CNN to be sued for more than $250M over 'vicious' and 'direct attacks' on Covington High student

LMMFAO



https://www.foxnews.com/us/judge-di...ith-native-american-at-lincoln-memorial-rally

Judge dismisses Covington student's defamation suit against Washington Post

 

Well the Slanderers won the first round with a Judge throwing out the case, but, I expect Sandman will prevail on appeal.

While Kentucky defamation law requires the court to consider whether a statement is defamatory from the four corners of the publication, the question is whether the words used “refer to some ascertained or ascertainable person.” In this age of internet links and viral videos, an appellate court could easily conclude that a jury should decide whether the Post’s links or references to the video, along with the statements included in the articles, was sufficient to show the statements concerned Sandmann.

Judge Bertelsman’s analysis of the Posts’ statements, and his conclusion that they were not factual, will be a second area challenged on appeal. In his 30-plus-page opinion, Bertelsman identified every statement in the Post’s coverage of Sandmann that the young high school student had challenged. The judge then considered whether the statement constituted a fact that could be proven “objectively incorrect.”

In each instance, the long-time federal judge concluded the statements were merely matters of opinion, including the Post’s reporting that the students (with Sandmann the face of the story), “surrounded,” “swarmed,” “blocked,” “taunted,” “disrespected,” “confronted,” “accosted,” and “physically intimidated” Phillips.

On appeal, Sandmann’s attorneys are likely to focus on three points—all of which justify reversal.

First, at the motion to dismiss stage, the question is whether a reasonable jury could conclude the statements were of fact and not opinion.
Second, and relatedly, the common understanding of these words are all a matter of fact, and the videos prove they are false facts.
Third, the Post’s editorial correction confirms that the newspaper was reporting “facts” and not opinions concerning the encounter.​

Here’s what the Post wrote when the truth came out:

“Subsequent reporting and video evidence contradicted or failed to corroborate that one of the activists was accosted and prevented from moving, that they had been taunted by the students in the lead-up to the counter, that the students were trying to instigate a conflict.”​

https://thefederalist.com/2019/07/2...ail&utm_term=0_cfcb868ceb-0d039feff2-81168121