The families suing Alex Jones over his false claims about the Sandy Hook massacre have resolved their dispute over how to divide the bankrupt conspiracy theorist's assets, paving the way for the sale of Jones' Infowars platform. lawyers said at a court hearing Monday.
Joshua Wolfsholl, the attorney for the bankruptcy trustee handling the sale of Mr. Jones' assets, told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston that the agreement “gets the bankruptcy back on track” and prevents Infowars from pursuing a new auction. He said it would help pave the way.
Courts in Connecticut and Texas, where some of the families have filed lawsuits, falsely accused Jones of being part of the 2012 school shooting in Newton, Conn., that killed 20 students and six staff members. The court ruled that he had defamed his family by repeating his claims. A government conspiracy to take guns away from Americans.
But the families are at odds over how to pursue Jones' assets after he declared bankruptcy in 2022, with the Texas-based family hoping to get more cash from Jones. However, the Connecticut-based family's priority was to shut down Jones' company, Infowars.
The disagreement comes after a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, backed by the Connecticut family, decided to sell Infowars to parody news site The Onion for $1.75 million. Helped stop the auction.
Mr. Lopez, who is overseeing the bankruptcy, later blocked the sale, saying the trustees left “money on the table” by quickly accepting Onion's bid without conducting a stronger auction. did.
Under a new agreement between the Sandy Hook couple, the Texas family will receive $4 million, with $1 million to be paid within seven days of court approval, according to court documents. The Texas family would then receive 25% of future payments to the Sandy Hook family, and the Connecticut family would receive 75%.
The Texas family also agreed to limit Mr. Jones' participation in the remaining bankruptcy cases and to assist the Connecticut family as needed.
Abi Moschenberg, the Texas family's attorney, said at a court hearing in Houston, Texas, on Monday that the Texas and Connecticut families are now “100 percent aligned.”
“This settlement with the Texas family is a milestone and puts the family back on the same footing,” said Kyle Kimpler, the family's attorney from Connecticut.
The family's previous split reflected the relative size of the judgments awarded to them, which gave the Connecticut family more influence over Jones' bankruptcy.
A Connecticut court awarded the family $1.3 billion, by far the largest claim in Mr. Jones' bankruptcy. Meanwhile, a Texas court awarded a $50 million judgment to two Texas parents, but several other Texas plaintiffs were still on trial when Jones' bankruptcy halted progress on the case. I was waiting for
Mr. Jones' attorney said he plans to discuss the family agreement with him. Lopez has scheduled a hearing next week to consider contract approval.
After a previous sale to The Onion Co. was blocked in court, a bankruptcy trustee received more than double the company's previous offer from First United American Companies (an affiliate of one of Mr. Jones' supplement sales businesses). A new bid was received for $3.75 million.
The trustees also expect to receive a new bid from the Onion and will evaluate both offers before seeking court approval for a new auction, Wolfscholl said.
