(KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL) A federal jury in a lawsuit has concluded a Monroe County lesbian couple's claim their house was torched in an act of hate was a hoax.
A jury in U.S. District Court on Monday returned a verdict in favor of American National Property and Casualty Company in a lawsuit over the fire claim of Carol Ann Stutte and Laura Jean Stutte.
In the verdict, the jury specifically concluded the insurer had proved by what's known as a preponderance of the evidence standard that the Stuttes torched their house in Vonore, Tenn., and covered it up by spray-painting the word "queers" on a detached garage and labeling the fire a hate crime by their neighbor.
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