The police official's son, now a doctor, won a libel verdict against The Inquirer in 1985 on grounds the newspaper had wrongly implicated him in the killing.

An all-white jury awarded him all he had demanded in damages: $500,000, the largest libel verdict in Alabama history.

A Federal judge in Houston yesterday threw out most of a $222.7 million award against Dow Jones & Company in what was the largest libel verdict in history.

The aftermath of the libel verdict was reflected yesterday in Gtech's shares, which fell $1.50, to $27.50, a 52-week low, in heavy trading.

The case that resulted in the largest libel verdict in history was tainted by the deception of the plaintiffs, a Federal district judge said yesterday.

The court majority held (6 to 5) that this observation was privileged as a statement of opinion and could not justify a libel verdict.

It is relatively unusual for a large libel verdict to be upheld on appeal, experts say.

This is the second time Mr. Sprague has won a libel verdict against The Inquirer over the articles.

"The case is such a complicated factual, emotional and legal situation that it is difficult to say the libel verdict reflects just the facts of the case," she said.

In 1997, Werlein reduced what was at the time "the largest libel verdict in history", a $222.7 million award against Dow Jones & Company, to $22.7 million.