Bankruptcy judge returns Sandy Hook-Alex Jones cases to Austin court

A federal chapter choose on Friday returned the Sandy Hook defamation circumstances to a state court docket in Austin, setting the stage for trials to find out how a lot cash Austin-based conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay for labeling the 2012 college taking pictures a hoax.

Jones has been discovered liable for defamation and inflicting emotional misery to folks of a number of Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty taking pictures victims when he and others in his InfoWars media system referred to as the mass taking pictures a hoax meant to justify a authorities marketing campaign to limit gun rights.

The primary of two Texas trials to find out how a lot cash Jones owes to the dad and mom was to start final month in Austin.

Nonetheless, shortly earlier than jury choice was to start, Jones sought chapter safety for InfoWars, now referred to as InfoW LLC, and two associated firms. That Chapter 11 petition was filed in Victoria and assigned to a choose in Houston.

Jones additionally eliminated the Sandy Hook circumstances to federal chapter court docket in Austin, forcing the postponement of a two-week trial that was to start April 25 earlier than state District Decide Maya Guerra Gamble.

On Friday, U.S. Chapter Decide Christopher Mott returned to the circumstances to Guerra Gamble, noting that the Sandy Hook households had dropped all claims in opposition to InfoW LLC and the 2 different Jones firms in chapter, Jail Planet TV and IWHealth.

“The Sandy Hook households look ahead to being again in state court docket and bringing Alex Jones to justice,” lawyer Avi Moshenberg stated.

The households had opposed the chapter transfer, calling it an improper try to restrict Jones’ monetary publicity to court-imposed injury awards.

Throughout a pretrial listening to final month, legal professionals for Jones argued that Guerra Gamble may take no motion on the Sandy Hook circumstances till a chapter choose dominated on their movement to take away the circumstances to federal court docket.

Guerra Gamble reluctantly canceled the trial, saying that whereas she believed Jones’ legal professionals had “improperly filed” the chapter motion, federal court docket guidelines left her no alternative.

However the choose additionally predicted that the matter can be returned to her court docket, and he or she promised quick motion as soon as that occurred.

“As quickly as I do get a remand, I will likely be resetting this case on the earliest date I can get 100 jurors seated once more. We’re going to go to trial as quickly as I can probably try this,” Guerra Gamble stated on the pretrial listening to.

The delayed trial concerned Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, dad and mom of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis. They sued after Jones alleged that the varsity taking pictures was “an enormous hoax” and disputed Heslin’s declare that he had held his lifeless son in his arms afterward.

A second Austin trial, set for June, entails Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, dad and mom of 6-year-old Noah Pozner. They sued after Jones described the varsity taking pictures as a “false flag” deception meant to create a pretext to crack down on gun rights.

The 2 youngsters had been amongst 20 college students and 6 adults who had been killed within the assault on the Newtown, Conn., college.

Mott additionally returned a associated case to the Austin court docket — a lawsuit by Marcel Fontaine, who was mistakenly recognized by InfoWars as a suspect within the 2018 taking pictures at a highschool in Parkland, Fla. A trial within the Fontaine matter was set for September.

Jones additionally faces a trial in Connecticut to find out how a lot cash he should pay different Sandy Hook households for defamation.

Meantime, the chapter proceedings for InfoW, Jail Planet and IWHealth will proceed in Houston. A U.S. trustee for the Division of Justice opposes the chapter, and a listening to set for subsequent week has been rescheduled for June 10.