Rock’s Lover Gets $7 Million More : Punitive Damages Bring Total Award to $21.75 Million

A jury today awarded $7.25 million in additional damages to Rock Hudson’s lover, who had already received an award of $14.5 million because the late movie star failed to reveal he had AIDS.

The jury’s decision on punitive and exemplary damages found that Hudson’s secretary and confidant, Mark Miller, acted “with malice” and intended to cause injury to Marc Christian when he failed to tell Christian that Hudson had the deadly disease.

“If Rock Hudson had told me he had AIDS, none of us would be here today,” Christian said as he left the courtroom.

He said, however, he believes that times have changed and gay men do not now keep the kind of secrets that Hudson kept from him. “This is 1989 and everybody has to take precautions for themselves,” he said. “I hope that no one will be as naive as I was in 1983.”

Award Called ‘Outrageous’

Miller’s attorney, Andrew Banks, said he considered the size of the award “outrageous” and said he would file a motion to have it thrown out or reduced. He said it was “a good bet” he would appeal.

Some members of the legal community denounced the $14.5-million award for compensatory damage as excessive. But a lawyer for Christian urged jurors Thursday to add another $14.5 million to the judgment in punitive and exemplary damages. The jury awarded $21.75 million in all.

The $14.5-million verdict was against Hudson’s estate. The $7.25-million judgment was against Miller, who was not in court today. Christian claimed that Miller helped Hudson conceal the disease so Hudson could continue to have sex.

The jury was required to answer three questions in its verdict--all of which they answered “yes.” The questions asked whether they found that Miller intended to injure Christian, that he acted with a “willful and conscious” disregard for Christian’s safety and whether Miller’s fraudulent conduct deprived Christian of a legal right or any other injury.

Half of General Damages

The figure the jury chose was exactly half of the award it decided upon for general damages against Miller and the Hudson estate.

On Wednesday, the jury decided that Hudson and Miller were guilty of “outrageous conduct” by deliberately hiding Hudson’s AIDS diagnosis from Christian while the lovers continued to have high-risk sex.

Christian, now 35, says he did not find out about Hudson’s disease until it was announced to the world in July, 1985. Hudson died three months later at the age of 58.

Christian sued the Hudson estate and Miller for $11 million, claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress and an “enhanced fear” that he too will die of AIDS.

Christian’s lawyer, Harold Rhoden, told the jury: “You have the opportunity to save the lives of untold millions, you must surely be blessed.”

Jurors Cautioned

But Banks, Miller’s attorney, told jurors to be cautious and “go slowly” in deciding the second phase of the case.

Compensatory damages are intended to compensate a wronged victim for loss of income, pain and suffering and other actual damages.