McWhorter v. Barre

OPINION

in which HOUSTON M. GODDARD, P.J., and HERSCHEL P. FRANKS, J., joined.

Professional pilot Shawn E. McWhorter (“Plaintiff’) sued Randall Barre (“Defendant”) for defamation based upon a letter Defendant wrote to the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) containing allegations that Plaintiff was medically unfit to be a pilot. The jury returned a verdict for Plaintiff and awarded $25,000 in compensatory damages and $42,500 in punitive damages. The Trial Court entered its judgment, as later amended, in favor of Plaintiff against Defendant for $105,820.01, consisting of compensatory damages…