Defendants are appealing a recent $5.3 million verdict in a defamation and civil conspiracy suit filed by a former Clemson University student who was accused of sexual misconduct in 2015.
Following a trial in late March, Andrew Pampu was awarded $5.3 million in damages against former Clemson students Erin Wingo, Colin Gahagan and Erin Wingo's father, David Wingo, according to a press release from Warshaw Burstein LLP, the law firm that handled Pampu's case.
The week-long trial included 10 witnesses disputing Erin Wingo's claim that she was too intoxicated to consent to sex, according to the news release.
Erin Wingo was ordered to pay $700,000 in actual damages and $450,000 in punitive damages, David Wingo ordered to pay $230,000 in actual damages and Gahagan to pay $700,000 in actual damages and $220,000 in punitive damages for defamation. For civil conspiracy, Erin Wingo was ordered to pay $2,000,000, while Gahagan was ordered to pay $1,000,000 in actual damages, according to Pampu's attorney, Kimberly C. Lau.
"The jury sent a message to others that our society does not condone spreading harmful lies about someone else to ruin someone’s reputation and deprive him of future opportunities," Lau said in a press release. "Not only does this kind of behavior cause irreparable damage to the wrongfully accused, it represents a setback for true rape victims to come forward and be believed in the future.”
After the verdict, Erin and David Wingo's attorney appealed the verdict...
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