He’s been a Minnesota governor, a professional wrestler and a TV star. Now, Jesse Ventura is determined to hold on to the $1.8m in defamation damages he won from the estate of American Sniper author Chris Kyle.
Lawyers for Mr Kyle’s estate are seeking a repeal of Mr Ventura’s surprise victory this summer. In today’s oral arguments to the judges of the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals the lawyers claimed the jury misunderstood the concept of “malice”, and that they were led to believe that insurance would cover the damages
Ventura is outraged by the appeal, according to the Associated Press. “We’ll see if superman prevails or if truth, justice and the American way stands for something,” he told reporters after the hearings.
In his bestselling book, Chris Kyle claims he beat up an unnamed man called “Scruff Face” at a wake for another Navy Seal. According to the book, Scruff Face said he hated America for killing civilians in Iraq, and suggested service men and women deserved to die. Mr Kyle wrote that he punched Scruff Face to the ground, and ran away.
In interviews to promote the book, Mr Kyle named Ventura as “Scruff Face.” Mr Ventura filed suit against Mr Kyle for defamation and unjust enrichment, claiming the allegation damaged his reputation.
When the sniper was killed by a troubled veteran at a shooting range in February 2013, his estate became liable for the damages. Mr Kyle’s widow and her two young children are the main beneficiaries of the estate. She testified that his story was true, and the jury viewed recorded testimony from Mr Kyle. They awarded the damages July 30.
“I am overjoyed that my reputation was restored which is what this whole lawsuit is all about,” Mr Ventura said at the time.
