Vincent "Bo" Jackson, a former professional baseball and football player, was awarded $21 million in his legal action against his niece and nephew for attempting to blackmail him.
The ruling on February 2 contained a permanent protection order that forbade Thomas Lee Anderson and his sister, Erica Anderson Ross, from getting in touch with or harassing Jackson and his close relatives in the future. Along with keeping a minimum distance of 500 yards between them, the Andersons must delete any information about the Jacksons from social media. According to the AP, Jackson's family allegedly attempted to extort $20 million from him via threats and harassment in the April complaint. Jackson's lawyers claimed on Monday, "Unfortunately for those trying to extort $20 million dollars from Jackson and his family, Bo still comes back hard."
According to WSB-TV, Jackson, 61, said the harassment began in 2022 and included defamatory public accusations, threatening social media postings and communications, and the public release of personal information meant to seriously upset him.
According to the lawsuit, he claimed that Thomas Anderson posted on Facebook that he would make Jackson's pictures, texts, and medical information public in order to "prove America" that he was not joking around. According to Jackson, the Andersons sought the money in return for changing their behavior, with assistance from an Atlanta lawyer. According to the complaint, Jackson feared for his family's and his own safety.
The intimidation and harassment persisted even after Jackson's counsel sent a cease-and-desist letter, the court ruled, and there was no justifiable reason for these activities.
Judge Jason D. Marbutt of Cobb County Superior Court said in his ruling that neither the Andersons nor their counsel refuted Jackson's assertions, finding the Andersons to be in default and acknowledging all of Jackson's accusations as factual. Marbutt said that "reasonable individuals would regard [the] defendants' actions harsh and obscene."
The ruling on February 2 contained a permanent protection order that forbade Thomas Lee Anderson and his sister, Erica Anderson Ross, from getting in touch with or harassing Jackson and his close relatives in the future. Along with keeping a minimum distance of 500 yards between them, the Andersons must delete any information about the Jacksons from social media. According to the AP, Jackson's family allegedly attempted to extort $20 million from him via threats and harassment in the April complaint. Jackson's lawyers claimed on Monday, "Unfortunately for those trying to extort $20 million dollars from Jackson and his family, Bo still comes back hard."
According to WSB-TV, Jackson, 61, said the harassment began in 2022 and included defamatory public accusations, threatening social media postings and communications, and the public release of personal information meant to seriously upset him.
According to the lawsuit, he claimed that Thomas Anderson posted on Facebook that he would make Jackson's pictures, texts, and medical information public in order to "prove America" that he was not joking around. According to Jackson, the Andersons sought the money in return for changing their behavior, with assistance from an Atlanta lawyer. According to the complaint, Jackson feared for his family's and his own safety.
The intimidation and harassment persisted even after Jackson's counsel sent a cease-and-desist letter, the court ruled, and there was no justifiable reason for these activities.
Judge Jason D. Marbutt of Cobb County Superior Court said in his ruling that neither the Andersons nor their counsel refuted Jackson's assertions, finding the Andersons to be in default and acknowledging all of Jackson's accusations as factual. Marbutt said that "reasonable individuals would regard [the] defendants' actions harsh and obscene."
