A man cleared of murder after he was spotted in the background of outtake footage of TV comedy CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM has been awarded damages of $320,000.

JUAN CATALAN, 28, spent five months in jail charged with the murder of 16-year-old MARTHA PUEBLA until he used outtake footage – showing him at a LA Dodgers game in Los Angeles when the crime occurred – to prove his innocence.

Catalan’s attorney TODD MELNIK trawled through hours of footage of a televised game between the Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves that the defendant attended with his six-year-old daughter, before discovering the LARRY DAVID-starring comedy was being shot at the stadium on the same day. Catalan could be seen clearly eating a hot dog in a scene that ended up on the cutting
room floor.

A time code on the footage proved Catalan’s whereabouts – 20 miles from the murder scene in San Fernando.

Los Angeles City Council has agreed to pay $320,000 to Catalan.

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