{"id":13403,"date":"2013-04-13T18:52:01","date_gmt":"2013-04-13T22:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=13403"},"modified":"2014-04-02T13:23:01","modified_gmt":"2014-04-02T17:23:01","slug":"drunk-justice-william-koch-wins-his-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=13403","title":{"rendered":"“Drunk Justice:” William Koch wins his lawsuit…but not all that money"},"content":{"rendered":"

I suppose I should develop a fairness doctrine for Sidebar<\/strong>. That is, if I’m going to sneer at lawsuit tales that the Daily News today called, “This is a story from The People With Too Much Money file,” I should report when the people I sneer at, gulp, win their morally repulsive lawsuits.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, I don’t want to comment. Here’s the link: Billionaire William Koch awarded $12M for phony wine case\u00a0 – NY Daily News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Oh, well, maybe I’ll just give you this, which came at the end of the piece.<\/p>\n

On Thursday night, Koch said he celebrated the first of his victories at the four-star restaurant Daniel with a 2005 Montrachet burgundy that ranges from $300 to $1,600, a 1975 d’Yquem (a sweet white wine from Bordeaux) — and a 1970 P\u00e9trus that sells for $6,000.<\/em><\/p>\n

“I told them, ‘If it’s not real, I’m going to sue,'” Koch joked. “They said, ‘Oh, no, it’s real.'”<\/em><\/p>\n

Isn’t he a jolly winner, that good ole Koch Bro?<\/p>\n

CHEERFUL UPDATE 4\/2\/14.<\/strong> Well yeah but… I’ve pointed out previously that huge jury awards are not necessarily the end of a case, and that a huge jury award will often be challenged by the defendants. And substantially reduced by a judge.<\/p>\n

That’s what just happened to William Koch. As the Daily News wrote in “Corked! $12M wine penalty cut by $11.3M [yes, you read those numbers correctly because I typed them correctly]”<\/a><\/p>\n

Billionaire William Koch…saw $12 million in punitive damages – awarded to him in a New York counterfeit wine trial – reduced by a judge Monday to just $711,622.<\/em><\/p>\n

Manhattan Federal Judge Paul Oetken called the payout awarded by a jury last year “exorbitant.” Jurors gave Koch [New York jurors?! Giving a Koch anything?? Really, you must all spend some time in deep contemplation] the staggering sum after he sued over 24 bottles of bogus Bordeaux he bought from wine collector Eric Greenberg.<\/em><\/p>\n

“This harm was economic in nature and none of its targets – neither Koch not other potential buyers at auction – were financially vulnerable,” Oetken said.<\/em><\/p>\n

“We never went into this thinking it was a money-maker,” Koch spokesman Brad Goldstein said.<\/em><\/p>\n

Well, that’s a relief!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I suppose I should develop a fairness doctrine for Sidebar. That is, if I’m going to sneer at lawsuit tales that the Daily News today called, “This is a story from The People With Too Much Money file,” I should … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[636,337],"tags":[258,383,646,310],"class_list":["post-13403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-koch-bros-final-solution-to-democracy","category-legal-news","tag-fraud","tag-jury-awards","tag-legal-damages","tag-role-of-judges"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t