Nick Sandmann loses his defamation lawsuits vs media companies

[GeorgiaModerate]

After years of politically charged litigation, former Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann has lost a round of high-profile defamation lawsuits against five mainstream media companies at the summary judgment stage. That’s according to court dockets and an opinion and order signed by a federal judge in the Eastern District of Kentucky on Tuesday.

Sandmann’s cases against ABC News, Rolling Stone magazine, CBS News, newspaper and television station owner Gannett, and The New York Times are now officially listed as “terminated” on the court record.

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/former-covington-catholic-student-nick-sandmann-loses-defamation-lawsuits-against-cbs-abc-nyt-and-others/

[Badger]

After years of politically charged litigation, former Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann has lost a round of high-profile defamation lawsuits against five mainstream media companies at the summary judgment stage. That’s according to court dockets and an opinion and order signed by a federal judge in the Eastern District of Kentucky on Tuesday.

Sandmann’s cases against ABC News, Rolling Stone magazine, CBS News, newspaper and television station owner Gannett, and The New York Times are now officially listed as “terminated” on the court record.

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/former-covington-catholic-student-nick-sandmann-loses-defamation-lawsuits-against-cbs-abc-nyt-and-others/

I always wondered why the hell CNN settled with him for iirc millions. Weather one thinks the coverage of him was fair or not - fuzzy, we know you're here and you've ranted about this more than enough we don't need a repeat - I don't know how their coverage ever cross the line into actionable defamation, etc.

[GeneralMacArthur]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

After years of politically charged litigation, former Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann has lost a round of high-profile defamation lawsuits against five mainstream media companies at the summary judgment stage. That’s according to court dockets and an opinion and order signed by a federal judge in the Eastern District of Kentucky on Tuesday.

Sandmann’s cases against ABC News, Rolling Stone magazine, CBS News, newspaper and television station owner Gannett, and The New York Times are now officially listed as “terminated” on the court record.

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/former-covington-catholic-student-nick-sandmann-loses-defamation-lawsuits-against-cbs-abc-nyt-and-others/

I always wondered why the hell CNN settled with him for iirc millions. Weather one thinks the coverage of him was fair or not - fuzzy, we know you're here and you've ranted about this more than enough we don't need a repeat - I don't know how their coverage ever cross the line into actionable defamation, etc.

I remember reading an article that said it's likely he only got $50,000-$100,000.

[Badger]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

What lies specifically? Genuine question.

[DrScholl]

Defamation is very hard to prove and in this case all that the media really did was show footage that the public interpreted differently.

[GeneralMacArthur]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

What lies specifically? Genuine question.

The media told this story as though the kid went over to the Native Americans to intimidate them with his MAGA hat and smirk at them gloating over Trump's victory.  In actuality the Native Americans came over to the kids to try and antagonize them, and Sandmann's famous "smirk" was probably more about being uncomfortable and awkward than anything else.  Didn't stop the media from using the fake story to make him the emblematic MAGA brat.

[DrScholl]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

What lies specifically? Genuine question.

The media told this story as though the kid went over to the Native Americans to intimidate them with his MAGA hat and smirk at them gloating over Trump's victory.  In actuality the Native Americans came over to the kids to try and antagonize them, and Sandmann's famous "smirk" was probably more about being uncomfortable and awkward than anything else.  Didn't stop the media from using the fake story to make him the emblematic MAGA brat.

That's not defamation nor does it entitle him to millions of dollars. Defamation under the law is ruining someone's character to the point of serious hardship.

[GeneralMacArthur]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

What lies specifically? Genuine question.

The media told this story as though the kid went over to the Native Americans to intimidate them with his MAGA hat and smirk at them gloating over Trump's victory.  In actuality the Native Americans came over to the kids to try and antagonize them, and Sandmann's famous "smirk" was probably more about being uncomfortable and awkward than anything else.  Didn't stop the media from using the fake story to make him the emblematic MAGA brat.

That's not defamation nor does it entitle him to millions of dollars. Defamation under the law is ruining someone's character to the point of serious hardship.

I'm not making any judgment call on the legal specifics.  But what the media did to this kid was extremely and knowingly dishonest, and he suffered for it.  That's wrong, and he deserves justice.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

What lies specifically? Genuine question.

The media told this story as though the kid went over to the Native Americans to intimidate them with his MAGA hat and smirk at them gloating over Trump's victory.  In actuality the Native Americans came over to the kids to try and antagonize them, and Sandmann's famous "smirk" was probably more about being uncomfortable and awkward than anything else.  Didn't stop the media from using the fake story to make him the emblematic MAGA brat.

That's not defamation nor does it entitle him to millions of dollars. Defamation under the law is ruining someone's character to the point of serious hardship.

CNN & WaPO settled with him, so they disagree, Doc.

[GregTheGreat657]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

What lies specifically? Genuine question.

The media told this story as though the kid went over to the Native Americans to intimidate them with his MAGA hat and smirk at them gloating over Trump's victory.  In actuality the Native Americans came over to the kids to try and antagonize them, and Sandmann's famous "smirk" was probably more about being uncomfortable and awkward than anything else.  Didn't stop the media from using the fake story to make him the emblematic MAGA brat.

That's not defamation nor does it entitle him to millions of dollars. Defamation under the law is ruining someone's character to the point of serious hardship.

These companies essentially called him a racist in front of the whole nation. It's kind of hard to get a job or go to college when the media smears you as a racist.

[dead0man]

The media companies either had the entire video the day the story broke, but chose to only play the edited version for ratings reasons or they are worse at journalism than Trump was as President.

[DrScholl]

I'm not making any judgment call on the legal specifics.  But what the media did to this kid was extremely and knowingly dishonest, and he suffered for it.  That's wrong, and he deserves justice.

Justice for what? Strangers thinking he's a jerk? It isn't like he was falsely accused of a crime.

CNN & WaPO settled with him, so they disagree, Doc.

Just because they settled doesn't make it defamation under the law. Sometimes entities settle just to make people go away.

These companies essentially called him a racist in front of the whole nation. It's kind of hard to get a job or go to college when the media smears you as a racist.

But you actually need proof of these things to win a defamation suit. There's not evidence he was denied college admission or jobs based on any of this. Very few defamation cases succeed specifically for lack of evidence of hardship.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

He still got a settlement from CNN and the Washington Post in the millions, so no his life wasn't "destroyed." He's actually much better off now than if it had never happened.

[Aurelius]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

What lies specifically? Genuine question.

The media told this story as though the kid went over to the Native Americans to intimidate them with his MAGA hat and smirk at them gloating over Trump's victory.  In actuality the Native Americans came over to the kids to try and antagonize them, and Sandmann's famous "smirk" was probably more about being uncomfortable and awkward than anything else.  Didn't stop the media from using the fake story to make him the emblematic MAGA brat.

I agree 100% that the media's treatment of him was disgusting. At the same time, I think it's a very good thing that US defamation/libel/slander/whatever law is so biased toward the defendant. Any change in the other direction will likely do far more harm than good.

[Storr]

Defamation lawsuits are difficult to win, due to the broad definition the courts have given to "freedom of the press".

[DaleCooper]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

He still got a settlement from CNN and the Washington Post in the millions, so no his life wasn't "destroyed." He's actually much better off now than if it had never happened.

I can't speak for him, but I'd much rather go without a million dollar check from CNN and not get smeared as a racist and doxxed in front of the entire country at age 15 or 16.

[Progressive Pessimist]

This was still going on?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

That's a shame, this kid did nothing wrong and had his life destroyed by vicious lies in the media.  He deserved a huge payout and a public apology.

He still got a settlement from CNN and the Washington Post in the millions, so no his life wasn't "destroyed." He's actually much better off now than if it had never happened.

I can't speak for him, but I'd much rather go without a million dollar check from CNN and not get smeared as a racist and doxxed in front of the entire country at age 15 or 16.

I'd take the millions in a heartbeat. He'll never have to work again and everyone will have forgotten him in a few years anyway.

[Ferguson97]

He was not defamed and CNN was foolish to have settled years ago.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I'm not making any judgment call on the legal specifics.  But what the media did to this kid was extremely and knowingly dishonest, and he suffered for it.  That's wrong, and he deserves justice.

Justice for what? Strangers thinking he's a jerk? It isn't like he was falsely accused of a crime.

CNN & WaPO settled with him, so they disagree, Doc.

Just because they settled doesn't make it defamation under the law. Sometimes entities settle just to make people go away.

These companies essentially called him a racist in front of the whole nation. It's kind of hard to get a job or go to college when the media smears you as a racist.

But you actually need proof of these things to win a defamation suit. There's not evidence he was denied college admission or jobs based on any of this. Very few defamation cases succeed specifically for lack of evidence of hardship.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I'm not making any judgment call on the legal specifics.  But what the media did to this kid was extremely and knowingly dishonest, and he suffered for it.  That's wrong, and he deserves justice.

Justice for what? Strangers thinking he's a jerk? It isn't like he was falsely accused of a crime.

CNN & WaPO settled with him, so they disagree, Doc.

Just because they settled doesn't make it defamation under the law. Sometimes entities settle just to make people go away.

These companies essentially called him a racist in front of the whole nation. It's kind of hard to get a job or go to college when the media smears you as a racist.

But you actually need proof of these things to win a defamation suit. There's not evidence he was denied college admission or jobs based on any of this. Very few defamation cases succeed specifically for lack of evidence of hardship.

In my line of work I know this all too well, but Doc, c'mon, the reports are they settled for millions.  They weren't like 'hey kid here's some ice cream money, go away'.  These giants could have easily weathered a trial if they had a decent leg to stand on.

[MasterJedi]

I'm not making any judgment call on the legal specifics.  But what the media did to this kid was extremely and knowingly dishonest, and he suffered for it.  That's wrong, and he deserves justice.

Justice for what? Strangers thinking he's a jerk? It isn't like he was falsely accused of a crime.

CNN & WaPO settled with him, so they disagree, Doc.

Just because they settled doesn't make it defamation under the law. Sometimes entities settle just to make people go away.

These companies essentially called him a racist in front of the whole nation. It's kind of hard to get a job or go to college when the media smears you as a racist.

But you actually need proof of these things to win a defamation suit. There's not evidence he was denied college admission or jobs based on any of this. Very few defamation cases succeed specifically for lack of evidence of hardship.

In my line of work I know this all too well, but Doc, c'mon, the reports are they settled for millions.  They weren't like 'hey kid here's some ice cream money, go away'.  These giants could have easily weathered a trial if they had a decent leg to stand on.

They decided it would be cheaper to settle then fight and win. Always happens in corporate America. They might have been wrong.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I'm not making any judgment call on the legal specifics.  But what the media did to this kid was extremely and knowingly dishonest, and he suffered for it.  That's wrong, and he deserves justice.

Justice for what? Strangers thinking he's a jerk? It isn't like he was falsely accused of a crime.

CNN & WaPO settled with him, so they disagree, Doc.

Just because they settled doesn't make it defamation under the law. Sometimes entities settle just to make people go away.

These companies essentially called him a racist in front of the whole nation. It's kind of hard to get a job or go to college when the media smears you as a racist.

But you actually need proof of these things to win a defamation suit. There's not evidence he was denied college admission or jobs based on any of this. Very few defamation cases succeed specifically for lack of evidence of hardship.

In my line of work I know this all too well, but Doc, c'mon, the reports are they settled for millions.  They weren't like 'hey kid here's some ice cream money, go away'.  These giants could have easily weathered a trial if they had a decent leg to stand on.

They decided it would be cheaper to settle then fight and win. Always happens in corporate America. They might have been wrong.

I'm glad the kid got it.  All of the reporting on this was that he was bad guy.  Enjoy your millions Nick!

[wbrocks67]

Also, didn't Sandmann's actions afterwards just kinda prove the whole "brat" persona? He seems to have really solidified himself as a lot of what people thought of him.