BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WDRB) -- A jury awarded U.S. Sen. Rand Paul more than $582,000 on Wednesday in the lawsuit against his Bowling Green neighbor, Rene Boucher.
Boucher attacked Paul more than a year ago in a rage over yard waste Paul had piled on their property line. Paul suffered six broken ribs and is recovering from hernia surgery. Boucher pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in federal prison, which he already served.
Paul's lawsuit against Boucher asked for up to $1.5 million in damages. The jury came to a verdict after nearly two hours of deliberation:
- Medical Expenses: $7,834.82
- Pain and Suffering: $200,000
- Punitive Damages: $375,000
Paul tweeted a reaction to the verdict shortly after it was announced:
It’s never ok to turn those disagreements into violent, aggressive anger. I hope that’s the message from today.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 30, 2019
"Kelley and I are glad, obviously, to have this behind us," Paul said outside the courtroom. "It’s been a tough year, and we’re kind of glad to get this over."
On Tuesday in court, Paul testified that he feared for his life as he was being attacked.
"I bend over to pick up a stick, and just as I'm straightening up, something hits me so hard," Paul said, adding that he first thought it was a terrorist attack. "I really thought if I got another blow to my back, I wasn't going to survive. And so really I thought I could die at that point."
An apologetic Boucher told a jury Tuesday that he attacked Paul after watching the senator start forming a brush pile near their property line in an upscale Bowling Green subdivision.
"It was an irrational thing I did, and it's two minutes of my life I wish I could take back," Boucher said. "What I did was wrong.
"My left shoulder hit his ribs and broke his ribs, and for that I am very sorry."
Boucher said nothing after the verdict, but his attorney Matt Baker visibly stunned.
Baker had argued that Boucher had been punished enough, spending 30 days in federal prison, paying a $10,000 fine and now living with a ruined reputation.
The jury obviously disagreed.
"I haven’t got my head around it yet," Baker said. "It’s just not what we expected."
Judge Tyler Gill told jurors they did not have to decide Boucher’s guilt, as that has already been established. He said their job was only to determine the damages Paul should be awarded.
Baker said he will appeal the decision.
Related Stories:
- Rand Paul testifies he feared for his life when his neighbor attacked him
- Man who tackled Rand Paul says he wasn't thinking rationally
- Neighbor sentenced to 30 days in federal prison for attacking Sen. Rand Paul
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