defamation lawsuits

A New York judge said today that a defamation lawsuit against President Trump related to an allegation that he sexually harassed a former Apprentice contestant may go forward.

Two additional former Fox News employees are suing Bill O’Reilly and the cable news network for defamation, joining the legal battle that was brought earlier this month by former Fox News producer Rachel Witlieb Bernstein.

NEW YORK (AP) — A civil rights activist is suing Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, claiming she defamed him while discussing a lawsuit against the Black Lives Matter movement that […]

The New York Times has prevailed in defense of a defamation lawsuit brought by Sarah Palin over an editorial that mistakenly linked one of her political action committee ads to a 2011 mass shooting that severely wounded then-Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed the complaint on Tuesday.

Recently suspended Fox News host Eric Bolling is suing journalist Yashar Ali for defamation and is seeking $50 million in damages after Ali’s HuffPost story claimed that Bolling sent “an unsolicited photo of male genitalia via text message to at least two colleagues at Fox Business and one colleague at Fox News.”

On the eve of her 101st birthday, Olivia de Havilland is serving FX with a gift of her own — a lawsuit. The actress is suing the network, along with Ryan Murphy Productions, over her portrayal in Feud, saying that it paints her in a false light, according to court documents. The lawsuit claims that Feud “puts words in the mouth of Miss de Havilland which are inaccurate and contrary to the reputation she has built.”

ABC News has reached a settlement with a South Dakota meat producer that filed a $1.9-billion lawsuit against the network over its reports on the company’s lean, finely textured beef product that critics dubbed “pink slime,” the TV network said Wednesday, adding that the terms of the deal are confidential.

The former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate filed a lawsuit against the Times on Tuesday alleging that a recent editorial falsely portrayed her as responsible for inciting the 2011 shooting of Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords. She is seeking more than $75,000 in damages.

Waterman Broadcasting’s NBC affiliate WBBH Fort Myers, Fla., is being sued for defamation, along with two of its anchors and one of its reporters, by State Attorney Stephen Russell after an investigative report that aired in November left Russell, according to his lawsuit, with “hurt feelings.”

The highly anticipated proceeding gets underway with Beef Products Inc. telling jurors that the broadcaster killed much of its business with a series of reports in March 2012.

It might be worthwhile for journalists to review free speech and defamation principles within the current legal norms in the age of rapid communication. Let’s also take a look at what changes might Donald Trump bring following his campaign promises to change libel laws to make it easier for public figures to sue news organizations.

Summer Zervos, who last year accused Trump of grabbing her breast without her consent and unwanted aggressive kissing, filed suit against the president-elect on Tuesday. He has denied her allegations. The defamation suit alleges that Trump falsely branded Zervos a liar after she made her accusations public, calling her story “totally made up nonsense.”

Breitbart News is preparing a lawsuit against a “major media company” over claims that it is a white nationalist website, it said today in an exclusive statement to The Hill. It said it objects to a “baseless and defamatory claim that Breitbart News is a ‘white nationalist website.’ ”

At the end of last week, the press reported on the jury verdict finding Rolling Stone magazine to be liable for defamation for its story, later retracted, about a gang rape at the University of Virginia. While this decision may well be appealed, it nevertheless is a finding of which broadcasters and other media companies need to take note, as it demonstrates that a sloppy review of the facts of a news report can lead to liability — even when reporting on public figures and important issues of wide public concern.

A man is suing ABC affiliate WTAE Pittsburgh and its parent company, Hearst Stations, as well as reporter Marcie Cipriani, claiming his reputation was damaged by a news story concerning a marijuana arrest.

A Florida judge has ruled against George Zimmerman in his defamation suit against NBC. Zimmerman, whose killing of Trayvon Martin set off a national debate about racism and stand-your-ground laws, had accused NBC of maliciously editing his 911 call to make him appear racist.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The judge in George Zimmerman’s defamation lawsuit against NBC Universal is set to hear arguments on a request by the media company to dismiss the case. […]

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — ABC’s news anchor Diane Sawyer, two of the network’s correspondents and other defendants in a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit against the company related to its […]

Lawyers for ABC News asked a South Dakota circuit court judge to dismiss a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit against it over coverage of a beef product dubbed by critics as “pink slime,” as the news outlet stood by its reports and cited free speech protections.

The not-guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial will enable the neighborhood-watch volunteer to resume his case against NBC News for the mis-editing of his widely distributed call to police. Back in December, Zimmerman sued NBC Universal Media for defamation over the botched editing, which depicted him as a hardened racial profiler.

A Milwaukee police officer is suing the Milwaukee NBC affiliate and parent Journal Broadcast Group, saying WTMJ promoted and aired a story that put him in a bad light even though the station knew he had done nothing wrong.

A woman whose photo was mistakenly used in a WTAE newscast is suing the Pittsburgh ABC affiliate.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The mother of “Modern Family” actress Ariel Winter sued an associate of her adult daughter for defamation Monday, claiming he falsely labeled her an “abusive monster” […]

Angry over what he calls a misleading political ad, Rep. Jeff Denham (R) filed a defamation suit against Sacramento television stations and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The unusual campaign-season libel suit came after Democrats and the TV stations declined to pull a 30-second spot.

An Illinois appeals court has rejected an attempt by Fox Television Stations to escape a $28 million lawsuit alleging defamation, false light, infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy by intrusion against its Chicago O&O.

Beef Products Inc. is seeking $1.2 billion in damages for what it claims are roughly 200 “false and misleading and defamatory” statements about the product officially known as lean, finely textured beef.

Carlos Pelz sued the long-running show after superiors said in a performance memo that he produced poor-quality work.

Reporter Phil Williams did not defame Judge Daniel Eisenstein in two reports looking into the General Sessions judge. But in one broadcast, he may have cast the judge in a “false light” by suggesting he lied to the U.S. Department of Justice. Those conclusions, issued recently by the Tennessee Court of Appeals, could send one or more of Eisenstein’s claims back to trial. Both sides will likely appeal the case to the state Supreme Court within the next two months.