Actor Blake loses court appeal but $30M judgement reduced

Actor Robert Blake (pictured) was acquitted of his wife Bonny Lee Bakley’s 2001 murder in a criminal trial.

Blake was later found guilty of wrongful death in a civil court and was ordered to pay $30 million to the estate of Bonny Lee Bakley.

Mr. Blake had challenged the jury's award in the subsequent civil wrongful death lawsuit, claiming the trial court made procedural errors and jurors committed misconduct.

The Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles found no jury misconduct and no reversible error by the trial court, but concluded that the $30 million in noneconomic damages awarded by the jury to Bakley's estate was excessive.

The court cut the judgement in half to $15 million.

The administrator of Bakley's estate may not consent to the reduction even though Blake filed for bankruptcy before the civil trial began.

Without consent by the Bakley estate to the reduction of the award to $15 million, the case will go back for a new trial on damages.

Blake is best known for his television role as a detective in "Baretta" and a convicted killer in the true crime film "In Cold Blood,"

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