$35M default judgment issued in rape case

A woman who was raped while she was sleeping in her bed near a North Carolina college campus has been awarded a default judgment of $35 million in damages, her attorneys report. The order is largely symbolic as the defendant is judgment-proof.

David Kirby and Bill Bystrynski of Edwards Kirby in Raleigh and David Sherlin of Holt Sherlin in Raleigh report that their client, whose name was withheld, was sleeping when a man entered her home and assaulted her. The man was charged with rape, but was convicted of breaking and entering. He claimed that he was so drunk that he blacked out and didn’t know what happened.

“First she was attacked while sleeping in her own bed and sexually assaulted, then she failed to get justice at the criminal trial,” Sherlin said.

The client sued her assailant, alleging battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The assailant didn’t respond to the suit or appear for the entry of judgment. Sherlin said that witnesses during the hour-long hearing included Ann Burgess, the Boston College professor and expert in violence and rape trauma upon whom one of the main characters in the Netflix crime series “Mindhunter” was based. Burgess said that the client suffers from permanent PTSD and Rape Trauma Syndrome.

Following the hearing, Superior Court Judge Thomas Lock awarded the client $10 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages. It’s unlikely that the client will recover any money, but the attorneys said that while the judgment is symbolic, it is helping her forward.

“Our client was severely traumatized, and will live with what happened to her for the rest of her life,” Bystrynski said. “While this incident is a horrific chapter in her life, she will not let it define her, and she has made incredible strides both personally and professionally in the past year.”

Follow Bill Cresenzo on Twitter @bcresenzonclw

JUDGMENT REPORT – BATTERY

Amount: $35 million (default judgment)

Injuries alleged: Rape and emotional distress

Case name: Withheld

Court: Withheld

Judge: Thomas Lock

Date of order: Nov. 30, 2020

Most helpful experts: Ann Burgess of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (violence and rape trauma)

Attorneys for plaintiff: David Kirby and Bill Bystrynski of Edwards Kirby in Raleigh and David Sherlin of Holt Sherlin in Raleigh

Attorneys for defendant: None

Has the plaintiff successfully collected the judgment?: No