Cottrell case likely not over

Some say it might be the largest ever awarded to a single individual in the state.

"I've never heard of a verdict against an individual in this amount," said prominent First Amendment attorney Warren Lightfoot of the Birmingham firm of Lightfoot, Franklin and White. "I bet it's a record."

A Tuscaloosa jury found for former Alabama coach Ronnie Cottrell in his defamation suit against former recruiting analyst Tom Culpepper, awarding $6 million on compensatory damages and $24 million in punitive damages.

Mountain asked for $10 million in compensatory damages, and for the jury to multiply that figure by three to five in punitive damages, for a possible total of $60 million.

Either way, attorneys familiar with civil cases such as this one know Cottrell is a long way from cashing a check.

"Most people don't truly understand that you don't get a jury verdict and take it to the Western and buy groceries that night," said Birmingham attorney Archie Lamb.

Lightfoot agreed.

"Don't spend that money yet," Lightfoot said. "What happens next is, the judge will take a look at the verdict in the next several weeks. I'd be very surprised if the judge doesn't reduce this or set it aside completely.

"Judge (Steve) Wilson may decide that he was wrong about (Ronnie) Cottrell's public figure status after all, and that the plaintiffs didn't prove constitutional malice and dismiss the verdict completely.

"Another possibility is he may reduce it. And even if he does reduce it, cuts it to $5 million, it will still be appealed by the defendant. That's when the Alabama Supreme Court will look at it, and traditionally they haven't liked these kinds of verdicts. I doubt (Cottrell) showed $6 million in compensatory damages, and then awarding $24 million in punitive damages -- that's a four to one ratio, which is much too high. We have a very fair Supreme Court, and they'll do the right thing. But they'll take a very hard look at something like this."

As Lamb said, "Getting to that final judgment is no easy task."

The $30 million award will accrue interest at the rate of 12 percent per year until the case is settled, the result of a law passed in the state legislature in the 1980s when interest rates were much higher than they are now.

If the verdict is upheld but reduced, Cottrell would get an additional 12 percent per year on whatever amount the courts eventually settled on.

How would Culpepper come up with $30 million? While plaintiffs attorneys have suggested there is an agreement in place between Culpepper and the NCAA to cover Culpepper's legal fees and any findings against Culpepper, the judge refused to release any such agreement.

"In the state of Alabama, that's not relevant," Lamb said. "Juries are not told who may be ultimately responsible for paying any judgment. The question of Culpepper's culpability and who pays are separate and distinct issues under Alabama law.

"There are a lot of underlying issues no one knows as to who is really financially responsible to pay the judgment. Is there insurance for Culpepper that hasn't been exposed?

"Maybe there is an NCAA insurance policy that is triggered by this. Maybe Culpepper has an agreement with the NCAA to indemnify Culpepper in this case, that a finding against Culpepper triggers that agreement, which triggers an insurance policy the NCAA has for cases like this.

"I don't know. I'm just saying there are several possibilities."