Jury awards Portland woman $900K in herpes lawsuit

PORTLAND, Ore. – A jury has awarded an Oregon woman $900,000 in damages after a man apparently gave her herpes, The Oregonian reported Tuesday.

The jury handed out the massive judgment following two-hours of deliberations after a four-day trial.

The plaintiff, a 49-year-old divorcee, was in search of a husband when she met a 69-year-old retired dentist from Portland on an internet dating website in 2010.

On their fourth date, and after some glasses of wine and puffs of marijuana, the two had sex.

The woman, who sued under a pseudonym, claimed her date agreed to wear a condom upon her request, but later removed it.

While they were lying in bed after the love making, he revealed he had herpes. She summarily kicked him out of her house.

Within 11 days, she had a painful outbreak, which she continues to have periodically. She took anti-viral medication, but it caused her to lose massive amounts of hair.

She has also since gained 30 pounds from the drugs she has taken for anxiety and depression brought on by the herpes.

Defense attorney Shawn Lillegren argued that the woman was money-hungry and knew the risks of sex, The Oregonian reported.

"Grow up. Come on. You're an adult. He's an adult. They had sex," Lillegren said. "The point is she is not some little innocent victim."

Unpersuaded, a Multnomah County, Ore., jury awarded her $900,000.

"We all felt he should have told her -- he had the responsibility to tell her," juror Noah Brimhall told The Oregonian.

Defense attorney Randall Vogt called his client a "heroine" for holding the "dangerous" man responsible.

"Ninety-nine percent of the people who find themselves in (her) situation simply wring their hands and do nothing," Vogt told The Oregonian. "They know if they file a lawsuit, it's going to be hotly contested. It's going to be embarrassing. It's going to be massively unpleasant."