Media Victories in Louisville and Chicago
A former Louisville, Ky. radio talk show host and the Chicago Tribune both won jury verdicts in separate libel cases this week.
The Kentucky verdict came at about 4:10 p.m. on May 24. The case was brought by former local television host Darcie Divita against former local radio talk show host John Ziegler, over he comments he made on the air after she broke off dating him. Ziegler was fired over the comments, and now is a local host in Los Angeles.
The Chicago case was brought by Thomas Knight, the lead prosecutor in a 1983 murder trial in which two defendants were convicted and sentanced to death, but acquitted in a retrial. Knight and six other law enforcment officials were then tried on charges of fabricating evidence in the case, and were acquitted. The defamation case stemmed from the Chicago Tribune's coverage of the fabrication allegations.
MLRC has studied trials with defamation, privacy and related claims against media defendants since 1980. Our studies show that a large share of these cases are dismissed before they go to trial, at the motion to dismiss or summary judgment stage. Of the 527 cases that made it to the trial stage from 1980 through the end of 2004, verdicts were reached in 506 (defendants defaulted in 11, and there were 12 mistrials).
Of the 506 verdicts, 199 of them -- only 39.3 percent -- were for media defendants. This means that the media victories in the Knight and Divita cases are, while not rare, at least in contrast to the overall from 1980 through 2004. But the add to the trend of increasing shares of media defense victories over time -- 35.7 percent of verdicts in the 1980s, 39.1 percent in the 1990s, and 54.7 percent from 2000 through 2004.
The plaintiffs in both the Divitia and Knight cases were both "public figures," which means that they had to prove that the media defendants acted with "actual malice" -- either knowledge that the information published/broadcast was false, or reckless disregard for whether it was true or false -- a tough burden to prove. (The plaintiffs also had to prove the other elements of the claims that they made against the defendants.)
Overall since 1980, media defendants have won 40.8 percent of cases involving public figures. Media defendants fared worse in cases involving elected or appointed public officials, winning 37.8 percent of trial verdicts, and in trials involving private figures, where media defendants won 38.5 percent.
While MLRC's studies show that media defendants do not fare so well at trial, these results are often corrected in post-trial motions or on appeal. Of the 286 trials from 1980 through 2004 won by plaintiffs, their victories were modified (damages either reduced or eliminated) by post-trial motions in 72, or 25.2 percent. Of the 276 awards to plaintiffs that survived -- either in whole or in part -- post-trial motions, 12.7 percent (35 cases) were not appealed, 10.9 percent (30 cases) were settled prior to appeal and 23.2 percent (64 cases) were affirmed on appeal. But a whopping 47.8 percent (132) of the awards were modified on appeal. (Appeals were pending in seven cases (2.5 percent), and final result was unknown in eight (2.9 percent).
Related MLRC Materials:
Other Coverage:
Ky. Cir. Ct.: Divita-Ziegler: Verdict Is In
WLKY 32 (The Louisville Channel)
Jurors needed only two hours Tuesday to return a verdict in Darcie Divita's defamation case against John Ziegler.
Former WDRB morning show host Divita sued Ziegler for personal comments Ziegler made on his talk show on WHAS Radio two years ago. The controversy led to Ziegler's firing, and he has since taken his show to Los Angeles. Divita now lives in Phoenix and does some freelance work there.
Ziegler was cleared of all counts at about 4:10 p.m. Tuesday. Divita was seeking $2.7 million in damages, claiming Ziegler defamed her, among other accusations.
http://www.thelouisvillechannel.com/news/4526432/detail.html
Jury Finds for Tribune
Chicago Tribune
A Cook County jury on Friday afternoon found in favor of the Chicago Tribune in a libel case brought by former DuPage County prosecutor Thomas Knight.
While the jury determined that a statement that was at the heart of Knight's case was "false and a material lie,'' it added that it did not find that the statement was defamatory or made with actual malice.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-050520tribunesuit,1,102446.story?coll=chi-business-hed
Media Victory Rate: All Trials, By Plaintiff Type (PDF File)
Top Trial and Final Awards in Media Trials (PDF File)
MLRC 2005 Report on Trials and Damages (Press Release) (PDF File)
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