PEREZ ORDERED TO PAY $15 MILLION.Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer Former Dodgers pitcher Carlos Perez was found liable in a civil sexual assault trial in Miami and ordered to pay $15 million in damages. Perez was not in court Thursday when a six-member, all female jury ordered him to pay Miami resident Amy McQuillin $9 million in punitive damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. and $6 million in compensatory damages A sum of money awarded in a civil action by a court to indemnify a person for the particular loss, detriment, or injury suffered as a result of the unlawful conduct of another. as a result of an incident that took place in 1999 in Vero Beach Vero Beach (vēr`o), city (1990 pop. 17,350), seat of Indian River co., E Fla., on Indian River (a lagoon and part of the Intracoastal Waterway); founded c.1888, inc. 1919. , Fla. Perez was with the Dodgers during spring training at the time. Perez did not attend the two-day trial, and is believed to be living and pitching in the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic (dəmĭn`ĭkən), republic (2005 est. pop. 8,950,000), 18,700 sq mi (48,442 sq km), West Indies, on the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The capital and largest city is Santo Domingo. . Thursday marked at least the third time Perez had failed to appear for court-ordered proceedings. A default judgment was entered in favor of McQuillin by Circuit Judge Robert Hawley Robert Hawley (1729-1799), Captain, raised provisions for the Continental soldiers during the American Revolutionary War. Biography Captain Robert Hawley was born June 5, 1729, in Stratford, Connecticut, now Trumbull, in New England. when Perez didn't show up to the first day of trial Wednesday, leaving jurors to determine the penalty payment. It took jurors one hour of deliberation to award McQuillin the full amount following the two-day trial. ``It's certainly a clear statement regarding professional athletes and this type of behavior,'' said Steven Savolla, McQuillin's lawyer. ``My client feels a tremendous amount of vindication and relief. This was a long process.'' The trial ended with McQuillin's emotional testimony detailing how Perez forced her to have sex with him in March of 1999 at the apartment he was renting during spring training. Jurors also heard from two other women who claim Perez sexually assaulted them in the past. Perez, whose lawyers withdrew from the case after he stopped communicating with them, now has 30 days to appeal. If he doesn't, McQuillin and her lawyer will then try to collect on the $15 million, although their only recourse is to go after Perez's United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. assets. ``We're in the process of determining exactly what his U.S. assets are,'' Savolla said. Perez was traded to the Dodgers in 1998 after playing three years with the Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (French: Les Expos de Montréal) were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1969 until 2004. After the 2004 season, the franchise relocated to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals. . He was released by the Dodgers in 2001 and has been out of the major leagues since. Vincent Bonsignore, (818) 713-3612 vincent.bonsignore(at)dailynews.com |
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