An attorney representing three women who accused prominent developer Bill Hutchinson of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit says they’re exploring options for appealing aspects of the verdict in the case.
Hutchinson is the founder of commercial real estate company Dunhill Partners, whose largest project was the Virgin Hotel and also appeared on the Lifetime TV series Marrying Millions.
The first woman who filed the lawsuit in July of 2021 that was the basis of the trial, was a university student at the time she alleged Hutchinson sexually assaulted her. Two other women, who alleged Hutchinson raped them, according to court records, subsequently joined the lawsuit.
In late June, a jury found Hutchinson had sexually assaulted two of the three women who’d brought the lawsuit and awarded those two a combined $860,000 in damages, following a two-week-long trial. Specifically, the jury awarded each of the two women $100,000 for future medical expenses, $80,000 for past mental anguish, and $250,000 for future mental anguish, according to the verdict. A hearing on Hutchinson’s motion for settlement credits is set for August 24, court records show.
“It is a win for the community that somebody who is very well connected and powerful is still having to pay some price for what he did and a jury saw that,” Michelle Simpson Tuegel, an attorney representing the women, said about the verdict. “We’re definitely glad to see some measure of justice for our clients who were really brave to make it through a hard case like this and a hard trial like this against one of the richest and most powerful men in Dallas.”
In the week following the conclusion of the trial, Tuegel said her clients are “exploring options for appealing aspects of this case.”
“The clients will decide if they want to continue this fight, but we’re really proud of our clients and of our team that we were able to shine a light and that a jury agreed and said, ‘this man sexually assaults women,’” she added.
Hutchinson and his attorneys have denied the allegations of nonconsensual sexual assault.
“The jury completely rejected the claims of one of the three plaintiffs and awarded only nominal damages on the remaining claims—an outcome that stands in sharp contrast to the nearly $120 million the plaintiffs demanded,” Levi McCathern, an attorney representing Hutchinson, previously said in a statement.
Tuegel also pointed out that Hutchinson remains on the Texas Sex Offender Registry after he pleaded guilty in an unrelated case to one count of misdemeanor sexual battery in Orange County Superior Court in California in 2024. At that time, Hutchinson was sentenced to three years of probation and 90 days of home confinement, and was required to register as a sex offender.
McCathern said a court in California ended Hutchinson’s probation in that case early and dismissed his guilty plea.
The question of whether Hutchinson should remain on the Texas Sex Offender registry is pending before a court in Travis County after the Texas Department of Public Safety appealed a December ruling in which a judge ordered that Hutchinson should be removed from the Texas registry.
A Dallas County grand jury also declined to indict Hutchinson after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in 2021.
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