Try Not To Laugh At Lawyer's Argument Against CNN Having To Pay Punitive Damages In Defamation Suit

Posted • January 17, 2025: A jury has found CNN liable for defamation against Zachary Young. The jury agreed that CNN lied about Young's efforts to rescue people in Afghanistan. Young has already been awarded $5 million in compensatory damages and there could be more to come: The Florida jury just ruled against CNN for $5 million in compensatory damages for defamation. It will now decide how much to award in punitive damages. CNN undermined its case at every turn -- alienating both the judge and the jury… https://jonathanturley.org/2025/01/16/your-credibility-with-me-is-about-none-cnn-trial-goes-from-bad-to-worse/ -- Jury now deciding punitive damages. CNN attorney tells jurors the network's finances aren't so good… Axelrod previews CNN's finances, tells jurors it is in a "steady decline."

CNN's already out $5 million, and the cable net's lawyer is arguing against punitive damages for the following reason: CNN's lawyer argues against the network being hit with punitive damages (after it was found liable for defaming Navy veteran Zachary Young) by saying it'd harm the company financially and hinder its ability to report on major breaking news events like wildfires and crises around the globe. -- We translated that to mean "if you make my client pay millions in damages it could hinder CNN's ability to lie about other things" and it might have made some of the jurors laugh out loud. Wasn't it during CNN's coverage of a major breaking news event like the Afghanistan withdrawal in which they broadcast the smear that resulted in this lawsuit? Why yes it was! Then they shouldn't have acted in bad faith to defame this man. Why should the jury worry about CNN going under? Being recently found guilty of lying during your news coverage probably weakens this argument. (…)

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https://twitchy.com/dougp/2025/01/17/try-not-to-laugh-at-cnn-lawyers-argument-why-his-client-shouldnt-have-to-pay-defamation-damages-n2406838