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Devin Nunes, Johnny Depp lawsuits seen as threats to free speech and press
Legal Issues
Devin Nunes, Johnny Depp lawsuits seen as threats to free speech and press
By Justin Jouvenal
Dec. 22, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. EST
Rep. Devin Nunes of California was angered by a story in his hometown newspaper detailing a claim that investors in a winery he partly owns partied with cocaine and prostitutes. So the Republican decided to sue in rural Virginia.
Nunes bypassed the courthouse less than two miles from one of his offices and 10 blocks from the Fresno Bee to file the $150 million defamation claim against its owner 2,600 miles away. He also chose the Old Dominion to file two other recent defamation suits, one naming San Francisco-based Twitter and an anonymous user who has mocked him in the voice of an imaginary cow.
Likewise, actor Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for $50 million in a Northern Virginia courthouse, claiming he was defamed in an op-ed in The Washington Post in which she called for support for domestic violence victims like herself. Both Depp and Heard live in Hollywood. Heard, who came to at least one hearing in the case, said in court filings that she had never previously set foot in the state.
The suits are part of a string of splashy defamation claims by politicians and the A-list star seeking nearly $1 billion in damages in Virginia courts this year, even though many of the cases have only loose connections to the state.
The plaintiffs argue their names have been smeared and the venues are appropriate, but several of the defendants including Twitter and Heard say the filing location is aimed at exploiting the states weak protections for defamation defendants. Some legal experts say Virginia law allows those with deep pockets to bulldoze targets with frivolous, protracted and expensive litigation they couldnt pursue in many other states.
The true goals of the suits, the defendants argue, are to stifle critics, blunt aggressive journalism and settle scores. Some deride the legal maneuvers as libel tourism and see a growing trend not just in Virginia but in other states that similarly lack safeguards. The suits have prompted Virginia lawmakers to look at changing the law.
....
Justin Jouvenal covers courts and policing in Fairfax County and across the nation. He joined The Post in 2009. Follow https://twitter.com/jjouvenal
Devin Nunes, Johnny Depp lawsuits seen as threats to free speech and press
By Justin Jouvenal
Dec. 22, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. EST
Rep. Devin Nunes of California was angered by a story in his hometown newspaper detailing a claim that investors in a winery he partly owns partied with cocaine and prostitutes. So the Republican decided to sue in rural Virginia.
Nunes bypassed the courthouse less than two miles from one of his offices and 10 blocks from the Fresno Bee to file the $150 million defamation claim against its owner 2,600 miles away. He also chose the Old Dominion to file two other recent defamation suits, one naming San Francisco-based Twitter and an anonymous user who has mocked him in the voice of an imaginary cow.
Likewise, actor Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for $50 million in a Northern Virginia courthouse, claiming he was defamed in an op-ed in The Washington Post in which she called for support for domestic violence victims like herself. Both Depp and Heard live in Hollywood. Heard, who came to at least one hearing in the case, said in court filings that she had never previously set foot in the state.
The suits are part of a string of splashy defamation claims by politicians and the A-list star seeking nearly $1 billion in damages in Virginia courts this year, even though many of the cases have only loose connections to the state.
The plaintiffs argue their names have been smeared and the venues are appropriate, but several of the defendants including Twitter and Heard say the filing location is aimed at exploiting the states weak protections for defamation defendants. Some legal experts say Virginia law allows those with deep pockets to bulldoze targets with frivolous, protracted and expensive litigation they couldnt pursue in many other states.
The true goals of the suits, the defendants argue, are to stifle critics, blunt aggressive journalism and settle scores. Some deride the legal maneuvers as libel tourism and see a growing trend not just in Virginia but in other states that similarly lack safeguards. The suits have prompted Virginia lawmakers to look at changing the law.
....
Justin Jouvenal covers courts and policing in Fairfax County and across the nation. He joined The Post in 2009. Follow https://twitter.com/jjouvenal
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Devin Nunes, Johnny Depp lawsuits seen as threats to free speech and press (Original Post)
mahatmakanejeeves
Dec 2019
OP
SWBTATTReg
(22,133 posts)1. Just curious as to how awards awarded in one state such as Virginia are to be handled in other ...
states (CA for example), e.g., if CA doesn't honor the liberal awards awarded by the Virginia courts, then what's the purpose? I can't imagine that CA will allow Virginia laws to supersede their (in CA) laws limited award settlements (if they are any) and other such things (such as issuing apologies, retractions, etc.).
This seems like cherry picking the justice system from state to state, I've heard of this, where class action lawsuits are sometimes centered in one state (or more) due to favorable rulings made in that particular state.
I can't imagine the judges etc. allowing these types of lawsuits to continue / go on, but I'm no lawyer by any means. I guess if they can pay the costs of the lawsuits, then justice is blind, eh?