Media law expert skeptical of lawsuit filed against WaPo on Nick Sandmann's behalf

FORT WRIGHT, Ky. —
In a 38-page lawsuit filed in federal court, attorneys for Nicholas Sandmann blasted the Washington Post.

Sandmann is a junior at Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Kentucky. One month ago, he was a subject of international scrutiny thanks to viral videos of an encounter in Washington, D.C., between the 16-year-old and Native American activist Nathan Phillips.

Sandmann's attorneys are now suing the Washington Post for $250 million, the amount Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, paid for the paper in 2013.

Snip: Fleischaker is skeptical. He said it may be impossible to prove how Sandmann and others involved in the encounter truly felt as things unfolded, which could undermine the suit's claim that the Washington Post rushed to judgment.

"What he thought about it, what everybody else thought about it, I think it became a matter of public debate and public opinion. And you cannot be held liable under defamation law for an opinion, because an opinion is just that, it's an opinion," Fleischaker said.

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