Federal Judge Alters Payout In Kai Spears-New York Times Case

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A federal judge has entered final judgment in favor of former Alabama basketball player Kai Spears in his defamation lawsuit against the New York Times Co., but reduced the $9.25 million awarded by a Tuscaloosa jury to $4.75 million because of Alabama's statutory cap on punitive damages.

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U.S. District Judge Annemarie Carney Axon entered the final judgment Monday, Aug. 31, following the jury's Aug. 20 verdict finding the New York Times liable on Spears' claims of defamation and false light invasion of privacy.

The final judgment awards Spears $4.75 million, including $250,000 in compensatory damages for defamation, $500,000 in presumed damages for defamation, $1 million in compensatory damages for false light invasion of privacy and $3 million in punitive damages for the false light claim.

Spears was represented by Tuscaloosa attorneys Matt Glover and Ginger Buck, along with West Virginia attorney Stephen P. New.

"We remain extremely pleased with the outcome of the trial and the current position of the case," Glover told Patch. "We understood the state law on punitive damages would apply."

The reduction comes after the eight-person federal jury initially awarded Spears $9.25 million following nearly two weeks of trial at the federal courthouse in Tuscaloosa.

The jury deliberated for a little more than five hours before finding in Spears' favor on both claims.

As Patch previously reported, jurors awarded Spears $7.25 million in punitive damages, but Judge Axon explained in the final judgment that Alabama law prohibits punitive damages exceeding three times the compensatory damages awarded to the party on the claim for which punitive damages are sought.

As a result, Axon reduced the punitive damages on Spears' false light claim from $7.25 million to $3 million — three times the $1 million in compensatory damages awarded on that claim.

The reduction does not alter the jury's ruling against the New York Times.

The initial lawsuit taken up at trial in August stemmed from a March 15, 2023, New York Times article that incorrectly reported Spears was in the passenger seat of then-Alabama basketball star Brandon Miller's Dodge Charger during the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Jamea Harris near the Tuscaloosa Strip.

It was later established that Crimson Tide basketball manager Cooper Lee, not Spears, was in Miller's vehicle.

Spears, who was a freshman walk-on at Alabama at the time, was several blocks away in another vehicle when the shooting occurred.

The trial centered heavily on the reporting process used by New York Times sportswriter Billy Witz, including his reliance on an anonymous source and the newspaper's efforts to verify the information before publication.

Witz apologized to Spears from the witness stand for incorrectly identifying him but testified that he followed the newspaper's standards and policies governing anonymous sources.

Attorneys for the Times argued during closing arguments that the incorrect report was an "honest mistake" rather than actionable wrongdoing.

Spears' attorneys, meanwhile, argued the newspaper failed to adequately verify the information and harmed Spears by falsely connecting him to the scene of the fatal shooting.

Following the jury's verdict, the New York Times said it was reviewing its legal options and maintained that the verdict and damages award were contrary to law and unsupported by the evidence.

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