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Ventura Attorney: $1.8M Award Was Fair

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An attorney for former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura says he thinks a jury acted fairly in awarding Ventura $1.8 million in his defamation case against slain military sniper Chris Kyle.

Ventura accused Kyle of lying about punching Ventura out at a California bar in 2006. Kyle wrote in his best-selling memoir "American Sniper" that he did it after Ventura badmouthed Navy SEALs.

His attorney David Bradley Olsen says it was more important to Ventura to get a verdict that showed Kyle's story "was a lie."

Kyle estate attorney John Borger says the family will consider an appeal. He faced questions about why he agreed to a non-unanimous verdict when the jury appeared deadlocked. Borger says it was a strategic call "that seemed appropriate at the time."

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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