A jury awarded former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura $1.8 million on Tuesday in his lawsuit against the estate of 'American Sniper' author Chris Kyle.

The federal jury decided that the 2012 best-selling book defamed Ventura in its description of a bar fight in California in 2006. Kyle wrote that he decked a man whom he later identified as Ventura after the man allegedly said the Navy SEALs 'deserve to lose a few.'
Ventura testified that Kyle fabricated the passage about punching him. Kyle said in testimony videotaped before his death last year that his story was accurate.

The jury reconvened on Tuesday, and both sides agreed to split the verdict 8 to 2, the New York Times reported. The panel then awarded the former professional wrestler and governor $500,000 for defamation and $1.3 million for what they termed the author’s unjust enrichment.

During closing arguments, Ventura attorney David Bradley Olson said he believes Kyle’s estate earned more than $6 million from the book.
Ventura testified that his income as a TV personality fell sharply in the wake of “American Sniper.” Borger said Ventura’s career as an entertainer was in decline well before that..