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Defamation

Jun 2024

A Cautionary Tale for Defamation Plaintiffs: Going Back to the Lion’s Den to Retrieve Your Hat

Marlia Saunders and Amelia CausleyTodd

The outcome is hugely significant because it's the first time a court has made a finding about what happened at Parliament House on that night over 5 years ago – and provides long overdue vindication for Brittany Higgins. 

Jun 2024

Newsweek Wins Dismissal on Substantial Truth

Cameron Stracher and Sara Tesoriero

Judge Buchwald held that technical inaccuracies in Newsweek’s reporting about a guilty plea entered by Plaintiff Olivet University did not give rise to a defamation claim where the gist of the allegedly defamatory statement was substantially true.

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Jun 2024

Houston Appeals Court (Finally) Dismisses Defamation Claims Against ProPublica and Houston Chronicle

Reid Pillifant

In its decision, the First District Court of Appeals in Houston found that Defendants’ reporting on the plaintiff’s career as a heart surgeon and the concerns that had been raised about some of his practices and procedures, as well as his failure to follow protocols in clinical trials, was substantially true.

May 2024

Louis Farrakhan’s $4.8 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against Jewish Groups Dismissed

Nathan Siegel and Adam Rich

The court held that Farrakhan failed to plead a defamation claim because the challenged statements were protected opinion, and that he also failed to plead falsity or actual malice.

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May 2024

Maine Becomes Seventh State to Enact Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA)

Sigmund D. Schutz and Alexandra A. Harriman

UPEPA aims to provide a clear framework for the efficient review and dismissal of SLAPPs.

May 2024

Montana Supreme Court Applies N.Y. Fair Report Privilege to Dismiss Libel Claim by Montana Plaintiff

Adam I. Rich and Laura R. Handman

The Montana Supreme’s Court’s decision is the first by any high court to find that a publisher’s home state has the most significant interest in applying its fair report privilege.

Apr 2024

Texas Appellate Court Rejects LLC Plaintiff’s Bid for Statewide Venue in Defamation Case

Marc Fuller

A Texas court of appeals recently clarified the state’s venue statute governing libel and slander claims, rejecting an interpretation that would have given limited liability companies, partnerships, and other business entities the ability to file suit almost anywhere in the state.

Mar 2024

Missouri Legislature Considers Anti-SLAPP Bill

Jean Maneke

There are at least two other bills pending in the Missouri legislature containing nearly identical anti-SLAPP language, one before the House and one before the Senate, but neither of those bills has been set for a committee hearing yet and it gets more and more unlikely that they will move quickly once spring break is…

Mar 2024

Broadcaster Wins Summary Judgment and Attorneys’ Fees Under New York’s Expanded Anti-SLAPP Statute

Jacquelyn Schell and Chad Bowman

The news reports about sexual assault claims against the Catholic Church were protected by the fair report privilege and plaintiff failed to adduce any evidence of gross irresponsibility.

Mar 2024

Prosecutor’s Defamation Suit SLAPPed On Appeal

Cam Ruk

The Supreme Court of Texas granted a newspaper’s anti-SLAPP motion, dismissing a state prosecutor’s claim that he was defamed in an article discussing a wrongful murder conviction.