The children of Bonny Lee Bakley should receive only $15 million in compensation for her wrongful death, a California appeals court ruled today, finding a jury was “influenced by passion or prejudice” in awarding $30 million against Robert Blake.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal affirmed the jury's finding that Blake was responsible for Bakley's death, but provided some relief for the actor by halving the damages award. If Bakley's children do not accept the reduced award, there will be a retrial on the issue of damages.

“We conclude that while the evidence, examined in its entirety, supports a considerable award, $30 million is excessive and compels the conclusion that the jury was influenced by passion or prejudice,” the court said in an unpublished opinion.

Bakley had four children with three different men, including, most notoriously, Blake. Their daughter, Rosie, was born 11 months before her murder in May 2001.

The jury award was only for noneconomic damages, reflecting the value of “the loss of Bonny Lee Bakley’s love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, [and] moral support.”

Despite what it called the “difficulty of determining the value of such a tragic loss to Bakley’s children,” the 2nd District said the award was excessive, in part because there was “scant evidence of Bakley’s relationship with her daughter Debra Gawron in recent years or of the prospects for a close relationship in the future.”

Debra, 14, is Bakley's daughter with rock 'n roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis and, after Bakley became pregnant with Rosie, she lived apart from her. Unlike her two older siblings, Glenn and Holly Gawron, she did not testify at the trial.

The appeals court also took into account the limited contact between Bakley and Rosie, who has lived with Blake's adult daughter since she was three months old.

“Bakley’s absence for most of Rosie’s young life and the presence of another primary caregiver compel the conclusion that the loss to Rosie is significantly less than it would have been if she and Bakley had established their relationship over a longer period of time,” it said.

By Matthew Heller
4/25/08