WaPo settles suit with Covington teen Nick Sandmann

[GMDino]

hey look!  You can be a rich kid with connections and settle out of court for money! 

https://nypost.com/2020/07/24/washington-post-settles-250m-suit-with-covington-teen-nick-sandmann/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true


Good for him for getting paid for a story that ran too fast without enough information.

I'll be curious to see if there is an apology attached to it or if cold hard cash is good enough.

[GMDino]

Interestingly most of Sandmann's claims were thrown out before the case could move to discovery.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/28/cov-cath-judge-rules-lawsuit-against-washington-post-can-continue/2489395001/

Quote:Sandmann's lawyers argue that the Washington Post incorrectly characterized the teen as the aggressor in the situation and exposed him to public ridicule.


Bertelsman said in the order that he stands by his decision that 30 of the 33 statements Sandmann's lawyers argued were libelous were not, but that "justice requires" further review of three of the statements.
"These three statements state that (Sandmann) 'blocked' Nathan Phillips and 'would not allow him to retreat,'" the order reads.

Judge dismisses lawsuit:$250 million Sandmann lawsuit against Washington Post dismissed by federal judge

Bertelsman said the amended complaint also argues that Phillips "deliberately lied" and "had an unsavory reputation." The new complaint also states the Washington Post should have known about Phillips due to the previous coverage of him.


The judge's order that discovery can continue means Sandmann's legal team can make requests for internal Washington Post documents concerning the events like emails and communications between editors and reporters.

[BmorePat87]

(07-24-2020, 02:32 PM)GMDino Wrote: Interestingly most of Sandmann's claims were thrown out before the case could move to discovery.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/28/cov-cath-judge-rules-lawsuit-against-washington-post-can-continue/2489395001/

Yea, it's unlikely that he got anything close to what he was asking for as most of the claims were just wrong and a lot of it will likely go to his lawyers. 

[GMDino]

(07-24-2020, 02:52 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: Yea, it's unlikely that he got anything close to what he was asking for as most of the claims were just wrong and a lot of it will likely go to his lawyers. 

Yep.  Looked up the lawyer.  BIG time BIG client slander suits.  He wasn't cheap.  But they get to crow about "winning" so yay for them.

[BmorePat87]

(07-24-2020, 03:04 PM)GMDino Wrote: Yep.  Looked up the lawyer.  BIG time BIG client slander suits.  He wasn't cheap.  But they get to crow about "winning" so yay for them.

Richard Jewell, who had a real case, had said that the majority of what he won went to his lawyers. 

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-24-2020, 02:52 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: Yea, it's unlikely that he got anything close to what he was asking for as most of the claims were just wrong and a lot of it will likely go to his lawyers. 

I believe, IIRC, that the lawyer in this case stated he was working pro bono.  It will be interesting to see the reaction to this settlement seeing as how many people view a settlement as an admission of wrongdoing.

[BmorePat87]

(07-24-2020, 03:15 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I believe, IIRC, that the lawyer in this case stated he was working pro bono.  It will be interesting to see the reaction to this settlement seeing as how many people view a settlement as an admission of wrongdoing.

Yea, many will declare it a win and admission of guilt. Many will say it's not a win since they agreed on a settlement over litigating it.

The reality is we're all just speculating on what is "likely", especially since it we don't even know how much it is. 

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-24-2020, 03:19 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: Yea, many will declare it a win and admission of guilt. Many will say it's not a win since they agreed on a settlement over litigating it.

The reality is we're all just speculating on what is "likely", especially since it we don't even know how much it is. 

All true, plus I'd bet huge that there's an NDA attached to the settlement terms, so we'll almost certainly never know.

[GMDino]

Update:

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2022/07/27/nick-sandmann-defamation-lawsuits-dismissed-federal-judge/10164373002/

Quote:Judge dismisses ex-Covington Catholic student's defamation lawsuits against media outlets

Kevin Grasha
Cincinnati Enquirer







A federal judge in Kentucky has dismissed defamation lawsuits filed by former Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann against five national media outlets, including The Enquirer’s owner, Gannett Co.

Sandmann, who according to his Twitter account now attends Transylvania University in Lexington, pursued multiple lawsuits against media outlets over reporting about a viral video from 2019. The video showed a Jan. 18, 2019 encounter in Washington, D.C., involving Sandmann, then 16 years old, and a Native American man, Nathan Phillips.

In an opinion issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman said the media outlets – Gannett, The New York Times, Rolling Stone magazine, ABC News and CBS News – reported statements by Phillips that were "objectively unverifiable" and thus constitutionally protected opinions. The Enquirer was one of several Gannett-owned news outlets that reported on the encounter.

In the video, Sandmann and Phillips, who was demonstrating as part of Indigenous Peoples Day, face each other in a crowd on the National Mall. Sandmann and his classmates from the Park Hills, Kentucky school were there that day for the March for Life. 


Bertelsman focused on Phillips’ statement to The Washington Post, which was quoted in a New York Times article. Phillips said Sandmann “blocked my way and wouldn’t allow me to retreat.” Bertelsman said reporting by the other four news outlets differed “slightly.”

The judge said the news outlets were covering “a matter of great public interest” and reported Phillips’ first-person view of what he experienced. The “blocking statements,” he said, were constitutionally protected opinions.

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Bertelsman reviewed multiple videos of the encounter, which he said showed Phillips “drumming and approaching” a group of students that included Sandmann.

Eventually, Phillips stopped directly in front of Sandmann. As Phillips approached, Bertelsman said Sandmann “subtly adjusted his footing, but it is unclear if he actually moved from where he stood.”

Phillips never asked Sandmann to move. He also didn’t try to walk by Sandmann, the judge said. At the same time, Sandman didn’t “change his position while Phillips played his drum," which the judge noted was within inches of Sandmann’s face.

It is undisputed that the two never spoke to each other.

“Sandmann had no way of knowing that Phillips was trying to pass him,” Bertelsman said. “Likewise, Phillips had no way to confirm his belief that Sandmann intended to block him and would not allow him to retreat.”


The encounter ended when a chaperone arrived and told the students that their buses had arrived, the judge said.

A spokesman for The New York Times said the decision "reaffirms that the Times provided a fair account of the controversy surrounding the events that took place that day on the National Mall."

A Gannett spokesperson said the decision speaks for itself and declined further comment.


Todd McMurtry, an attorney for Sandmann, said they are disappointed with the decision and plan to appeal.

Sandmann had sued Gannett for $195 million. In total, he was seeking $1.25 billion through the multiple lawsuits. 

In 2020, CNN and The Washington Post reached settlements with Sandmann. And last year, NBC settled. Details were not disclosed.

A little bit on the order.

Hey, #LitigationDisasterTourists, in a SHOCKING twist, Sandmann has lost his defamation cases. Let's read the order, shall we?https://t.co/RYEHASBJR3 https://t.co/3gAzZ7Q5BY

— Akiva Cohen (@AkivaMCohen) July 27, 2022

 

[BFritz21]

Considering all the death threats Sandmann got and all the bomb threats my high school got, he's not getting a fraction of what he should get.

Can't believe some of you are defending the outlets.

Do you even remember some of the news where they basically called Sandmann a white supremacist for standing there and doing nothing?

Or are you just mad because he's a Trump supporter?

[GMDino]

(08-02-2022, 10:07 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: Considering all the death threats Sandmann got and all the bomb threats my high school got, he's not getting a fraction of what he should get.

Can't believe some of you are defending the outlets.

Do you even remember some of the news where they basically called Sandmann a white supremacist for standing there and doing nothing?

Or are you just mad because he's a Trump supporter?

He's not getting anything in these cases.

[BFritz21]

(08-02-2022, 10:14 PM)GMDino Wrote: He's not getting anything in these cases.

How do you know?

A few of them settled.

I like how you ignored the rest of my post.

[grampahol]

It probably comes as a rude shock to some, but big organizations like the post and many others settle out of court for little more than get these claims out of the headlines. It's little more than public relations control and chicken feed for them. Crow all you like, but it isn't adding a dime to your bottom line. 
I read both the Times and the Post every day. This is page 99 stuff.. 

[Belsnickel]

(08-02-2022, 10:25 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: How do you know?

A few of them settled.

I like how you ignored the rest of my post.

The ones that settled, which I believe was two of them, would have settled for a pittance in comparison to the original monies and it was mostly because, as grampahol said, it got them out of the headlines and it also was cheaper than dragging on the litigation. For these five, though, Sandmann gets nothing and will likely have to use a good chunk of the settlement money from the other two to pay for this litigation given how long it dragged on. He probably got free college out of it from the suits themselves, but not much else.

[GMDino]

(08-02-2022, 10:25 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: How do you know?

A few of them settled.

I like how you ignored the rest of my post.

I read the article. 

[Sled21]

(08-02-2022, 10:14 PM)GMDino Wrote: He's not getting anything in these cases.

He got a ton from CNN....

[GMDino]

(08-03-2022, 10:32 AM)Sled21 Wrote: He got a ton from CNN....

Oh yeah?  How much?