Jury awards arson victim nearly $3 million

A jury awarded a Columbia arson victim more than $2,750,000 last week.

The ruling comes nearly four years after Marcia Green’s home caught fire in south Columbia at Rock Quarry Road and Grindstone Parkway.

The ruling follows a jury trial held on Sept. 7. According to a judgment, the jury awarded Green $100,000 for personal injuries, $150,000 for property damage and $2,500,000 for punitive damages, and held Mehrdad Fotoohighiam responsible for the payments.

Judge Robert Koffman last year ruled that Fotoohighiam “paid others in a conspiracy to burn down the dwelling of the plaintiff.”

ABC 17 News previously reported that Fotoohighiam is accused of paying an employee $500 in late 2014 to set fire to Green’s home.

Fotoohighiam is currently charged in Boone County with arson, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder. According to online court records, a hearing is scheduled in the criminal case on October 1.