Biodun.BBC: defamation

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

High school student sues the Washington Post for defamation

February 20, 2019 03H:23 GMT/ZULU

by Rochelle van Amber and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, Covington, Kentucky

A high school student from Covington, Kentucky, sued the Washington Post for defamation on Tuesday, claiming the newspaper falsely accused him of racist acts and instigating a confrontation with a Native American activist in a January videotaped incident at the Lincoln Memorial.

FILE PHOTO: Nicholas Sandmann, 16, a student from Covington Catholic High School stands in front of Native American activist Nathan Phillips in Washington, U.S., in this still image from a January 18, 2019 video by Kaya Taitano. Kaya Taitano/Social Media/via REUTERS/File Photo

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Kentucky by Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann, 16, seeks $250 million in damages, the amount that Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com and the world’s richest person, paid for the Post in 2013.

The lawsuit claims that the newspaper “wrongfully targeted and bullied” the teen to advance its bias against President Donald Trump because Sandmann is a white Catholic who wore a Make America Great Again souvenir cap on a school field trip to the March for Life anti-abortion rally in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 18.

The Washington Post’s Vice President for Communications Kristine Coratti Kelly said: “We are reviewing a copy of the lawsuit and we plan to mount a vigorous defense.”

In a photo that went viral from the incident, Sandmann is seen standing face to face with Native American activist Nathan Phillips. Sandmann stares smiling at him while Phillips sings and plays his drum.

The incident sparked outrage on social media.

FIRST OF MANY

In a statement, Sandmann’s Atlanta-based lawyer, Lin Wood, said additional similar lawsuits would be filed in the weeks ahead.

A private investigation firm retained by Covington Diocese in Park Hills, Kentucky, found in a report released last week no evidence the teenagers provoked a confrontation.

The students were met at the Lincoln Memorial by offensive statements from members of the Black Hebrew Israelites, the report said.

Stone ordered back to court over 'crosshairs' post

The investigation also determined that the students did not direct any racist or offensive comments toward Phillips although several performed a “tomahawk chop” to the beat of his drum.

Phillips claimed in a separate video that he heard the students chanting “build that wall,” during the encounter, a reference to Trump’s pledge to build a barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico.

The investigators said they found no evidence of such a chant and that Phillips did not respond to multiple attempts to contact him.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Doctor sues ex-patient for $1m over negative Yelp review

Image captionMichelle Levine also posted negative reviews on Zocdoc and Healthgrades

by Biodun Iginla, BBC News, New York

A woman in New York is being sued by her former doctor after she posted negative reviews about his gynaecology practice on the internet.

Michelle Levine says she has already had to pay $20,000 (£15,000) in legal fees to fight the million-dollar case.

The lawsuit arose out of a visit last August to Dr Joon Song, in which Ms Levine says she was improperly billed.

She has been accused of defamation, libel and causing emotional distress with her negative comments.

"At first, I was in disbelief," Ms Levine, 36, told WABC-TV in New York, after she was sued for $1m in damages.

"That's not defamatory. Everything I wrote is true," she added.

In her review - which was posted to Yelp, Zocdoc and Healthgrades - the Manhattanite complains of "very poor and crooked" business practices at the doctor's office.

"And I gave them one star on Facebook, which they also put in their complaint," Ms Levine told CBS, adding that her private medical records were included in publicly-available court documents as well.

In a since-deleted review after her August 2017 visit, she wrote: "I suspect that this doctor gives unnecessary procedure [sic] to a lot of people and then charges the insurance sky high prices and no one knows the difference."

Ms Levine wrote that, despite visiting the office for an annual review, she was billed for an ultrasound that she claims she did not need.

On their Yelp page, the doctor's office claims that the ultrasound is given to all new patients due to its ability to detect potentially serious medical conditions.

A lawyer for Dr Song said in a statement to US media: "While everyone is entitled to their opinion, outright lies masquerading as reviews can inflict serious damage to a medical practice or small business."

"Just because you are allowed to and are able to doesn't mean that you should do so without reservations about what you say," added lawyer Areva Martin.

"Your First Amendment right doesn't give you the right to defame someone."

A call by BBC News to Dr Song's office was not immediately returned on Wednesday.

In court, his lawyers cite his Yale training to refute Ms Levine's alleged experience.

A spokesperson for Yelp told ABC News it was "rare for businesses to sue their customers", adding that the company "always said that litigation is not a good substitute for customer service".