MOORPARK : Appeal Court Voids Award in Libel Case
A state appeal court Wednesday overturned a Ventura County judge’s decision and threw out a jury award of $186,000 to a Moorpark College art teacher who said he was libeled after being accused of sexual harassment.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal in Ventura ruled unanimously that the jury in Kirk D. Aiken’s lawsuit against colleague Pamela Zwehl-Burke had been given erroneous instructions on which to base its verdict.
Aiken sued Zwehl-Burke for defamation after she alleged that he pressed his body to hers in an art class in 1989 and whispered: “I’m so horny. I want you so much,” according to court records.
A jury in August, 1992, ordered the woman to pay $1,000 in damages to Aiken and levied damages of $92,500 each against the college district and a district official.
But the appeal court ordered a new trial Thursday, saying former Ventura County Superior Court Judge Edwin M. Osborne erroneously instructed the jury that sexual harassment had to be severe enough to sue in order for it to be a defense against defamation.
The defense only needed to show that sexual harassment occurred, the court ruled.
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