An Aiken County jury and a judge on Wednesday added $18 million in punitive damages to an $27 million award a gainst landlord Rhett Riviere, who had secretly videoed a recently married couple having sex and using the bathroom.
The total damages now owed by Riviere, 70, and his ex-wife, Josee Riviere, stand at $45 million. Rhett Riviere is responsible for nearly all of the damages.
The jury of seven women and five men was out less than 90 minutes Wednesday before deciding that Riviere owed an additional $10 million in punitive damages. It had earlier ruled Riviere caused $27 million in actual damages.
State Judge Martha Rivers then added to the damages awarded by the jury to hold Riviere responsible for violating the state Unfair Trade Practices Act. That added an additional $8 million, bringing the total up to $45 million.
. The trial had two parts , with the jury deciding first on actual damages and then on punitive damages.
The plaintiffs in the case were Gabriel and Heather Crespo, who had rented a cottage from Riviere in 2001 in Aiken, a popular golf and horse tourist town in western South Carolina near the Georgia border.
Unbeknownst to the Crespos, the cottage was infested with hidden cameras that Riviere had installed. Over the next 20 years, Riviere — who later became an Airbnb landlord — made more than 20,000 secret videos of unsuspecting renters, according to evidence in the case. Airbnb has said it broke its relationship with Riviere in 2019.
The Crespos only learned of the videos’ existence several years ago after the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division learned about them and began a criminal investigation of Riviere.
He faces three criminal charges of voyeurism related to the hidden cameras in his rental cottages. The charges were brought by SLED and are pending.
Riviere testified during the trial, but repeatedly invoked his constitutional right not to answer questions.
Riviere’s attorneys, Joe McCulloch and Jim Griffin, said now that the weeklong trial is over, they are considering their options. Kathy Schillachi was also defending Riviere.
McCulloch called the Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s verdict “excessive” and said they exceed Riviere’s means.
Deborah Barbier, the lead plaintiff attorney, said she was “very gratified that it went well, that it’s over and that my clients are vindicated.”
On Wednesday, Barbier said she explained to the jury why they should award punitive damages.
“I said the reason for punitive damages is to punish, to deter the conduct and to send a message to the community, to set an example.”
Barbier noted how Riviere had come from a privileged life and didn’t believe rules applied to him.
“He has had unchecked entitlement his whole life, no one has told him no, no one has told him to stop.”
Barbier also said that no one knows whether Riviere had disseminated or sold his videos.
Riviere and his companies own several properties in Aiken. His mother, Marilynn Riviere, was a prominent property developer in Maryland and in downtown Aiken. She was “a life-long equestrienne and on the board of trustees of Aiken Training Track, which has produced several champion racehorses,” according to an obituary. Her father was a member of Congress from Ohio, and one of her grandfathers was “an oil tycoon,” another obituary said.
The Crespos’ lawsuit accused Riviere of invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unfair trade practices, negligence and voyeurism.
Besides Barbier, lawyers on the plaintiffs’ team were Ryan Beasley, Wes Few and Valerie McDonald.
Barbier said in a statement, “Heather and Gabriel were incredibly brave to tell their story and be a voice to hold him accountable. They have sent a very clear message that this misconduct will not be tolerated.”
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