Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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The Associated Press - Friday, February 17, 1989
"If you bring in a verdict like the one you brought in yesterday, you know the world is going to know about it," said attorney Harold Rhoden, arguing in the second phase of the precedent-setting trial.
Rhoden called the jury's decision on Wednesday to award $14.5 million in actual damages to Marc Christian "magnificent." He urged the seven women and five men to assess another $14.5 million in exemplary and punitive damages against Hudson's secretary and confidant, Mark Miller, who he contends helped hide Hudson's illness.
"There are countless millions of people involved, people who may benefit by your verdict if it makes an example of Mark Miller," Rhoden said.
He said that those with AIDS no longer would keep it secret from their sex partners if they knew it could result in a huge award.
Miller's lawyer, Andrew Banks, said no further damages were necessary. "The message has been sent," he said.
He asked the jury not to vent its anger against Hudson on Miller. "He's not the person who had sex with Marc Christian," Banks said.
Christian sued on grounds that he suffered emotional distress and "enhanced fear" that he might contract AIDS. He has consistently tested negative for the AIDS virus, but his lawyer says that is no guarantee that he will not develop AIDS.
However, in the vast majority of situations, individuals who become infected with HIV will test positive within several months of being exposed to it.
On Wednesday, jurors found that Hudson and Miller were guilty of "outrageous conduct" for withholding the movie star's AIDS diagnosis from the young man who was Hudson's lover for two years.
Miller along with the Hudson estate were held liable for the $14.5 million judgment. The arguments for additional damages focused only on Miller because the law prohibits punitive or exemplary damages to be collected from the estate of a dead person.
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