In ruling against golfer John Daly in his libel suit against the Florida Times-Union, the judge said that a columnist’s defamatory descriptions of Daly were “protected opinion based on disclosed facts.” -DB
The Florida Times-Union
March 24, 2009
By Paul Pinkham
A Jacksonville judge has thrown out pro golfer John Daly’s defamation lawsuit against the Times-Union and a former sports columnist, canceling an April trial and ending four years of litigation.
Daly’s lawyer said he hasn’t decided whether to appeal.
Daly sued the newspaper and columnist Mike Freeman in 2005, saying a column by Freeman defamed him by referring to his “thug-life qualifications,” including domestic-violence accusations, Daly’s three children by different women and the golfer’s “rap sheet.”
But Circuit Judge Hugh Carithers granted the newspaper’s request to summarily dismiss the lawsuit, ruling in an order received by lawyers Monday that the portions of the column at issue were either undisputed facts or constitutionally protected opinion.
“The alleged defamatory statements are opinions based upon disclosed facts,” Carithers wrote. “The First Amendment leaves it to the reader, not the courts, to assess the quality of the author’s judgment.”
Carithers also found there was no actual malice, meaning he determined Freeman didn’t knowingly publish untruths. The judge said he would retain oversight of the case for the purpose of determining the appropriateness of the Times-Union recouping costs and attorney fees.
Times-Union Editor Frank Denton praised Carithers for reinforcing the First Amendment and established law. He said the newspaper intends to seek costs and fees from Daly.
“This has been a long and unnecessary process, but in the end it supports the importance of a free and unfettered press,” Denton said.
Freeman, likewise, was pleased with the result. He praised the Times-Union for standing with him against a “rich, spoiled athlete.”
Freeman now works for CBS Sports.
A previous judge, now retired, had denied the newspaper’s attempts to dismiss the lawsuit, but Carithers said new evidence made reconsidering the issue appropriate. Newspaper attorney George Gabel said the new evidence included the golfer’s admission that he had been accused of domestic violence.
Daly’s attorney, Lydia Jones, said all options are being considered, including an appeal. She declined further comment, and Daly’s agent didn’t return phone calls and an e-mail.
Daly had attacked three phrases in the column, which described his troubled personal life in unflattering terms. The objectionable portions included mention of domestic-violence accusations, comparison to basketball player Shawn Kemp because of his children from different women and discussion of Daly’s “Thug Life qualifications” and “rap sheet.” Freeman compared him to former Jaguar R. Jay Soward, who had a well-known drug problem.
Carithers found the domestic-violence portion of the column was true. The comparisons to Kemp and Soward and the Thug Life statement weren’t actionable because they were the columnist’s opinion, the judge said.
Copyright Florida Times-Union 2009