06-30-2014, 01:01 PM
George Zimmerman -- Money Grab = DENIED!
Lawsuit against NBC Dismissed by Judge
Good.
I think NBC's positioning of the 911 content was intentionally misleading.
But, I agree with Judge Nelson -- Zimmerman and his family, against attorney advice, chose to yack up a storm about their views and the case in media interviews and via social media posts.
So, IMO, NBC's misleading assertion (which they rescinded and corrected) wasn't an overt act of malice and didn't cause any mental or emotional distress or anguish for which Zimmerman should be monetarily compensated.
In his lawsuit, Zimmerman said NBC's editing of a story on the shooting made it sound as if Zimmerman voluntarily told an operator that Martin was black. He was actually responding to a dispatcher's question about the Miami teen's race. Zimmerman said the broadcasts made him seem like a racist and exposed him to public ridicule and threats. He was seeking damages for emotional distress and mental anguish.
Here's part of the judge's ruling:
Zimmerman "voluntarily injected his views into the public controversy surrounding race relations and public safety in Sanford and pursued a course of conduct that ultimately led to the death of Martin and the specific controversy surrounding it," said Nelson, who presided over Zimmerman's criminal trial last summer.
Nelson dismissed the defamation lawsuit filed by George Zimmerman against NBC and three reporters, saying the former neighborhood watch leader failed to show the network acted with malice.
NBC News spokeswoman Ali Zelenko said in a statement that the network is "gratified by the court's dismissal of this lawsuit, which we have always believed to be without merit."
Story: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/george-zimme...-by-judge/
Lawsuit against NBC Dismissed by Judge
Good.
I think NBC's positioning of the 911 content was intentionally misleading.
But, I agree with Judge Nelson -- Zimmerman and his family, against attorney advice, chose to yack up a storm about their views and the case in media interviews and via social media posts.
So, IMO, NBC's misleading assertion (which they rescinded and corrected) wasn't an overt act of malice and didn't cause any mental or emotional distress or anguish for which Zimmerman should be monetarily compensated.
In his lawsuit, Zimmerman said NBC's editing of a story on the shooting made it sound as if Zimmerman voluntarily told an operator that Martin was black. He was actually responding to a dispatcher's question about the Miami teen's race. Zimmerman said the broadcasts made him seem like a racist and exposed him to public ridicule and threats. He was seeking damages for emotional distress and mental anguish.
Here's part of the judge's ruling:
Zimmerman "voluntarily injected his views into the public controversy surrounding race relations and public safety in Sanford and pursued a course of conduct that ultimately led to the death of Martin and the specific controversy surrounding it," said Nelson, who presided over Zimmerman's criminal trial last summer.
Nelson dismissed the defamation lawsuit filed by George Zimmerman against NBC and three reporters, saying the former neighborhood watch leader failed to show the network acted with malice.
NBC News spokeswoman Ali Zelenko said in a statement that the network is "gratified by the court's dismissal of this lawsuit, which we have always believed to be without merit."
Story: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/george-zimme...-by-judge/