To make is short and sweet… SHE LOST! A Texas mother and her attorney, who previously accused a group of pre-teens of racially motivated bullying, have been ordered to pay $3.2 million to one of the accused.
Summer Smith and attorney Kim Cole were found liable by a jury for inflicting emotional distress and publicizing information about Asher Vann, now 19. Vann had been accused of forcing Smith’s son to drink a cup of urine during a sleepover at a Plano home in February 2021.
According to WFAA, the incident was recorded and uploaded to Snapchat, drawing widespread attention to the case. The controversy also led to more than $100,000 being donated to a GoFundMe page that Cole created for herself and her son. The jury ultimately ruled in favor of Vann, awarding him $3.2 million in damages.
Smith and Cole Plan to Appeal the Verdict
Smith and Cole have stated they plan to appeal the decision. Smith maintains that no evidence was presented proving she leaked Vann’s personal information and said she never mentioned his name publicly.
“I never wanted anyone to threaten anyone at the school or anything. I simply wanted them to be held accountable in the proper way,” she explained.
Vann told the outlet on Thursday that he hopes the public will see him differently now rather than focus on what happened in 2021.
“This wasn’t me doing a racist act. This isn’t me hating someone because of their skin color. This was me at an immature stage of my life at a sleepover for my birthday, doing immature, dumb things,” he said.
His attorney, Justine Nichols, suggested that the jury’s decision may have been influenced by how Smith reportedly used the $120,000 raised through GoFundMe. Smith has said she used the funds to provide counseling for her son and to help transfer him to a private school.
Vann also stated that he does not expect to actually receive the money from the judgment.
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