When Chicago's Fox News affiliate did a special investigation on so-called "lazy" Illinois judges, according to Courthouse News Service, it included video footage of a home they said belonged to Cook County Judge James Ryan.
The reporter pointed to the car in the driveway, suggesting that the judge was already home from work in the middle of the afternoon.
But there was just one problem with their reporting: It was neither James Ryan's home nor his car. Now Fox News is facing a $7 million lawsuit for defamation after the faulty news report cost him his judicial position.
He wasn't fired, just reassigned to a lesser position soon after the May 24 broadcast.
The name of his Illinois injury attorney wasn't mentioned but portions of his civil complaint were quoted in the article. James Ryan is claiming damages of $7 million, claiming that Fox and segment collaborator Better Government Association "implicitly stated that [he] was lazy and his actions amounted to malfeasance."
In addition to Fox and BGA, named defendants include Fox reporters Larry Yellen and Dane Placko, Fox producer Marsha Bartel, Fox news director Carol Fowler and BGA investigator Andy Shaw. The claims cover not only the television broadcast but also the corresponding story that was posted on the Fox News web site.
The judge said he called the Fox News desk to advise them of the "misrepresentation and false statements." Reporter Robin Robinson admitted the error the next day, saying "Our bad." But according to James Ryan's defamation suit, the damage already has been done.
The allegedly defamatory statements, both published and spoken, were indeed false and injurious, which according to FindLaw is necessary in order to prove liability for defamation. In this case, since in involves a public official, there is an added element of "actual malice."
If someone has published or publicly said something that wasn't true about you and it caused some sort of injury, you might want to call an Illinois injury lawyer and review your options.
Related Resources:
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Digital Defamation: The Hot New Tort? (FindLaw's Injured Blog)
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Find a Chicago Accident Attorney (FindLaw)
