$29.4 Million Jury Verdict in Minor Sexual Assault Case

When a child is sexually assaulted and raped, it is not the child’s fault.  The effects of child sexual assault are real.  When a company hires a dangerous employee, does no investigation into that employee, and that employee sexually assaults and rapes a child on the employer’s premises while on duty, the employer is liable.  On July 16, 2024, a Henry County jury made that clear by delivering a verdict of $29,400,000 and assigning 100% fault to the defendant employer.

The Defendant’s highest pretrial offer was $2 million.  The jury’s verdict was roughly fifteen times the Defendant’s last pretrial offer.  In addition to the jury’s verdict of $29.4 million, Defendant will owe interest pursuant to the Unliquidated Damages Interest Act and attorneys’ fees under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-68(b).

The Case Against the Employer

In September of 2021, PeachState Hospitality, LLC hired 26-year-old Eareon Williams as a housekeeper at the Residence Inn in McDonough, Georgia.  Before hiring Williams, Defendant did no background check, did not check any references, did not ask him about the multiple year-long gaps in his employment, did not ask if he had a criminal history, did not Google him, and did not check his social media.  

It turns out, this housekeeper had convictions for felony theft, pimping, and battery-family violence.  He also had a prior statutory rape charge where he admitted to having sex with a juvenile.  All of this was discoverable through a background check (which PeachState failed to run).  As part of our case, we hired a private investigator to run a background check and the results showed PeachState never should have hired Williams to work at the Residence Inn. 

 This 26-year-old then found 13-year-old Susy* who was staying at the Residence Inn with her family while their house was undergoing renovations.  Williams gave Susy a master key, which PeachState never noticed was missing.  While on duty, Williams would meet with Susy in hotel rooms that he was cleaning to molest and rape her.  

In January of 2023, Williams pled guilty to two counts of stat rape, three counts of aggravated child molestation, two counts of child molestation, and two counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes.  All of these crimes took place at the hotel, while Williams was on duty.

Damages in a Minor Sexual Assault Case

How do you place a value on child sexual assault? How do you make a child sexual assault victim whole?  It’s no easy feat.  The medical expenses in these cases are not high, but the trauma is permanent.  We hired an expert to explain the effects of child sexual assault and how these assaults affect victims for the rest of their lives. 

Thankfully, the jury agreed child sexual assault is a big deal and the damages are very high.  In phase one of the trial, the jury awarded $21,000,000 to compensate Susy. 

Attorney’s Fees under 13-6-11

We asked the jury to make Defendant pay attorney’s fees because PeachState Hospitality acted in bad faith, was stubbornly litigious, and caused her unnecessary trouble and expense.  These damages are allowed under O.C.G.A. 13-6-11, but the jury must specifically find that the defendant acted in bad faith, was stubbornly litigious, or caused her unnecessary trouble and expense. In phase one of the trial, when the jury deliberated they had to determine if Plaintiff was entitled to her litigation expenses. The verdict form had two questions for the jury to answer:

They jury found Defendant did act in bad faith and that they were stubbornly litigious and caused Susy unnecessary trouble and expense.  That meant there would be a phase two of the trial where the jury would decide how much of her attorney’s fee Susy would recover.  The jury ultimately decided PeachState needed to pay all of Susy’s attorney’s fees, awarding an additional $8,400,000. 

Pre-trial Demands: UDIA and Rule 68

In this case, Defendant had $16,000,000 in insurance.  In September of 2022, Plaintiff demanded that Defendant pay their insurance limits of $16,000,000 through a Rule 68 Offer.  A Rule 68 Offer is one sent pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 9-11-68 and sates that Plaintiff is entitled to recover her attorneys fees if at trial, she is awarded 125% of the offer.  Since we obtained a verdict of $29,400,000, or 183% higher than the $16,000,000 demand, Plaintiff is entitled to additional attorneys’ fees.  This amount will be added by the judge at a later date. 

Plaintiff again demanded the $16,000,000 in insurance in July of 2023, but this time under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-14, also known as the Unliquidated Damages Interest Act (“UDIA”).  This type of demand allows a plaintiff to recover pre-judgment interest if the jury awards even $0.01 more than the demand.  In this case, we demanded $16,000,000 and the jury awarded $29,400,000, so PeachState will have to pay approximately $1,800,000 in prejudgment interest.

When a Defendant Undervalues the Case

For whatever reason, Defendant never took this case seriously.  It blamed Susy and took no responsibility for what happened to her.  The highest pre-trial offer ever made by Defendant was $2,000,000.  

During the trial, Defendant offered $5,000,000, and at the last minute attempted to enter into a high/low agreement of $1,500,000/$9,000,000.  (A high/low agreement means that if the jury awards anything below the low number, Defendant will pay the low number, and if the jury awards anything above than the high number, then the Defendant will pay the high number.)

Thankfully, we believed in the case and chose to trust the jury’s verdict. The jury believed in the case too, awarding a total of $29,400,000.   

Susy’s case was handled principally by Jeb Butler, Brittany Partridge, and Melody Walker of the Butler Kahn firm.  Before and during the trial, Naveen Ramachandrappa of Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore joined our team.  Susy’s interests were protected by conservator Hillary Cranford.

Law.com – Jury Awards $29.4M, Not Rejected $16M, for Minor’s Repeated Sexual Assault at Hotel

*Name changed for privacy reasons.