Posted on 12/30/2008 1:19:39 PM PST by abb
Washington lobbyist Vicki L. Iseman has filed a $27 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times for a February article about Iseman and her relationship with Sen. John McCain.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Richmond on Tuesday, alleges the article falsely communicated that Iseman and McCain had an illicit “romantic” relationship in 1999 when he was chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and she was a lobbyist representing clients before Congress.
The suit also names the executive editor of the Times, its Washington bureau chief and four reporters who wrote the story as defendants.
William Keller, the paper’s executive editor, did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment on the suit.
Richmond lawyer W. Coleman Allen Jr. and Rodney M. Smolla, dean of the Washington & Lee law school and a First Amendment scholar, represent Iseman. The story was first reported online by Virginia Lawyers Weekly, an LIBN sister publication.
The 36-page complaint charges that the story implies an “unprofessional relationship” between Iseman and McCain.
Both Iseman and McCain denied any improper relationship. However, the public viewed the story as being about an affair, according to the suit, which cites the post-publication remarks of 10 different commentators across the political spectrum. In each case, their comments about the story assumed it was about an alleged affair, the lawyers noted.
The Times’ own public editor, Clark Hoyt, published what Allen called a “blistering attack” on the Times’ decision to publish the original Iseman article.
The suit claims that Iseman suffered damage to her mental, emotional and physical health. The lawyers noted that she continues to work as a lobbyist in Washington, for a firm based in Arlington. They said they anticipate developing their case on damages as the matter moves forward.
The piece was published at the height of the primary season last winter, and, the suit states, the defendants knew that it would “reverberate around the world.”
“In their attack on Senator McCain, the [defendants] were willing to sacrifice Ms. Iseman as acceptable collateral damage, recklessly indifferent to the avalanche of scorn, derision and ridicule Ms. Iseman would suffer,” the suit charges.
Iseman waited to file the suit until after the presidential election, in an effort to avoid influencing its outcome, her lawyers said.
Click here to read the full text of the complaint in Iseman v. The New York Times Co. Inc.
ping
Hope she wins! Unfortunately newspapers are experts at destroying people without actually going over the libel line, but maybe she will get lucky.
$27MM?
Insurance will cover that. She should go for the jugular and tank the whole company.
http://omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10525656
World-Herald changing western Nebraska delivery
http://www.minnpost.com/braublog/2008/12/30/5538/strib_to_kill_monday_b_section
Strib to kill Monday ‘B’ section
winning a judgement is one thing, collecting from the Old Gray Whore is another
She may end up owning a Dead Newspaper. Good for her.
Pray for W, America and Our Troops
Is there not a way to raise the suite to 27 BILLION?
.
Indeed. They’ve not a dime to spare.
I really, really hope she gets every penny of the 27million.
““In their attack on Senator McCain, the [defendants] were willing to sacrifice Ms. Iseman as acceptable collateral damage, recklessly indifferent to the avalanche of scorn, derision and ridicule Ms. Iseman would suffer,” the suit charges.”
This could just as accurately read: “In their attack on Senator McCain, the [defendants] were willing to sacrifice GOVERNOR PALIN as acceptable collateral damage, recklessly indifferent to the avalanche of scorn, derision and ridicule Ms. PALIN would suffer,” the suit charges.
Wow. All the news that’s fit to make up! What a way to run an election.
I am not big on lawsuits, but this one gets a thumbs up from me.
Inasmuch as it has no defense, the Slimes will probably use its dire financial situation as an excuse for settling.
I hope she takes them for all they are worth.
Are they still worth anything?
“I hope she takes them for all they are worth”
And I hope she takes them for all they THINK they are worth
I was thinking of Kathy Lee Griffith, this morning, and what the media did to her and her family. Then I realized that it was exactly the same treatment that they gave Sarah Palin. I think that the reasons behind the media treatment were similar also, they are both fundamentalist Christians.
She should have sued before the New York Times went broke.
I hope she wins and wins big and that the rest of the Obamamedia learns a lesson.
I would hope that the Palin family seeks similar recourse against media outlets that engaged in such behavior as well.
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