Real-Estate Agent Wins Defamation Suit
OREGON CITY, Ore.
A jury has awarded more than $400,000 to a real-estate agent who sued a Lake Oswego business for defamation.
Mary Jo Avery, 38, was awarded $400,000 in non-economic damages and $19,305 in lost commission income from Handel, Hasson and Jones Inc. She had worked for the firm for five years until December 1988.
Avery's attorney, Mark H. Wagner, said the lawsuit was filed as a result of defamation occurring after she left the firm.
The Circuit Court complaint accused the firm and four people associated with it of spreading lies that Avery was successful professionally because she engaged in promiscuous sexual conduct with her clients.