A Bexar County jury has awarded $8.45 million to a woman who claimed she was defamed by statements made in an episode of the Netflix documentary series Dirty Money.
Following a two-week trial before Bexar County District Judge Nadine Nieto, the jurors issued a verdict in favor of Tonya Barina, who filed suit in 2021 against Netflix, its producers, former San Antonio attorney Phil Ross and his former associate Jo Ann Rivera, among others.
Barina’s lawsuit claimed that an episode titled “Guardians Inc.” made false representations that she took financial advantage of her role as guardian to her great-uncle, Charles Thrash, an elderly San Antonio businessman.
Laura Martinez, whose marriage to Thrash was annulled, and her children Brittany, Michelle and Jose Martinez, were also named defendants and part of the prior guardianship litigation.
Netflix and the documentary’s producers settled with Barina before the trial that began on July 20.
Before the case went to the jury, Judge Nieto granted a directed verdict against the Martinez family after they failed to present a case to the jury.
The jury found the seven defendants responsible for causing harm to Barina. It found Ross 30 percent, Netflix 27 percent (settled pretrial), Laura Martinez 20 percent, Jo Ann Rivera 10 percent, Brittany Martinez eight percent, Michelle Martinez four percent and Jose Martinez one percent responsible.
The jury further found Netflix was not part of the conspiracy to damage Barina.
The jury awarded Barina a total of $6 million in damages and a total of $2.45 million in exemplary damages.
Carl Kolb represented Barina. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ross and Rivera represented themselves as pro se litigants. As of 2023, Ross is no longer licensed to practice law as a result of disciplinary action for his role in the Thrash guardianship. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Catherine Robb, Laura Prather and William Nash of Haynes Boone and Katherine Bolger of Davis Wright Tremaine represented Netflix. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The case number is 2021CI04501.