Blac Chyna vows to appeal after losing her $108 million defamation case

Blac Chyna on Monday vowed to appeal the verdict in her defamation trial, which saw her lose her $108 million case against the Kardashians.

The 33 year-old had accused Kim Kardashian, her sisters Khloe and Kylie Jenner and their mother, Kris Jenner, of making statements that ruined or defamed her reputation and of plotting to get her TV show 'Rob and Chyna' axed. 

On Friday, Kim was dropped from the defamation part of the suit.

But on Monday, the jury returned a verdict that, while it did not completely exonerate the billionaire clan of any wrongdoing, still awarded Chyna no damages at all.

'Two things,' said Lynne Ciani, Chyna's lawyer. 

'Number one, the jury found that Chyna had not physically abused Rob Kardashian.

'Number two, the jury found that all four defendants intentionally interfered with [Chyna's] contracts with the E! Network. 

'We will appeal the remainder of the verdict.'

Chyna sat in stunned silence as the court clerk announced their decision. Her mother has now launched a GoFundMe to try and pay for her daughter's appeal. She is seeking $400,000.

The Kardashians, meanwhile, were 'exuberant' at the news, their lawyer Michael Rhodes said. They were not in court, because they were attending the Met Gala in New York City.

'I'm just happy it's over,' Kris Jenner told Variety. 

She said the toughest part was 'going through it'.

Asked how she coped, she replied: 'Pray. I live in my faith and just hope that's enough, and yeah, I'm glad it's over. I'm glad it's over for the girls. We're here to celebrate.' 

In LA, meanwhile, Rhodes told reporters: 'I think the case was very clear cut. The jury got it. I appreciate their service.

'I think the judge did a wonderful job of making sure it was a fair trial.

'They [the Kardashian-Jenners] were very pleased, very grateful. 

'They were emphatic in their explicit expression of pleasure. 

'I got to know them quite well over the last few years, and as you know, they're exuberant.'

Asked if he thought the case would be a shoo-in for the Kardashians, he told DailyMail.com: 'With a jury, there is no such thing as a slam dunk if you've been doing this for a living as long as I have.'

In a statement he added, 'On behalf of Kris, Kim, Kylie and Khloe, I want to express our appreciation to the jury.

'We are also grateful for the steady hand of Judge Alarcon in making sure that this was a fair trial.

'The jury sent a clear message to Miss White (Chyna) and her lawyer - I hope they are listening. Justice has prevailed.'

Defense attorney Michelle Carrie Doolin added that 'Mr [Rob] Kardashian is very grateful to the jury service and happy to have this matter behind him. 

'And he looks forward to moving on to a new chapter and raising his beautiful daughter.'

The case went to the jury at 4.30pm last Thursday and the 12 men and women on the panel took till 3.30pm on Monday to reach their verdict.

Under California law, civil trials require at least 9 jurors to vote in favor of a verdict.

Unlike the the rest of the trial, there was no fashion parade of Kardashians at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown LA.

Kim, 41, Khloe, 37, Kylie, 24 and Kris, 66, were all 3,000 miles away at the glittering Metropolitan Gala in New York City. 

Only their attorney, Rhodes, was in court to represent them.

Chyna's lawyer, Lynne Ciani, said after the verdict, 'The jury found that Chyna had not physically abused Rob Kardashian and that they interfered with her contract.

'We will appeal the remaining questions.'

The Los Angeles trial lasted almost two weeks before lawyers for both sides wound up their closing arguments and the case went to the jury at 4:30pm on Thursday.

Under California law, civil trials require at least nine jurors to vote in favor of a verdict. If nine or more can't agree, the judge can declare a mistrial.

That would essentially mean that neither side won - and a new trial, with a new jury, could be convened, in which the case would be tried all over again.

After about 10 hours of deliberations, the jurors found on the long jury form that the Kardashians often acted in bad faith on the issues brought up in the case, but that it had no substantial effect on Chyna's contract or the fate of the show.

As a result, she was awarded no damages. 

On the 13-page special verdict form, the most significant of the 70 questions the jury had to answer was number 69: 'What are Angela White's damages?'

Angela White is the real name of Blac Chyna. 

The jurors left the answer blank.

The jury did find, however, that all four Kardashian defendants' actions with respect to Chyna's 'Rob and Chyna' contract with E! were 'not justified.'

And they found that only Kylie Jenner's 'conduct prevented performance (of Chyna) or make performance more expensive or better.' 

The jury did not find the same for the other three family members.

Kylie was also singled out as the only one the jury felt 'intended to disrupt the performance' of Chyna's contract with E!

The jurors decided that Kylie's statement - 'She (Chyna) will proceed with using and physically abusing my brother' - was not true.

But they answered 'no' when asked: 'Was Kylie Jenner's conduct a substantial factor in causing harm to Angela White?'

They also found that Kris Jenner's claim that 'she (Chyna) beat the s*** out of Rob's face,' was not true.

But her other statement - that 'she beat the s*** out of him' - was true.

Rhodes, representing the Kardashians, urged the jury in his summing up on Friday 'to let the family start to heal.'

He said there was no substance to Chyna's suit, seeking damages for economic loss of $108 million, saying she had failed to present any hard financial evidence of loss of income or of emotional distress.

Rhodes said that Chyna was violent and aggressive.

'Did Chyna beat the s*** out of Rob? Yes, she did,' he said.

'It was true. It happened.'

Rhodes referred to the day of Chyna and her 35-year-old boyfriend's 'big fight' in December 2016, when she packed up and left their home with their baby girl, Dream, born a month earlier.

Rob Kardashian said that she hit him with a six-foot rod, pulled a phone cord around his neck and twice pointed a gun at his head.

During her testimony, Chyna, 33, denied that they broke up at that point.

Chyna maintains their relationship ended in the summer of 2017, but the defendants say Chyna acknowledged in a written declaration that the two split in December 2016.

Rhodes told jurors on Thursday that she denied the relationship had ended because she wanted to show the television program was still viable.

'She had to confirm the relationship was still ok because she has to convince you that the network still wanted her show,' Rhodes said.

'This was not a relationship that any network executive wants on TV.'

'Rob and Chyna' premiered in September 2016 and ran for one season.

The series was renewed for a second season, but in light of Kardashian and Chyna's breakup, plans for Season 2 were put on hold.

Chyna alleges the Kardashians spread false reports of her assaulting him in order to have the 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' spinoff canceled and ruin her reality TV career. 

E! network executives testified during the trial that 'Rob & Chyna' was supposed to be a light-hearted romantic comedy.

The court was also told that a producer on the show told Chyna that if she wanted a second season of the show, she would have to mend her relationship with Kardashian, and suggested counseling could help.

Rhodes on Thursday said Chyna's reaction to the idea was: 'F*** no, f*** that.

'F*** Rob. I'm not doing that.'

Rhodes asked the jury: 'Is this the relationship you want to build your romantic comedy around?

'Somebody who would say that to her baby's father? Would you put this on the air?'

Asking the jury to 'walk with me' over to his clients - Rhodes represents Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, who are all defendants - he pointed at the assembled Kardashians and said: 'This is the child's grandmother, her aunts.'

Rhodes told the jury to recall the 'pain and anguish' on Rob Kardashian's face during his testimony on Wednesday, noting: 'That was real. This is a real family.

'Yes they're famous, but they're real people.

'Just because Rob is a big guy, doesn't mean he can't be a victim.

'How would you feel if you child went through this?

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