Court Tosses Trump Campaign’s Defamation Suit Against the New York Times
The suit against the Times was part of a string of lawsuits the Trump campaign filed in 2020 against media companies. So far, two have been dismissed and one remains ongoing.
Texas Supreme Court Says Defamation Suits Against Alex Jones Can Continue
On January 22nd, the Texas Supreme Court rejected conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ request to toss four defamation lawsuits filed by parents whose children died in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The suits claim that Jones' statements calling the mass shooting a “giant hoax,” and accusing the parents of faking their children’s death were defamatory and caused the families emotional distress.
Trump Settles Defamation Lawsuit Against Wisconsin TV Station
President Donald Trump's reelection campaign sued the local broadcast station in April for running an ad that made it seem like the President had called the coronavirus a hoax. The settlement does not include an apology from Trump, but one of the TV station's attorney framed it as a win for local news.
Judge Dismisses Majority of Nunes’ Family’s Defamation Claims Against Esquire Magazine
The judge is asking the family to submit a new complaint based only on whether the family's dairy farm knowingly hired undocumented workers. The new complaint will also have to contain a new argument showing actual malice.
(Available without registration!) Alex Jones and his website Infowars made repeated claims that the 2012 murder of 20 children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut was a “giant hoax,” possibly instigating a number of his followers to harass the families of the victims. Does the First Amendment protect Alex Jones’ speech?
Washington Post and Kentucky Teen Reach Undisclosed Settlement
The Washington Post announced on July 24th that it had reached a settlement with the parents of a Kentucky teenager who sued the newspaper last year over its depiction of an encounter between their son and a Native American activist. A spokesperson for The Post did not disclose the terms of the agreement.
Pro-Trump Cartoonist Files $10.35 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against Anti-Defamation League
Ben Garrison, a cartoonist known for lionizing President Donald Trump in his drawings, is suing the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for defamation after the organization called one of his cartoons anti-Semitic.
Nunes Family’s Lawsuit Against Reporter Fails to Meet Defamation Standard, Judge Rules
After analyzing the sixteen allegedly defamatory statements, U.S. District Court Judge C.J. Williams found that the plaintiffs had neither identified what about them was false nor provided any facts that would have shown them to be false.