Court: Nicholas Sandmann lawsuits against NY Times, ABC, CBS, and Rolling Stone can go forward
“the Complaint alleges that Sandmann was libeled by the defendant when it published a news article stating that Sandmann, while at the Lincoln Memorial, ‘blocked’ NativeAmerican activist Nathan Phillips and “prevented Phillips’ retreat … [T]he Court has ruled in companion cases that it is libelous.”
Nicholas Sandmann filed suit against numerous media entities after the false and misleading portrayals of him and his interaction with a Native American activist who banged a drum inches from Sandmann’s face.
Sandmann settled with CNN and WaPo for undisclosed amounts, his suit against NBC survived a motion to dismiss, and there is a pending motion to dismiss in his suit against Gannett.
In an important series of rulings, the federal judge handling the cases just entered orders denying motions to dismiss his cases against the NY Times, ABC, CBS, and Rolling Stone. So those cases will move forward.
https://twitter.com/LLinWood/status/1311771933298561024
Here are links to each of the Orders:
Sandmann v. NY Times – Order Denying Motion to Dismiss
Sandmann v. CBS News – Order Denying Motion to Dismiss
Sandmann v. ABC News – Order Denying Motion to Dismiss
Sandmann v. Rolling Stone – Order Denying Motion to Dismiss
The Orders are very similar. Here is the key reasoning from the NY Times case:
Greatly summarized, the Complaint alleges that Sandmann was libeled by the defendant when it published a news article stating that Sandmann, while at the Lincoln Memorial, “blocked” NativeAmerican activist Nathan Phillips and “prevented Phillips’ retreat while Nicholas and a mass of other young white boys surrounded, taunted, jeered and physically intimidated Phillips.” (Compl. ¶ 3).
This news story is alleged to be false and defamatory. (Id.). Sandmann further alleges that this publication by defendant and similar stories by other news media caused him to be harassed by the public, causing him great emotional distress. (Compl. ¶¶ 25, 162-164, 251-257). Sandmann also alleges that defendant’s article “is now forever a part of the historical Internet record and will haunt and taint Nicholas for the remainder of his natural life and impugn his reputation for generations to come.” (Compl. ¶ 254).
The motion to dismiss argues that this publication is not libelous, but the Court has ruled in companion cases that it is libelous. The Court continues to hold that opinion for the reason stated in such preceding cases. See Sandmann v. The Washington Post, Cov. Case No. 19cv19 (Docs. 47, 64); Sandmann v. Cable News Network, Cov. Case No. 19cv31 (Docs. 43, 44); Sandmann v. NBCUniversal Media, LLC, Cov. Case No. 19cv56 (Doc. 43).
So all the suits go forward.
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BRAVO.
I hope Nick ends up owning them all, literally.
Then he burns them to the ground and salts the earth.
And makes the rubble bounce!
“ Sandmann also alleges that defendant’s article “is now forever a part of the historical Internet record and will haunt and taint Nicholas for the remainder of his natural life and impugn his reputation for generations to come.” ”
All of the nasty little tweets and stories that came out when Sandmann spoke at the RNC will be used as evidence of this allegation.
Biden has probably already sent Phillips on this job.
Biden Suddenly Desperately Trying To Deploy People In Battleground States
https://www.weaselzippers.us/456871-biden-suddenly-desperately-trying-to-deploy-people-in-battleground-states/
Probably going building-to-building presenting themselves as the City Building Infectors.
I love that he wants to become an attorney specializing in defamation.
Can you say “$$$$$ettlement$$$$$?”
An obnoxious man invades a teen’s personal space and begins banging a drum inches from his face. In NYC (at least, back in the old days) Phillips would have been fairly punched in the face for his lack of manners and his brazen attempt at intimidation.
In better times, his obnoxious behavior would have had painful consequences.
In our current times, it’s a good thing no such thing happened. He WANTED that, so he could scream victim and maybe get some settlement money for himself.
God bless Nick Sandmann for not falling for it.
Technically isn’t Phillips a childer abuser/molester?
Anyone under 21 is a minor, so……..
But you know good and well that Leftist has been pulling such unethical acts all his life.
Imagine how bad that rotten toothed drum beaters breath must have smelled
Hoping Kyle gets the same kind of decisions against biden.
The press was certain they could convince the court that the notoriety they themselves propagated would invoke a Sullivan defense. It was a stretch even for courts which have a high tolerance for left wing smears….except for themselves of course. No greater sissies than judges when it comes to criticism. Hence always the drift to the left.
No, I don’t think they argued that at all. They argued that what they had published was not libelous even if all the facts were as Sandmann says they were, and the court said “You’ve got to be kidding”.
Note that Sandmann is not suing for being called a racist, because that’s likely to be dismissed as a mere opinion. Instead he’s suing for specific statements of fact they made about him, that were demonstrably false. Whether he’s a racist or not (he isn’t), the objective fact is that he didn’t block Phillips, prevent his retreat, surround, taunt, jeer, or intimidate him. And the defendants said he did all those things.
As I understand it the defendants’ position is that sure, we said all those things, and sure, let’s stipulate that we were wrong, but none of those things damaged him. Had we said all those things about him without the implication that he’s a racist nobody would have thought it a big deal, and he would have no damages. So the damages came only from that implication, which is not actionable. And the court said, that’s too clever by half and we’re not buying it.
Milhouse, thanks for the expanded analysis.
Last month, a professor at Transylvania University (where Sandmann will be attending) made facebook comments about Sandmann’s beliefs and stated that he will instantly report any bad behavior on the part of the new student.
Can that be added to the documentation of ongoing damages? The chances of a prospective student being singled out by his professors is essentially 0.0% without the defamation of the news outlets. (Assuming the student made no overt acts himself.)
Agreed.
I’m sick and tired of the so-called “news” media slandering people they don’t agree with, then running and hiding behind the 1st Amendment.
Take them all down.
Nick is heading to the pay window multiple times
Hooray!
I love the smell of walls closing in in the morning.
This photo of Sandmann and Phillips gives a better illustration of the interaction than the “smirking” one. Phillips is angrily shouting in Nicholas Sandmann’s face. I am reminded of Obama telling his supporters to “Get in their faces.”
Nicholas Sandmann is under stress- someone old enough to be his grandfather is angrily shouting in his face- and isn’t sure what to do. Grace under pressure.
Imagine Phillips’ breath?
Add battery to Nick’s complaint.
Interestingly this pic shows the faces of his fellow students.
What had been a group of smiling kids from an earlier pic post waiting to be picked up, was changed to shock and disbelief in the moments when the verbal and inciting attack by the dumb activist “drummer”.
As to the Prof. who gave notice that he would be “watching Nicholas for any discretion”, are the words and actions for which the courts are settling “all” his claims of damages on. At this point the best the college can and should do, is put the Prof. on notice to teach his course and to stop opining.
Harassment and taunting of the Covington kids didn’t begin with Nathan Phillips’s drumming. The Black Hebrews had been taunting them for a while. BEFORE SANDMANN’S SMIRK, THERE WAS THE BLACK HEBREWS’ HATE. Given the taunting and harassment they endured, Nicholas Sandmann and his schoolmates showed a maturity beyond their ages to keep their cool.
Kyle Rittenhouse may have an even better case.
He’s been repeatedly smeared as a white supremacist with murder in his heart by the media and by Biden. The qualifier ‘allegedly’ has not been used. There is not a shred of evidence he is in any way associated with any white supremacist group or that he had any intent to shoot anyone.
Barret may get to render a vote on that one.
Sandmann is not left-wing. He’s not progressive, or even liberal. He’s All American: Pro-Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. #HateLovesAbortion
n.n., you are just documenting all of the reasons he must be destroyed!
Yes, I think Rittenhouse does have an even better case than Sandmann’s. But I don’t think his case will ever make it to the Supreme Court, just as I don’t think Sandmann’s will. It will settle long before that.
The system of justice in the US is more or less designed to try and force people to settle prior to trial. This is as true for both civil and criminal cases, the vast majority of which do not go before either a judge or jury. The main deterrence is expense and gross uncertainty of outcome. You have much more control over the outcome during the pre-trial phase when you can withdraw, settle or plea bargain than when you go to trial and give your fate to a judge and jury, both of which can be biased, ignorant, arbitrary, capricious, malevolent even, and do whatever they want regardless of any law, rule, or precedent. For all those who doubt me, I have one word for you – Sullivan.
This is why litigants (to include government prosecutors) with financial superiority over their opponents have such clear advantage in our legal system. The can stretch out the process and absorb the cost of protracted litigation in a game of financial attrition to force the other side into financial exhaustion and greater need to come to terms, often to their greater disadvantage.
A dirty secret is that many law firms have a formula for settlement which is roughly expected damage award times probability of award, plus expected legal fees to bring a movement to conclusion at trial. If plaintiff is offered more by defendant, they advise settlement. If plaintiff demands or agrees to less by defendant, defendant settles. Sometimes attorneys get clients who are all Hell bent on a righteous cause and refuse all settlement. Most attorneys do not like such clients who lack the wherewithal to walk-the-walk.
I would like to have an opportunity to work on Nathan Phillips’ teeth/tooth. That sorryass puke has to be related to Pelosi, they look like cousins.
Maybe Lisa Page could lend Phillips some of her excess gum tissue to fill in the gaps when he has his rotten teeth replaced.
let the damages be punitive in nature and large.
Large enough to recapture capital from NYT’s reduced tax liability, and penalties, and interests. It’s what NYT would want.
2020-09-29 TaxVid – Trump, Biden and Covid Scams
It’s amusing to watch all the caterwauling over Trump’s taxes. Why? Because it was specifically Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama who made his $70+ million refund legal. Nobody, of course, on the left wants to talk about it.
Hoisted by their own petard.
Depositions are going to be painful for some of the more self entitled media folks.
A year and a half after being in the news for his drumming in Nichlas Sandmann’s face, Nathan Phillips has disappeared from the news. His fifteen minutes of fame are up.
Off topic, but the relevant thread is a day old and nobody’s looking at it any more: Don’t Call Hasidim Anti-Science. From, of all places, the lefty rag Forward.
I am glad these cases are going forward. The unethical media had far too much fun slandering this kid.
Let us pray that all that money doesn’t destroy him.
Revenge is the best revenge. And Woke is just another word for no brain cells left to lose. No dollars either, it looks like. Oh, well! Get Woke, Go Broke 🙂
Have you ever seen such punchable fake news media??
Seems the court after being under liberal control for decades is proving law applies to even teh lefts propaganda machine. maybe we can get some standards from this.
How great is this? They will all settle. They don’t want to go through discovery. Nick is a good kid the hateful media tried to destroy and now they will pay.
Right on Baaybee! Sic ‘Em Lin!
LOL others settling gave precedence for these to continue.
And honestly, I think a lot of this comes back to Oberlin, who thought that they could win against a weak opponent. Instead, the discovery process truly exposed who they were and the settlement amount made other people take notice that libel and slander were no longer “freebies.” I wouldn’t be disappointed if the Gibson’s decided to go after a few of the student ringleaders and make examples of them. I bet that one woman mouthing off at the protest as shown in the Koppel piece hasn’t slept well in a few years.
If I were Nick, I would settle with all but one, and then drag that one through discovery. I am sure that the other settlements have NDA clauses, but what if the one that was drug through discovery had a whole bunch of embarrassing interactions with the other parties. When you see such similar reporting over such a short time span, there must be collusion at some level. If not, imagine having to admit that your source was copying exactly what another network said off the TV screen in your office.
This is truly a gift that keeps on giving.
“The wheels of justice turn slowly but grind exceedingly fine.”
We have a God that is just. His justice is continually working – even when we don’t see it. Faith is trusting in a God who holds all humanity accountable for their actions.
Ecclesiastes 12:14
We need to change the liability laws so they hold professional news organizations to a higher standard. There are generally accepted standards for reporters and when they fail to follow these standards professionals could be successfully sued by even public figures..
Trump would be able to bankrupt the progressive fascist news media with this change.