Nearly $2M Award Upheld for Former College Tennis Coach Who Sued Over Rumor of Improper Sexual Relationship with Player
Holzgrafe, a former Quincy University tennis coach, sued former Quincy tennis player Lozier, related to a rumor that Holzgrafe had “a sexual relationship with another tennis player he coached.” A jury awarded Holzgrafe “$2,000,000 in general damages, $40,000 in special damages, and $874,000 in punitive damages.” Friday’s decision by Judge Sue Myerscough in Holzgrafe v. Lozier largely upheld the verdict:
The Court reviews the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party at this stage. The evidence at trial established Defendant was a student at Quincy University in 2017. Prior to being a student at the University, Defendant developed a relationship with the Plaintiff, who was a tennis coach, from their interactions at various tennis camps. Defendant decided to attend Quincy University and play for the Plaintiff who was the head coach of both the men’s and women’s teams in 2017.
By 2017, Plaintiff’s and the Defendant’s relationship had soured. This friction was due in part to Defendant not playing in various tennis matches. In addition, Defendant believed Plaintiff was angry with him about the injury of his girlfriend, Abby Moore, who was also on the women’s tennis team. Ms. Moore broke her ankle while practicing on a basketball court with the Defendant.
In April 2017, various rumors were circulating about the tennis program and especially Plaintiff, who was the head coach. Defendant admittedly spoke to another tennis team member, Danyil Vayser, who Defendant testified told him a rumor about the Plaintiff and another tennis player, specifically that Plaintiff had had sex with a female tennis player (“Jane Doe”) while on spring break.
After this conversation, Defendant repeated this information to two people, his mother, Cindy Lozier, and his girlfriend, Abby Moore. Defendant testified that his mother told him to “keep his mouth shut” and that Abby said she wouldn’t tell anybody else. However, Cindy Lozier called the University and reported the rumor.
This was not the first time Mrs. Lozier had called Quincy University. Rather, she called on at least two occasions previously when there were issues with her son. One occasion involved Defendant having a problem with his roommate. Mrs. Lozier called again when she could not locate the Defendant, her son, for approximately 3 hours and had the director of safety and security locate him. The Director of Safety and Security, Sam Lathrop, did so and told Defendant to call his mother.
Abby Moore was the best friend of Jane Doe, the female tennis player at the center of this rumor. Although Abby told De
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