'Shocking and excessive' – Lawyer challenges $18m verdict in Anas-Kennedy Agyapong case

A lawyer for Kennedy Agyapong has filed a motion to reduce the $18 million verdict. He calls the amount “clearly excessive” and “shocking to the judicial conscience.”

In a letter to Judge Jeffrey B. Beacham, attorney E. Carter Corriston, Jr. argued that the damages were not based on actual losses. He claimed they relied on emotional arguments from Anas’ lawyer.

Corriston stated, “The award of compensatory damages of $18 million returned in 30 minutes clearly breaches the threshold of ‘shocking the conscience.’” He emphasized that Anas did not prove any real financial or emotional harm caused by Agyapong’s statements.

“The plaintiff presented no experts, witnesses, or testimony about emotional damage,” he wrote.

Corriston accused Anas’ counsel of introducing irrelevant evidence to influence the jury. This included references to journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale's murder and alleged judicial corruption in Ghana.

“These were severely prejudicial and not relevant to defamation claims in West Orange,” he noted. He added there was no evidence of actual losses suffered by Anas due to Agyapong’s statements.

Corriston argued that the jury’s decision was an emotional response aimed at punishing Agyapong, rather than a fair compensatory award.

He said, “The entire tenor of the testimony and closing arguments was not about compensatory damages but rather to ‘stop the defendant.’” This rhetoric tainted the jury’s decision-making process.

He also criticized how quickly the jury reached its verdict in just 30 minutes. He suggested this showed that “emotion, not evidence, drove the shocking verdict.”

While Corriston did not seek to overturn liability findings, he insisted that the court must correct this unjust verdict. He stated it had “no rational relationship to competent and relevant evidence.”

“The proper remedy is granting remittitur to an amount fairly calculated for proven harm,” he concluded.

If granted, this motion could significantly reduce Anas' $18 million award in this high-profile defamation case.