
The $250,000 awarded Patton is for actual damages only; the jury continues to deliberate on what sort of punitive damages should be levied.
"The incident that led to the suit occurred during the April 20, 2012, morning show hosted by Afentra Bandokoudis, known as 'Afentra,' and Daniel Terreros, known as 'Danny Boi," added the paper. "During the broadcast, the hosts asked listeners whether they knew of any local porn stars. A short time later, they received a text message that read 'Ashley Patton Olathe South. 2007.' After a second text also mentioned Patton, Danny Boi said, 'Oh, this girl is going to be good, hold on, guys.'
Boi then Googled Patton's name, but according to the Star, "The Google search actually turned up pornographic images of a different woman named Ashley Payton. The radio show hosts didn’t realize the mistake. The station later posted a list of names, including Patton’s, on its website and also posted a link to the podcast of the show. Later that day, after Patton made several calls to station management, it was taken down."
While all parties agreed that the mistaken identification had occurred, defense lawyers argued that "it was not done with malice as the law required for her to collect damages."
Patton's lawyer, Arthur Benson, countered that the company had to be held accountable, and that a message had to sent so that it would not happen again. “It’s all about the money,” he said. “If they hurt somebody, they will keep doing it unless somebody stands up and fights back.”
The jury obviously found that argument convincing.
