The Briefing Room
General Category => Editorial/Opinion/Blogs => Topic started by: mystery-ak on November 22, 2019, 10:09:35 pm
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Don't get too excited about that judge advancing the Covington teen’s $275M libel lawsuit against NBC
by Becket Adams
| November 22, 2019 04:23 PM
I hate to throw cold water on all your hopes and expectations, but a federal judge ruling this week that Nicholas Sandmann’s $275 million libel lawsuit against NBCUniversal can move forward on limited grounds does not increase the likelihood that the aggrieved Kentucky teen will win his case.
In fact, the Covington Catholic High School student’s suit against NBC stands about as good of a chance of winning as does his case against the Washington Post, which is to say it does not stand much of a chance at all.
Welcome to the United States. We have vigorous free speech protections.
U.S. District Court Judge William Bertelsman this week threw out parts of Sandmann’s case against NBC, while also allowing for discovery on the specific allegation that the news network defamed the Covington teen when it alleged he had “blocked†an elderly Native American protester during a Jan. 18 confrontation in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/dont-get-too-excited-about-that-judge-advancing-the-covington-teens-275m-libel-lawsuit-against-nbc (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/dont-get-too-excited-about-that-judge-advancing-the-covington-teens-275m-libel-lawsuit-against-nbc)
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That discovery phase may be what this is all about anyway.
Lots of rich earth to uncover on bias by the newspapers and network
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The ruling "simply" means the lawsuit goes to trial. However it means the plaintiffs have a cause of action worth hearing in trial. And it tells the WashPost and NBC that freedom of the press does not protect libel and slander.