Libel negligence

[PayrollHRGuy]

Whether there potentially could be a claim to pursue against someone else can be discussed with an attorney in his area.

Who could that "someone else" possibly be?

 

[quincy]

Who could that "someone else" possibly be?

A neighbor? I don't know. I can't remember the details in the article all that well.

If David wants to explore his options, though, I am sure an attorney in Georgia will be happy to review the matter with him.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

A neighbor? I don't know. I can't remember the details in the article all that well.

OK I was including the neighbors that were quoted under the category of "Source".

 

[quincy]

OK I was including the neighbors that were quoted under the category of "Source".

The neighbors would be unlikely to know anything about charges.

A defamation suit potentially could be filed against someone who uses old information from the news article and repeats it to others, saying or implying that David was convicted of a crime.

A personal review can determine this better.

Although as a former news editor I would not have printed the story as written, I did not see anything in the article that clearly could support a successful libel action against the publisher/paper/writer. But that does not mean the content of the article could not lead to a defamation claim against someone else.

 

[Davidromine]

Yes. But the information published was, in the end, correct. His information was correct.

I understand your reputation took an unfair hit, David. And it is hard to recover from injuries to reputations. It is just not always possible to support a defamation claim.

You can sit down with an attorney in your area to explore your options but suing the reporter or newspaper or the source of the reporter's information does not seem to be one of those options at this point.

You perhaps could ask the editor of the paper to update the story and publish the case disposition. The problem with this is that it will bring last summer's story to readers' minds again and this is not always a good thing. Sometimes it is best to let the story fade. People have short memories.

Discuss it with a lawyer in your area.

It was not correct at the time of publication and remains incorrecr due to stating i, "...was charged..." or charged prior to the publication.

 

[quincy]

It was not correct at the time of publication and remains incorrecr due to stating i, "...was charged..." or charged prior to the publication.

Yes. You have said that.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

It was not correct at the time of publication and remains incorrecr due to stating i, "...was charged..." or charged prior to the publication.

And pretty much everyone here said you don't have a case and more importantly the judge did as well.

 

[quincy]

You will need to find an attorney in your area who can personally review all of the facts surrounding your arrest and charges and later dismissal of charges, and who can personally research and review what has been said about you in print and orally, to see if you have any legal action to pursue.

You also might want to do a search for, and comparison of, information on "Richard Jewell," the man originally falsely accused of the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta. His treatment by and in the press led to reputational harm that spawned many successful defamation lawsuits against many publications.

Good luck.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

@quincy You can't possibly be comparing this to the Richard Jewell case?

 

[quincy]

@quincy You can't possibly be comparing this to the Richard Jewell case?

It takes a lot to be successful with a defamation claim against a newspaper. Richard Jewell was successful. David can learn from the Jewell cases.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Only if he learns that how bad a number of outlets could screw up and that this newspaper didn't even get close to that level in his case.

 

[quincy]

Only if he learns that how bad a number of outlets could screw up and that this newspaper didn't even get close to that level in his case.

The news reporter peppered the article with the word "allegedly," which is a word I do not like to see used in an arrest story.

The article said that (unnamed) neighbors reported seeing David "acting inappropriately around children."

The article quoted a police officer's impressions.

I could go on.

The article was poorly written and poorly edited.

That said, the newspaper did do a follow up story saying that prosecutors were not going to indict him and outlined some of the harm David had suffered as a result of the arrest.

The follow up story was flawed, however, in that it repeated many of the reasons why David was arrested and charges filed against him.

Although I think the chances of being successful with a defamation claim against the press makes the pursuit of one an almost futile task, I think David could benefit from a personal review by an attorney in Georgia well-versed in defamation law.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

David already sued and it was dismissed.

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/libel-negligence.650470/page-3#post-3588491

It was a poorly written story, agreed. It did use "allegedly" way too often. I have no problem with quoting the officer's impressions. We loved that in TV news. Why in God's name they mentioned the neighbor's statement about "acting inappropriately around children" is beyond me. Now if the neighbors reported hearing explosions in the night I would be OK with it because that would tie back to the explosives charge.

 

[quincy]

David already sued and it was dismissed.

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/libel-negligence.650470/page-3#post-3588491

It was a poorly written story, agreed. It did use "allegedly" way too often. I have no problem with quoting the officer's impressions. We loved that in TV news. Why in God's name they mentioned the neighbor's statement about "acting inappropriately around children" is beyond me. Now if the neighbors reported hearing explosions in the night I would be OK with it because that would tie back to the explosives charge.

The best action for David to take at this point seems to be speaking with an attorney in Georgia.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

The best action for David to take at this point seems to be speaking with an attorney in Georgia.

The best action for David is to get own with his life.