Houston psychic ordered to pay $7 million

[Valigarmander]

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas ... 596687.php

A  self-described psychic who triggered a media frenzy when she told authorities a Liberty County couple had a mass grave on their property has been ordered to pay the couple $6.8 million.

A Dallas County judge issued the judgment May 7 against Presley "Rhonda" Gridley, the sole remaining defendant in a lawsuit filed a year ago.

"Whether it will be collectible, we're going to pursue that," said Dallas attorney Andrew Sommerman.

He represents plaintiffs Joe Bankston and Gena Charlton in the suit that has concluded, except for efforts to collect the judgment.

Gridley, 50, failed to appear in court May 7 for the bench trial before Judge Carl Ginsberg in the 193rd State District Court, records stated.

Ginsberg found that Gridley had made defamatory statements about Bankson and Charlton on June 6, 2011, when she volunteered false information to the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, claiming that a mass grave containing dismembered bodies was at the plaintiffs' home.

The defendant's false statement injured the plaintiffs' reputation and exposed them to public hatred, contempt, ridicule and financial injury, the complaint stated.

For damages suffered, the judge awarded $3 million in damages to Bankson and $3,849,000 to Charlton, plus 5 percent interest from the date of the occurrence in 2011.

The suit was filed June 5, 2012, almost exactly a year after the alleged incident took place.

In the initial complaint and other documents filed through August 2011, Gridley was referred to as "Jane Doe, a self-proclaimed psychic going by the name of 'Angel.'" Her name began appearing in court documents as Presley "Rhonda" Gridley in September.

The suit alleges that Gridley called the Liberty County Sheriff's Office and falsely claimed that 25 to 30 dismembered bodies were buried in a mass grave at the plaintiffs' residence.

The sheriff's office repeated the false statements to various news media organizations and provided the plaintiff's address, the suit states.

"Over the course of the day, media defendants began to exaggerate and eventually make up facts about Plaintiffs, including that a mass grave existed on the property, including the bodies of children," the suit states.

Media reports based upon false claims of found bodies were circulated worldwide, the suit said.

When initially filed, the suit's defendants included Liberty County and six media outlets, which over time were dismissed.

The suit was filed in Dallas County because one of the defendants, Belo Corp., has its principal place of business there, according to the initial complaint.

A few days after the 2011 incident, Gridley told the Houston Chronicle that she has had visions her entire life. After confiding with two friends who were having similar visions about three children who might be in trouble, she told the Chronicle she contacted the Liberty County Sheriff's Office.

Bet she didn't see that coming.

[billhilly]

The sheriff's dept should be on the hook for at least half of that for conducting a raid based on the babbling of a "psychic" and repeating those allegations to the public.

[PopeyesPappy]

The sheriff's dept should be on the hook for at least half of that for conducting a raid based on the babbling of a "psychic" and repeating those allegations to the public.

Half? More like double.

[Colanth]

For not verifying the complaint before talking to the press.  (How many times do we hear that the office concerned "can't comment on an ongoing investigation"?)  And the press should also be on the hook for not verifying the story before printing it.  We have freedom of (responsible) journalism, not journalistic license.