Attorneys on both sides of a neighborhood dispute are claiming victory after a verdict was read in a battle that's been going on for years.
Nicole Chaker, 74, says she was attacked because of her ethnicity.
“I have suffered in that neighborhood,” Chaker said.
She sued her University City neighbors, using photos and surveillance video as evidence against Tony Troxel, his wife Barbara Bolla and their daughter Sarah.
Chaker said it all began after the 9/11 attacks when her neighbors discovered she was Egyptian.
On Tuesday, a jury found the couple guilty of assault, saying they acted with malice, oppression and negligence.
The jury awarded Chaker $2,000.
“The case resolved in my mother’s favor. Ultimately the amount is again nominal which she was awarded,” said the plaintiff's son, Darren Chaker.
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The jury decided the defendants were not responsible for some of Chaker's claims, including false imprisonment and trespassing.
“This was billed as a hate crime, a civil rights case, an elder abuse case and the jury found against all of those claims. The jury found it was nothing more than a simple neighborhood dispute,” said defense attorney Joseph Barr.
Chaker says despite the jury's verdict, she is considering an appeal.
“The time is starting. It’s going to start now,” said Chaker. “This is the United States of America and my speech is not going to be silenced anymore.”
None of the defendants were in court Tuesday to comment.
Chaker and the defendants are still next door neighbors. Neither is willing to move.
