A court has dismissed the lawsuit against the Washington Post brought by Covington student Nicholas Sandmann. In the decision, the judge noted that the publications statements were non-actionable opinions.
… a “defamation claim against a media defendant cannot derive from ‘a statement of opinion relating to matters of public concern [that] does not contain a provably false factual connotation’” unless “the challenged statement connotes actual, objectively verifiable facts.” …
The Court notes that the present motion does not require the Court to address the elements of truth/falsity, publication (which is not disputed), or negligence. At issue are only whether the statements are about Sandmann, whether they are fact or opinion, and whether they are defamatory.
Essentially, the court has relied on free press protections and assumption that the Post’s reporting was as much opinion as anything and not subject to defamation claims in this context. Or something.
The Court accepts Sandmann’s statement that, when he was standing motionless in the confrontation with Phillips, his intent was to calm the situation and not to impede or block anyone.
However, Phillips did not see it that way. He concluded that he was being “blocked” and not allowed to “retreat.” He passed these conclusions on to The Post. They may have been erroneous, but, as discussed above, they are opinion protected by the First Amendment. And The Post is not liable for publishing these opinions, for the reasons discussed in this Opinion.
It will be interesting to see if this formula follows the other suits brought or under consideration.
