Judge Issues Default Judgment In Alex Jones’ Sandy Hook Defamation Suits
A district court judge for Travis County, Texas issued a default judgment against Alex Jones for failing to comply with discovery requests in the defamation suits brought by two families in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting. The shooting, which occurred on December 14, 2012, resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six adult school staff members. The rulings mean that the suits will proceed to trial to determine how much Jones and his media company, Infowars, will pay the parents for defamation and emotional stress.
Female Chess Legend Sues Netflix for Defamation Over “The Queen’s Gambit”
Nona Gaprindashvili, the first-ever female chess grandmaster, is suing Netflix for defamation over a statement made about her in its series, “The Queen’s Gambit.” The suit, filed on September 16th in the U.S. District Court Central District of California, Western Division, alleges that a scene in the series derided Gaprindashvili’s career and damaged her reputation.
Judge Dismisses Rep. Devin Nunes’ Libel Suit Against Political Strategist
On August 23, a Virginia judge dismissed Rep. Devin Nunes’ (CA-R) $250 million dollar libel suit against Republican political strategist Elizabeth A. Mair. Nunes sued Mair in March 2019 for allegedly conspiring with his political enemies to spread false information about him before he ran for reelection in 2018.
Dominion Sues Two Conservative News Networks and a Trump Ally for Defamation
On August 10th, Dominion Voting Systems filed three separate $1.6 billion defamation suits against two conservative news networks and a Trump ally. The three suits are the latest in a series of billion dollar defamation lawsuits filed by Dominion related to alleged disinformation relating to the 2020 presidential election.
Devin Nunes Files Libel Suit Against MSNBC Host Rachel Maddow
On August 3rd, Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA) filed a libel suit against NBCUniversal and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow over comments she made in March about his relationship with a Ukranian lawmaker and suspected Russian spy. Nunes is notorious for filing frivolous defamation lawsuits against his critics. In just a 12 month time period between— March 2019 and November 2020, the Congressman filed seven libel lawsuits.
Revisiting New York Times v. Sullivan in the Age of Disinformation
Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch are urging the court to revise New York Times v. Sullivan to curtail the spread of false information. Utah University Law Professor RonNell Andersen Jones thinks they are both barking up the wrong tree.
Doctor Who Promoted Hydroxychloroquine Sues CNN’s Anderson Cooper For Defamation
A doctor who former president Donald Trump once promoted on his Twitter account filed a $100 million libel suit against CNN and anchor Anderson Cooper for allegedly tarnishing her medical reputation.
Federal Judge Dismisses $95 Million Defamation Suit Against Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen
A federal judge dismissed a long-running defamation suit brought by former Alabama Supreme Court Judge Roy Moore against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. The suit was filed in September 2018, after Cohen’s satirical Showtime series, “Who Is America?” aired a spot featuring Moore.