Court upholds Fotoohighiam settlement ruling
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Boone County Judge has upheld a previous court ruling involving a Columbia businessman.
Mehrdad Fotoohighiam was ordered to pay $250,000 in actual damages and $2,500,000 in punitive damages for his involvement in a 2014 Columbia arson.
The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District affirmed a lower court ruling that Fotoohighiam was liable for damages after a fire destroyed Marcia Green's home in Columbia back in December 2014. Green was inside the home at the time of the fire and sustained significant bodily injuries.
Investigators say Fotoohighiam paid two other men $500 each to set fire to Green's home, whom he was having property disputes with. Fotoohighiam was acquitted of all arson charges in August.
Fotoohighiam is expected to be back in court in December on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder for the same 2014 fire.