Jury gives sweeping win to Kardashians in Blac Chyna lawsuit

May 2, 2022, 4:04 PM | Updated: May 3, 2022, 11:49 am
In this courtroom artist sketch, Khloe Kardashian, from left, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kris...

In this courtroom artist sketch, Khloe Kardashian, from left, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kris Jenner sit in court in Los Angeles, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. A jury has been seated in a trial that pits model and former reality television star Blac Chyna against the Kardashian family, who she alleges destroyed her TV career. (Bill Robles via AP)

(Bill Robles via AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury on Monday gave a sweeping win to the Kardashian family in former reality TV star Blac Chyna’s lawsuit against them.

The Los Angeles jury found that none of the members defamed Chyna, nor did any interfere with her contract by convincing the E! network to cancel her reality show “Rob & Chyna.”

The four Kardashian defendants — Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Khloé Kardashian and Kylie Jenner — attended nearly the entire trial, but when the verdict was read all were in New York at the Met Gala, where this year’s theme was “Gilded Glamour.”

Chyna was in court for the verdict. She had no visible reaction.

After about 10 hours of deliberations, the jurors decided on the long jury form that the Kardashians often acted in bad faith, finding that they were not justified in telling the executives and producers of “Rob & Chyna” that Chyna abused their son and brother Rob Kardashian. But they found that it had no substantial effect on Chyna’s contract or the fate of the show, and she was awarded no damages.

Executives from the E! network, which aired the show, testified that “Rob & Chyna” ended because the relationship ended, not because of the defendants’ actions.

Kardashian attorney Michael G. Rhodes said the family was “exuberant” when he called them with the news.

“They’re very pleased,” Rhodes said. “I hope they enjoy their gala in New York.”

Chyna’s attorney Lynne Ciani said that based on her reading of the verdict, “the jury found that Chyna had not physically abused Rob Kardashian,” and “the jury found that all four defendants had intentionally interfered with her contract with the E! Network.”

“We will appeal on the remaining questions,” she added.

The jury was twice sent back to deliberate further when it was found that on some questions in the case against Kylie Jenner the vote had been 8-4 when at least 9-3 was required in the civil case, but they quickly returned with 9-3 votes and the result remained unchanged.

Jurors were considering the defamation case against Kris Jenner, Khloé Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, after a judge threw out the part of the lawsuit against Kim Kardashian in the middle of deliberations.

All four of the women testified during the nine-day trial.

The trial focused largely on allegations that Chyna violently attacked her then-fiancé and reality TV co-star Rob Kardashian on a night and morning in December 2016. He testified that she twice held a gun to his head, wrapped a phone-charging cord around his neck and beat him with a metal rod. She testified that she had put the cord around his neck and held the gun playfully as the two celebrated the renewal of their reality show, and when the celebration turned into a dispute, she was never violent against him.

But the legal questions the jury considered were all about the aftermath of that fight. Jurors had to decide whether each of the defendants knowingly lied about the abuse when they talked about it with the producers and executives overseeing “Rob & Chyna,” or spread word about it with reckless disregard for the truth. And they had to decide for each defendant whether those communications were an illegal interference with Chyna’s contract to appear on the show.

In her closing argument, Ciani argued that it was unreasonable for the four women to have believed that her client violently attacked her former fiancé Rob Kardashian.

“He didn’t have a mark on him,” Ciani told jurors. “There was no call to the police, no trip to the hospital, not even a Band-Aid.”

Rhodes argued during his closing that the women had every reason to believe the accounts of the attack from Rob Kardashian and from Kris Jenner’s longtime boyfriend Corey Gamble, who arrived at the scene and broke up the dispute.

“Do you remember how Rob looked on the stand? His pain was real,” Rhodes said. “This is a real family. Yeah, they’re famous, but they’re real people. He got really badly hurt here.”

It appeared during the trial that Gamble would prove to be the key witness for the defense. But the television executives and producers whose testimony was often technical, and utterly without drama, would prove more important in the jury’s findings, which rendered the women’s stories of abuse largely irrelevant.

Jurors were free to make it a split decision — finding against some of the Kardashians but not others.

They gave the family a clean sweep instead, and gave Chyna nothing.

She had sought as much as $108 million in the lawsuit. A punitive damages phase that would have been triggered by a plaintiff victory will not happen now.

The 5-year-old lawsuit overcame many obstacles — including motions to dismiss and settlement talks between the two sides — and was a longshot to even get to trial.

But the final obstacle, convincing a jury, proved too much to overcome.

The case isn’t entirely over for Chyna, though. Separate allegations in the lawsuit against Rob Kardashian, with him as the lone defendant, were split into a separate trial that will likely begin in about a week.

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

FILE - Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer speaks inside the Recorders Office, Nov. 9, 2022, in...
Associated Press

Dominion conspiracies highlighted by Fox lawsuit have election officials concerned for safety

Maricopa County officials are bracing for what could happen when it comes time to replace its contract for voting equipment.
1 day ago
A building is damaged and trees are down after severe storm swept through Little Rock, Ark., Friday...
Associated Press

Tornado causes widespread damage to buildings, vehicles in Little Rock

A tornado raced through Little Rock and surrounding areas Friday, splintering homes, overturning vehicles and tossing trees.
1 day ago
FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on his plane after a cam...
Associated Press

Worries grow that Trump indictment could undermine public confidence in other investigations

Trump’s attempts to overturn those results amid false claims of widespread fraud are at the heart of two other ongoing investigations.
1 day ago
(Facebook Photo/Superior Court of Arizona in Yavapai County)...
Associated Press

Arizona judge has cases reassigned following DUI arrest

The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that all cases currently assigned to a Yavapai County Superior Court judge recently arrested on suspicion of extreme DUI will be reassigned to other judges.
5 days ago
Haitian migrant Gerson Solay, 28, carries his daughter, Bianca, as he and his family cross into Can...
Associated Press

US, Canada to end loophole that allows asylum-seekers to move between countries

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a plan to close a loophole to an immigration agreement.
8 days ago
Expert skateboarder Di'Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and...
Associated Press

Indigenous skateboard art featured on new stamps unveiled at Phoenix skate park

The Postal Service unveiled the “Art of the Skateboard" stamps at a Phoenix skate park, featuring designs from Indigenous artists.
8 days ago

Sponsored Articles

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...
Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.
...
Quantum Fiber

How high-speed fiber internet edges out cable for everyday use

In a world where technology drives so much of our daily lives, a lack of high-speed internet can be a major issue.
(Photo via MLB's Arizona Fall League / Twitter)...
Arizona Fall League

Top prospects to watch at this year’s Arizona Fall League

One of the most exciting elements of the MLB offseason is the Arizona Fall League, which began its 30th season Monday.
Jury gives sweeping win to Kardashians in Blac Chyna lawsuit