‘Sniper’ author’s widow seeks Ventura retrial
Published 9:22 am Friday, September 5, 2014
ST. PAUL — The widow of “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle has asked a judge to set aside a jury’s verdict in favor of former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura or to order a new trial.
In filings Thursday, Taya Kyle’s attorneys said the applicable laws and the trial evidence don’t support the jury’s award of $1.8 million for defamation and unjust enrichment.
Former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle wrote that he decked Ventura at a bar in 2006 after Ventura made offensive comments about SEALs. Ventura said the confrontation never happened.
Kyle’s considered the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history. He was killed in Texas last year.
Taya Kyle’s attorneys said Ventura didn’t meet his burden of proving the story was false, and that Kyle knew it was false or probably false.