Legal News

Lawsuit Against Nancy Grace, CNN Moving Forward

By Ashby Jones

The tragic case involving a woman who killed herself shortly after appearing on the Nancy Grace show can continue, a federal judge in Florida has ruled. (The ruling, by Florida federal Judge Willliam Terrell Hodges, came down late last month. But we find the case compelling enough to write about now.)

The backstory: In September of 2006, Melinda Duckett, a Florida woman, went on Grace’s show to talk about the disappearance of her son, Trenton. According to the complaint, Duckett had been told that her appearance on Grace’s show might help lead to finding Trenton. However, when she got on the show, Grace proceeded to “subject [Duckett] to outrageous conduct such as severe interrogation, fist pounding and veiled accusations that she was responsible for her [son’s] disappearance and death.”

Shortly after the interview, but before it aired, Duckett shot and killed herself. Her family filed suit a couple months later against Grace and CNN, alleging a host of claims, including intentional infliction of emotional distress. The family asked for unspecified damages. (For a similar story from earlier this year, regarding NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” show, click here.)

Grace and CNN moved to dismiss: “The law does not permit people to recover money from reporters who ask routine questions while covering stories of national significance to the public. Plaintiffs have no valid cause of action, and this misguided lawsuit should be dismissed.”

Hodges, however, disagreed. In his ruling, he seems to struggle, weighing the high bar the plaintiffs will have to clear to win the case against the motion-to-dismiss standard, which requires him to view the allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. He let the suit go forward.

“We look forward to pursuing this case all the way to trial against Nancy Grace and showing that you can’t deceive guests on your show,” said the family’s lawyer, Jay Deratany.

A spokeswoman for CNN told the Law Blog: “This is only a procedural ruling about whether the case should be allowed to go forward. It does not mean that the claims are likely to succeed. We stand by Nancy Grace and her show, and we look forward to the opportunity to mount a full defense in court.”

LB Readers: This case raises all kinds of good issues, including First Amendment considerations. What say you?

Photo: AP

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on August 13, 2008 (boomark / email).