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• Victoria Osteen, wife of prominent TV preacher Joel Osteen, was found not guilty on August 14, 2008, in a civil lawsuit brought against her by Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown. Brown had claimed that Osteen had physically assaulted her during a 2005 flight from Texas to Colorado, and had been seeking at least $405,000 in damages.FoxNews.com: Osteen Wife Found Not Guilty of Assaulting Flight Attendant (August 14, 2008)

• Fast Facts

  1. Incident occurred on December 19, 2005
  2. Caused by complaint over spilled liquid in Osteen's first-class seat
  3. Altercation resulted in Osteen family being removed from the flight
  4. Lawsuit claims Sharon Brown was assaulted by Victoria OsteenHouston Chronicle: Lawsuit against Osteen's wife heads to court (August 6, 2008)
  5. Brown is requesting 10% of Osteen's net worth for punitive damagesABC13.com: Osteens resist making their personal wealth public (April 24, 2007)
  6. Claim includes mental duress, counseling and medical costs
  7. Brown claims she "lost her faith" because of the incidentHouston Chronicle: Lawsuit against Osteen's wife heads to court (August 6, 2008)
  8. Osteen's lawyer requested the FAA report on the incident be removed from evidenceHouston Chronicle: Lawsuit against Osteen's wife heads to court (August 6, 2008)
  9. Three passengers and the pilot testified that they witnessed no assault
  10. Jury unanimously declared Osteen not guiltyFOXNews.com: Osteen Wife Found Not Guilty of Assaulting Flight Attendant (August 14, 2008)

• The Incident

  According to Brown, Victoria Osteen was upset about a spill on her first-class airline seat. After reporting the spill to a stewardess, she was unsatisfied with the response and followed the stewardess towards the cockpit of the plane. When she encountered Brown, who was preventing her from reaching the cockpit, she allegedly pushed her against a restroom door and elbowed her in the chest.Houston Chronicle: Lawsuit against Osteen's wife heads to court (August 6, 2008)

• Jury Selection

  Jury selection began in August 2008. 130 potential jurors were selected to be narrowed down to the final twelve. Because of the popularity of Lakewood Church where Mrs. Osteen is the co-pastor, many of those selected had either attended a service there or read one of Joel Osteen's many popular books.Houston Chronicle: Lawsuit against Osteen's wife heads to court (August 6, 2008)

• Verdict

  After two and a half hours of deliberation, the jury reached the unanimous verdict of not guilty on August 14, 2008. Following the reading of the verdict, Osteen began to cry and hugged her attorneys and several supporters while she repeated "thank you God."

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Victoria Osteen | Sharon Brown | Galina Rusanova

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