Associated Press
Ex- McLennan DA wins libel suit against WFAA
Station to challenge $58 million judgment
Associated Press
WACO – In the largest libel judgment in U.S. history, a jury Friday awarded $58 million to former McLennan County District Attorney Vic Feazell.
The jury said WFAA-TV (Channel 8) in Dallas defamed him in a 1985 series that accused him of taking payoffs in exchange for the dismissal of drunken-driving cases.
“I want to thank God. God led us, God preserved us, God gave us the victory,” Mr. Feazell, 39, said at a party shortly after the verdict.
Mr. Feazell said the 11-part series in 1985 by the station and reporter Charles Duncan ruined his reputation and led to an FBI investigation.
He was indicted in 1986 on federal racketeering charges but was acquitted in June 1987. He resigned in September 1988 to go into private law practice in Waco.
Michael J. McCarthy, senior vice president and general counsel of A. H. Belo Corp., which owns WFAA, said the verdict will be challenged.
Back
