The KRBZ 96.5 FM The Buzz morning show “Afentra’s Big Fat Morning Buzz” took a big hit from a federal court jury Friday.
A woman falsely identified as a porn star during a 2012 broadcast on 96.5 The Buzz was awarded $1 million after a weeklong trial in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan.
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| Ashley Patton |
The jury awarded Patton $250,000 in actual damages and $750,000 in punitive damages.
As part of an agreement negotiated while jurors were deliberating the amount of punitive damages, the company will not appeal the verdict, said Patton’s lawyer, Arthur Benson.
Both sides agreed that Patton was not and never had been involved in the pornography industry.
Benson told jurors in closing arguments Friday that the company needed to be held accountable for the conduct of employees who acted with reckless disregard of the truth.
The incident that led to the suit occurred during the April 20, 2012, morning show hosted by Afentra Bandokoudis, known as “Afentra,” and Daniel Terreros, known as “Danny Boi.”
During the broadcast, the hosts asked listeners whether they knew of any local porn stars. A short time later, they received a text message that read “Ashley Patton Olathe South. 2007.” After a second text also mentioned Patton, Danny Boi said, “Oh, this girl is going to be good, hold on, guys.”
He then said, “Ashley Patton, Olathe South. Let’s Google this chick. This is what I have been waiting for.”
But the Google search actually turned up pornographic images of a different woman named Ashley Payton. The radio show hosts didn’t realize the mistake.
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