This judgment documents the jury’s decision to award Mrs. Houck $2,000 in “exemplary” (punitive) damages and $3,000 for actual damages. The award was reduced on appeal to $2,500. Judge Aleck Boarman wrote that she had been treated “rudely, wrongfully, and, in some degree, maliciously.”
Judgment in Lola Houck Case 1888
National Archives, Records of District Courts of the United States