The jury awarded them $750k each, but it doesn't look like it's over:
- defence claims that the law caps claims at $300k each
- plaintiff claims that there were multiple occurrences, and that the cap applies to each occurrence
- defence claims that, if they wanted to claim multiple occurrences, then plaintiff should have asked the jury to rule on that
The shocking part of the story is that they became social outcasts for rumors of academic dishonesty.
> But the damage was done, and word leaked out. "These mutterings and rumors came throughout campus about how we'd been academically dishonest," Kellie said. There was gossip and recrimination. Peers targeted them on social media and discussed them on community blogs. Media outlets reported on the case in states as far away as California.
Pathetic. These people need to shut the fuck up and mind their own business.
I’m an identical twin, and while this particular situation hasn’t ever happened to me thankfully, there are regularly occasions where my sibling and I will respond in exactly the same way, with the same phrasing or detail, to a given situation, leaving me in little doubt that something like the OP is entirely possible, or even probable given the siblings have been exposed to the same stimulus throughout their entire lives so far.
I’m glad the pair have found meaningful work and seem to have their educations and careers back on track after this all started.