A Los Angeles jury on Monday awarded a woman $900 million in damages in her sexual assault case against the heir to a Coca-Cola bottling fortune, her attorney announced.
The woman, who was identified as Jane Doe in her lawsuit against Alkiviades “Alki” David, alleged that she was harassed and raped over a three-year period from 2016 to 2019, according to her attorney.
“The facts of this case are so despicable. “He raped my client while he was on trial in another case,” said his attorney, Gary Dordick.
An attorney for David could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
The jury's ruling, which according to Dordick's signature is believed to be “one of the largest sexual assault verdicts in history,” is just the latest against David. He has lost numerous other sexual misconduct cases filed against him, and he and his companies have been ordered to pay about $70 million in combined damages.
David is known for his company Hologram USA, which creates holograms of dead celebrities. His business portfolio also includes numerous Internet streaming services.
The woman who sued David is a model in her 30s who met him as a “media mogul and billionaire” when she started working for him at Hologram USA.
From the beginning of his employment, David's behavior in the office was concerning, the woman said. A colleague told the woman that David had forcibly kissed her, according to her lawsuit. And in 2016, the plaintiff alleged that David tried to kiss her during a work trip to her private island in Greece, but she turned away and he apologized.
She was fired that same year and did not speak to David again until 2018, according to the complaint. David then offered her a job as a brand ambassador for his cannabis manufacturing company, Swiss-X.
After accepting the job, David invited the woman back to his hotel room, where he asked her to try what he claimed was a CBD product, according to the lawsuit. The woman began to feel drunk and disoriented and then David masturbated and forced her to touch his penis, according to the lawsuit.
In April 2019, the woman said David raped her in a small room during a business meeting with her Doberman pinscher present, according to the lawsuit.
