SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Feb 8 –
In the case of Sarah Palin
versus New York Times and
James Bennet, on July 24, 2020
U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York
Judge Jed S. Rakoff held oral
arguments. Inner City Press
live tweeted them - and now
the 2022 trial, below.
On August
28, 2020 Judge Rakoff issued
an order denying summary
judgment and finding, inter
alia, that "there "there is
sufficient evidence to allow a
rational finder of fact to
find actual malice [by NYT /
Bennet] by clear &
convincing evidence." So,
trial. Inner City Press will
cover it - having previously
reported Judge Rakoff jokingly
perhaps offering that time
slot to a criminal case and
saying, Ms. Palin may just
have to wait.
It was set to
start on January 24, 2022. But
as tweeted
by Inner City Press, "Sarah
Palin v. NYT will NOT start
today. Palin has tested
positive for COVID three
times. Judge Rakoff says she
can return for trial on
February 3, unless she is
showing symptoms."
On February
3 the trial started. Inner
City Press live tweeted it,
thread here.
On February
7, after this song
things proceeded, with Inner
City Press live tweeting,
thread here.
Early on
February 8, Palin's lawyers
put in a memo on their
entitlement to punitive
damages: "At the February 7,
2022 Charging Conference,
Defendants suggested certain
changes to the Court’s
proposed jury instruction on
punitive damages based on
Morsette v. “The Final Call,”
309 A.D.2d 249, 254 (1st Dep’t
2003). Specifically,
Defendants claim Plaintiff is
only entitled to punitive
damages if she proves that the
Defendants’ “sole motivation
in publishing the challenged
statements was hostility
toward and a desire to injure
the plaintiff.” See
Defendants’ Proposed Revisions
to Instruction No. 17
(provided at the Feb. 22nd
Charging Conference).
Defendants’ proposed revision
improperly seeks to limit the
grounds upon which Plaintiff
can prove her entitlement to
punitive damages and flies in
the face of well-established
law. As recognized by the
Second Circuit in DiBella v.
Hopkins, 403 F.3d 102, 122 (2d
Cir. 2005), “[u]nder New York
law, punitive damages in a
defamation case are justified
“‘to punish a person for
outrageous conduct which is
malicious, wanton, reckless,
or in willful disregard for
another's rights.’” (quoting
Prozeralik, 82 N.Y.2d at
479–80) (emphasis added); see
also Celle v. Filipino
Reporter Enterprises Inc., 209
F.3d 163 (2d Cir. 2000) (“all
of the relevant circumstances
surrounding the dispute”
should be considered in
establishing entitlement to
punitive damages)."
Back on
January 19 the New York Times
filed its proposed questions
for jurors, including "do any
of you believe that the New
York Times has a bias against
certain political parties or
issues?"Also, do you know Ross
Douthat? Andrew Sullivan?
Robert Semple?
On January 20,
Sarah Palin's lawyers filed
their proposed questions,
including "Have you followed
any recent high profile court
cases closely?" Can you say,
Ghislaine Maxwell? We'll be
there.
On January 17 -
MLK Day - the New York Times
filed a request that juror
before opening statements be
read a statement including
that "Plaintiff claims that
two statements in the
Editorial falsely communicated
to readers that she directly
caused Jared Loughner to shoot
people in Arizona in 2011."
Then, the cross-hairs. Watch
this site.
On January 11,
Judge Rakoff convened a
pre-trial session. Inner City
Press live tweeted it here.
The case is
Palin v. The New York Times
Company, 17-cv-4853-JSR
(Rakoff)
***
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