A Bexar County jury awarded $5 million to a female lawyer who had been groped at the courthouse. See my post about that trial here. Allan Manka appealed that verdict to the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio and lost. Now, he has appealed to the Texas Supreme Court. He may have a decent argument. Manka is arguing that the jury award of $5 million in past and future mental suffering is not supported by the evidence.
Manka points to the Fourth Court using a formula of five hours of therapy a day would support the verdict. But, says Manka, there was no such evidence at trial that Michelle Acosta would see or has seen a therapist five hours per day. The Fourth Court used the same formula for the $3 million award for past mental anguish and the $2 million award for future mental anguish. But, in reality, the Court simply said that was a reasonable anchor or guide for the jury.
There is no precise formula for what a just amount for mental suffering should look like. In front of the Fourth Court, Manka argued that at trial, Acosta’s lawyer told the jury they could award punitive damages. Or, if they could not reach agreement on punitive damages, they could assess a larger amount of mental anguish damages, “to punish” Mr. Manka. The Court Court rejected that argument. But, the defendant may have better luck with a more conservative Texas Supreme Court.
See the San Antonio Express-News report here for more information.