Constitutional Law

Losing candidate files libel suit against 2 Fla. newspapers

By By The Associated Press

MIAMI ? Failed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Greene sued the St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald yesterday, claiming they published knowingly false articles timed to damage his chances of winning.

The 55-page lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, seeks $250 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages from the two newspapers, the reporters who wrote the pieces and editors who handled them.

The lawsuit accuses the newspapers of "a coordinated and agreed-upon plan to assassinate Greene's character, to diminish his chances of winning ... and to impair the future earning capacity of an extremely successfully businessman." Greene is a billionaire real estate investor who spent more than $24 million of his own money on last week's Democratic Senate primary, which he lost to U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek.

Times Editor Neil Brown said, "It is our firm opinion that the allegations in this lawsuit are preposterous. We believe Jeff Greene is a sore loser and he's blaming the newspapers because he can't accept the verdict of the voters." Brown added that a candidate should expect to be scrutinized, and called the newspaper's coverage fair, clear and well-documented.

Anders Gyllenhaal, the Herald's executive editor, declined immediate comment yesterday because he had not seen the lawsuit. The two newspapers have an agreement in which they share each other's stories and often work together.

One article and a follow-up editorial concerned a Greene condominium deal with a California businessman who was later indicted for mortgage fraud, a case in which Greene was not implicated. Another story involving boxer Mike Tyson ? who was best man at Greene's wedding ? detailed lurid allegations of illegal drug use and partying aboard Greene's 148-foot yacht, Summerwind.

Greene repeatedly said both stories were false and said he provided the two newspapers with evidence about that before the articles were published. A correction later ran in the Times and Herald on the Tyson story ? which originated from a Sports Illustrated interview ? noting that the boxer had "clarified" that he "didn't do drugs on the boat" and had no dealings with a drug trafficker on the yacht.

It's unusual for political candidates to sue newspapers for libel and difficult for anyone considered a public figure to win a libel case, said Kathleen Bergin, a constitutional law professor specializing in First Amendment issues at South Texas College of Law in Houston.

Greene would have to prove "actual malice," which the Supreme Court defined as a state of mind in which a person or publication makes an untrue and defamatory statement about a person ?with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.?

"It makes it more difficult for him to win a case like this," Bergin said. "Someone who is running for national office is by definition a public figure."

Buoyed by his huge advertising buys, Greene led Meek in the polls for much of the summer. But Meek prevailed with 57% of the vote and faces independent Gov. Charlie Crist and Republican Marco Rubio in the fall election.

The Miami Herald is owned by the McClatchy Co. The St. Petersburg Times is owned by Times Publishing Co.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on September 01, 2010 (boomark / email).