{"id":12701,"date":"2019-12-04T18:56:58","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T23:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/?p=12701"},"modified":"2019-12-04T18:56:58","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T23:56:58","slug":"sandmanns-libel-suit-against-washington-post-ordered-to-proceed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/2019\/12\/04\/sandmanns-libel-suit-against-washington-post-ordered-to-proceed\/","title":{"rendered":"Sandmann\u2019s Libel Suit Against Washington Post Ordered to Proceed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Photo provided courtesy of Pixabay.<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Matthew Naum, Staff Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

A federal judge has reversed his dismissal of Nicholas Sandmann\u2019s quarter billion-dollar lawsuit against the Washington <\/em>Post following the submission of an amended complaint.[1]<\/sup><\/a> In a story that polarized the American public and one the New York Times<\/em> called \u201can explosive convergence of race, religion, and ideological beliefs,\u201d[2]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Sandmann and his high school classmates were pilloried by the media and general public following video that appeared to show them mocking and taunting individuals attending the Indigenous Peoples March in Washington D.C. earlier this year.[3]<\/sup><\/a> Subsequent video of the incident that was released appeared to exonerate him and his classmates, leading to the massive lawsuit against the Post. <\/em>[<\/sup><\/a>4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The lawsuit stems from the confrontation between Nicholas Sandmann and other students from Covington Catholic Highschool in Kentucky and Native American activist Nathan Phillips along with other demonstrators.[5]<\/sup><\/a> The students and demonstrators were at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on January 19, 2019, students being there for the March for Life and Phillips being there for Indigenous Peoples\u2019 March, respectively.[6]<\/sup><\/a> The initial viral video showed a chaotic scene with Sandmann, wearing a red \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d hat, smiling while Phillips played a drum just inches away from him.[7]<\/sup><\/a> Surrounding Sandmann were his fellow classmates who were boisterously singing and chanting.[8]<\/sup><\/a> The initial reporting and discussion on social media, colored by Phillips\u2019 public comments that he felt hatred coming from the students,[9]<\/sup><\/a> painted Sandmann and the other students as disrespectful or even racist, and that they were \u201ctaunting\u201d Phillips.[10]<\/sup><\/a>[11]<\/sup><\/a> Sandmann specifically stated that he had received death threats as a result of the initial outrage.[12]<\/sup><\/a> Days after the initial reporting, additional video emerged that showed a third group, members of the Hebrew Israelites, hurling insults and racial epithets at both the students and Phillips\u2019 group and corroborated Sandmann\u2019s contention that his classmates were not chanting to taunt or insult Phillips but to drown out the hateful language of the Hebrew Israelites.[13]<\/sup><\/a> The Washington Post<\/em> subsequently issued an editor\u2019s note admitting that new video and reporting contradicted or failed to confirm the accounts reported in their initial story.[14]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

As a result of what they felt was unfair media treatment, Sandmann and his family hired Atlanta-based attorney L. Lin Wood, a prominent attorney in the field of defamation and \u201cmedia sensitive situations\u201d.[15]<\/sup><\/a>[16]<\/sup><\/a> Wood has represented other individuals involved in media controversies such as Richard Jewell, wrongfully accused of involvement in the bombing of Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta in 1996.[17]<\/sup><\/a> Wood has experience in defamation suits, including members of the Ramsey family against CBS News and others relating to their supposed involvement in the murder of JonBenet Ramsey.[18]<\/sup><\/a> Sandmann and his lawyers filed a libel claim against Washington Post<\/em> in a Kentucky federal court seeking $250 million in damages.[19]<\/sup><\/a> In the lawsuit, Sandmann\u2019s attorneys claimed the Post<\/em> published seven stories that provided a \u201cfalse and defamatory gist\u201d of the encounter at the Lincoln Memorial and \u201ccontributed to the rampant cyber-assault and cyber-bullying” against Sandmann.[20]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

In July of this year, a federal judge in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted a motion to dismiss the case filed by the Post<\/em>.[21]<\/sup><\/a> In his opinion, Judge William Bertelsman accepted Sandmann\u2019s statement that he was not trying to block or impede anyone and was merely attempting to calm the situation during the January 19 confrontation, though also noting Philips did not see it that way.[22]<\/sup><\/a> Ultimately, the court held that although possibly erroneous, Philips\u2019 conclusions about Sandmann\u2019s actions and intentions published by the Post <\/em>are opinion protected by the First Amendment and the Post<\/em> is not liable for publishing them. [23]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

In October, Judge Bertelsman reversed his July dismissal of Sandmann\u2019s libel suit after Sandmann\u2019s attorneys filed an amended complaint.[24]<\/sup><\/a> In the five-page order, the court narrowed the scope of the suit to three of the original thirty-three alleged defamatory statements, focusing on the statements that said Sandmann had \u201cblocked\u201d Phillips and \u201cwould not allow him to retreat.\u201d[25]<\/sup><\/a> The court also noted that the amended complaint alleged in greater detail that the original complaint that Phillips deliberately lied about the events on January 19, and that he \u201chad an unsavory reputation, but for which [the Post\u2019s<\/em>] negligence or malice, would have alerted [the Post<\/em>] to this fact.\u201d[26]<\/sup><\/a> As a result, the court ordered the case to move to discovery for the three statements specified by the court.[27]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

In an age where only a paltry 41% of Americans trust mass media to accurately report the news,[28]<\/sup><\/a> a finding of liability on the part of the Post <\/em>if this case proceeds to a jury trial will likely only further foment the public\u2019s distrust in American mass media. Additionally, any further negative press for the Post<\/em> will likely serve to embolden President Trump\u2019s attacks against the mainstream media in the United States as he has already lent his support to Sandmann\u2019s suit on his Twitter account, saying \u201cGo get them Nick. Fake news!\u201d[29]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2019\/10\/28\/cov-cath-judge-rules-lawsuit-against-washington-post-can-continue\/2489395001\/<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/20\/us\/nathan-phillips-covington.html<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> https:\/\/www.vox.com\/policy-and-politics\/2019\/1\/23\/18192831\/covington-catholic-maga-hat-native-american-nathan-phillips<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/sandmann-family-sue-cnn-for-275m-in-covington-catholic-controversy<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/01\/19\/us\/teens-mock-native-elder-trnd\/index.html<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/22\/us\/covington-catholic-washington-videos.html<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> https:\/\/apnews.com\/90c35b0e3b1f41abbcb28eef7cf4bd9a<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Id.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/01\/21\/us\/nathan-phillips-maga-teens-interview\/index.html<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Id.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/civil-rights\/426597-in-covington-students-controversy-media-forgets-to-get-it-first-but<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/01\/20\/us\/covington-kentucky-student-statement\/index.html<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/01\/21\/us\/maga-hat-teens-native-american-second-video\/index.html<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/nation\/2019\/03\/01\/editors-note-related-lincoln-memorial-incident\/<\/p>\n

[15]<\/a> https:\/\/nypost.com\/2019\/01\/25\/maga-teens-family-hires-high-profile-libel-attorney\/<\/p>\n

[16]<\/a> http:\/\/www.linwoodlaw.com\/about\/what-we-do\/<\/p>\n

[17]<\/a> https:\/\/apnews.com\/76a822254db8bf433368eedb10d7c58a<\/p>\n

[18]<\/a> http:\/\/www.linwoodlaw.com\/about\/what-we-do\/<\/p>\n

[19]<\/a> https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/02\/20\/696245435\/covington-catholic-teen-nick-sandmann-sues-washington-post-for-250-million<\/p>\n

[20]<\/a> Id.<\/p>\n

[21]<\/a> https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/judge-dismisses-suit-washington-post-filed-teen-faced\/story?id=64606899<\/p>\n

[22]<\/a>\u00a0 Id.<\/p>\n

[23]<\/a> Id.<\/p>\n

[24]<\/a> https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/lifestyle\/style\/federal-judge-reinstates-libel-lawsuit-filed-by-covington-catholic-teen-against-washington-post\/2019\/10\/28\/30155c52-f9ae-11e9-ac8c-8eced29ca6ef_story.html<\/p>\n

[25]<\/a> Id.<\/p>\n

[26]<\/a> Sandmann v. WP Company LLC<\/em>, No. 2:19-00019 WOB-CJS (E.D. Ky. Oct. 28, 2019).<\/p>\n

[27]<\/a> Id.<\/p>\n

[28]<\/a> https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/267047\/americans-trust-mass-media-edges-down.aspx<\/p>\n

[29]<\/a> https:\/\/www.cincinnati.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2019\/02\/20\/covcath-trump-cheers-nick-sandmann-suit-against-washington-post\/2930573002\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Matthew Naum, Staff Writer A federal judge has reversed his dismissal of Nicholas Sandmann\u2019s quarter billion-dollar lawsuit against the Washington Post following the submission of an amended complaint.[1] In a story that polarized the American public and one the New York Times called \u201can explosive convergence of race, religion, [\u2026] <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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