The Covington Catholic Teen Lost His First Court Battle, But Will Probably Win His Next

[GURPS]

When Sandmann appeals, a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will consider his arguments. Given the procedural posture of this case—the motion to dismiss stage—Sandmann has solid grounds to argue for reversal.

That’s because at that stage, the court must read the facts in the light most favorable to Sandmann, and if a reasonable jury could interpret the Post’s statements as defamatory, the court must allow the case to continue. An analysis of Judge Bertelsman’s opinion indicates that he overstepped his bounds in several areas and resolved factual disputes that should have been left for a jury to decide.

Bertelsman’s opinion began with a summary of the controlling law. In Sandmann’s case, Kentucky law on defamation, in essence, requires him to prove the Post: 1) made a false and defamatory statement concerning him; 2) published the statement; 3) acted negligently; 4) and either caused him damages or exposed him to “public hatred, ridicule, contempt, aversion, or disgrace.”

The first area ripe for reversal is Judge Bertelsman’s conclusion that the Post’s articles were not statements “concerning” Sandmann because they referenced the group of students or did not include a name or picture of Sandmann. But, as Sandmann’s attorneys point out, every article included either a link to the viral video of Sandman or a reference to it. And Sandmann was the “face” of those videos.

https://thefederalist.com/2019/07/2...st-first-court-battle-will-probably-win-next/

 

[stgislander]

I guess it's not over.

Judge Allows Covington Student’s $250 Million Suit against WaPo to Move Forward | National Review

A video of the student and his classmates went viral this year, appearing to show the students in confrontation with a Native American man, Nathan Phillips.

www.nationalreview.com

 

[Smokey1]

Great news. WaPo needs to pay for their bias.

 

[Hijinx]

The Judge---a Jimmy Carter appointment.
Looking out for the media.

 

[vraiblonde]

Great news. WaPo needs to pay for their bias.

It's not so much their bias as it is going after a private citizen - a kid no less - with a bunch of false accusations and inflammatory rhetoric. They flat lied about that kid and set him up to be targeted by Leftist groups. They endangered him. THAT is what they should pay for. And throw the rest of them in there, too - NYT, CNN, MSNBC, Buzzfeed, NBC. ALL of these psycho Leftist media groups should be punished for what they did to that kid.

 

[Smokey1]

It's not so much their bias as it is going after a private citizen - a kid no less - with a bunch of false accusations and inflammatory rhetoric. They flat lied about that kid and set him up to be targeted by Leftist groups. They endangered him. THAT is what they should pay for. And throw the rest of them in there, too - NYT, CNN, MSNBC, Buzzfeed, NBC. ALL of these psycho Leftist media groups should be punished for what they did to that kid.

Yes, you are absolutely right.

 

[GURPS]

Judge William O. Bertelsman on Monday ruled that the case could enter the discovery phase and that a small part of the initial lawsuit could proceed. The decision came just months after Bertelsman dismissed the case on grounds that The Post's reporting on the matter was protected by the First Amendment.

The family of Nicholas Sandmann, a Covington Catholic High School student, sued The Post for $250 million in damages in February over its coverage of the teen and his classmates' encounter with a Native American elder in Washington, D.C. The suit accused the newspaper of having "targeted and bullied" Sandmann and of publishing a "a series of false and defamatory print and online articles" about the incident.

Sandmann had appeared in a viral video in January standing in front of Nathan Phillips, a Native American elder, as Phillips beat a small drum on the Lincoln Memorial's stairs. Several of Sandmann's classmates, sporting "Make America Great Again" hats, were chanting and cheering amid the encounter.

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/...filed-by-covington-student-against-washington

 

[Ken King]

Native American elder

Say what? I thought he was a political activist with a forked tongue. Elder conjures up one that would be teaching of culture, philosophy, and faith in the Great Spirit. Phillips might be old but he is no elder.

 

[GURPS]

Leftists Enraged Over Nick Sandmann Defeating CNN. Conservatives Celebrate.

After CNN reportedly settled for an undisclosed amount in the defamation lawsuit from Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann, leftists on Twitter have expressed outrage, using the moment to bash Trump supporters and Nicholas Sandmann alike.

“The same Trump cultists celebrating Nick Sandmann’s victory against the corporate media outlets who smeared him with false accusations from social media mob bullying that generated fake clickbait news articles are strangely silent about all the liberals they falsely accused too,” tweeted Dr. Eugene Gu.

“The same people who promote the QAnon conspiracy theory, which the FBI says is now a domestic terror threat, the Obama Birther conspiracy, the ‘Replacement Theory’ don’t have much high ground to gloat about the Nick Sandmann settlement but when you are without shame…” tweeted CNN contributor Wajahat “Abu Khadija” Ali. “Nick Sandmann: future Republican congressman,” he continued.

 

[Hijinx]

Where is the link to the settlement. How much did WAPO pay out?

 

[GURPS]

Nick Sandmann Loses Appeal Over Dismissal of Defamation Claims Against Several Media Outlets​

Sandmann hired counsel, and sued The Washington Post, (which issued a correction and settled), CNN (which settled), NBC (which settled) and NY Times, ABC, CBS, and Rolling Stone, and others.

The lawsuits were dismissed because the District Court found the alleged defamatory statements were protected opinion.

A panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal today in a split (2-1) decision. From the majority opinion:

On January 18, 2019, then-sixteen-year-old Nicholas Sandmann and his classmates had an interaction with a Native American man named Nathan Phillips by the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Video of the incident went viral, and national news organizations, including the five Defendants (Appellees, or News Organizations) published stories about the day’s events and the ensuing public reaction. Sandmann sued, alleging that the Appellees’ reporting, which included statements from Phillips about the encounter, was defamatory. The district court granted the News Organizations’ joint motion for summary judgment, finding that the challenged statements were opinion, not fact, and therefore nonactionable. Sandmann appealed. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM.

The Court went through each of the statements sued-upon, and found that they were opinion, particularly the key media assertion that Sandmann “blocked” the activist (which the video shows was not true).

The dissent was as long as the majority opinion, arguing that the issue should have gone to a jury:

These cases raise classic claims of defamation. Through their news reporting, defendants portrayed plaintiff Nicholas Sandmann as a racist against Native Americans. Their characterization of Nicholas was vicious, widespread, and false. Defendants’ common narrative was readily accepted and effective to the extent that, on national television, NBC’s1 Today Show host Savannah Guthrie asked the 16-year-old if he thought he “owe[d] anybody an apology” for his actions and if he saw his “own fault in any way.”2 Moreover, the false portrayal of Nicholas caused the Diocese of Covington to issue an apology for its parishioner’s actions. An apology that was later retracted once the Diocese learned the truth. The truth is depicted on eighteen stipulated videos of the incident, which unequivocally show that 16-year-old Nicholas Sandmann did nothing more than stand still and smile while confronted by a stranger.3 These cases should be submitted to a jury to decide the factual issue of whether each defendant exercised reasonable care in its reporting. I disagree that summary judgment is appropriate. In this regard, the majority opinion affirms the summary judgment granted in favor of all defendants, not on the basis that their reporting was substantially true or that plaintiff was a public figure necessitating a claim of malice, but on the ground that all the news articles were opinion, not fact. I disagree and would reverse and remand for further proceedings.
In my view, the statements that Sandmann blocked Nathan Phillips’s ascension to the Lincoln Memorial; prevented Phillips from retreating; and impeded Phillips’s movements by stepping to his left and stepping to his right, were actions capable of objective verification. Thus, because these events can be objectively verified, I would hold that the opinion exception to the laws of defamation does not apply.

What next?

Law professor Jonathan Adler thinks this case might be ripe for ‘en banc’ review by the entire 6th Circuit, given the long dissent. After that, it’s probably the end of the road, I can’t see this as a case the Supreme Court would take.

 

[Kyle]

Well, he probably got a fair sum of money from the earlier settlement..

Perhaps enough to put a contract on the remaining perps and get justice that way.