A civil jury in Anne Arundel County, MD awarded $8.5 million in damages to a Maryland woman who sued her former boyfriend for infecting her with genital herpes (HSV-2) after not being truthful about his own exposure to herpes. The woman is identified in court papers only as Jane Doe to protect her privacy. She sued her former boyfriend, Annapolis businessman Kim Sharps, alleging he misled her about his own genital herpes and his exposure to prior partners who also had genital herpes.
The case was tried for two days in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County in Annapolis before Judge Richard R. Trunnell. Mr. Sharps was represented at trial by attorney Eric Haversack of Annapolis, MD.
The jury deliberated for nearly two hours on Thursday, May 11, 2023 before finding in favor of the Jane Doe plaintiff on counts of battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud. The jury’s monetary award against Sharps was for compensatory damages suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the herpes infection.
Ms. Doe was represented by Timothy F. Maloney and Gary A. Mitchell II of the law firm Joseph, Greenwald, and Laake, PA in Greenbelt, MD. Mr. Maloney said “This verdict should send a strong message about personal responsibility. Persons who knowingly expose a partner to infectious diseases can be liable for significant damages. Everyone has a duty to use reasonable precautions and to warn their partners about prior exposures to sexually transmitted infections.”
