Don King fails in defamation appeal 08/07/2010 |
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A Florida appeals court has upheld a lower court's ruling that ESPN did not defame Don King in a programme on the boxing promoter.
The episode of ‘Sports Century’ included allegations that King cheated a hospital out of money from a benefit fight, owed money to boxer Meldrick Taylor and threatened to have him killed, and convinced doctors to invest in a film on King's life that was never made.
King sued ESPN, ABC and Disney for defamation, but the case was dismissed with a finding that he could not show "actual malice" from the defendants.
King argued on appeal that several email exchanges between ESPN producers showed the network harboured ill will towards him and wanted to portray him as a "huckster", a "thug" and an "evil mob-connected guy”.
In its latest decision, the Florida appeals court said there was a difference between "ill will" and "actual malice". The latter is required by law from public figures who assert libel claims and is generally meant to mean that plaintiffs need to show knowledge of false information published with reckless disregard for the truth.
"Nothing in the record shows that ESPN purposefully made false statements about King in order to bolster the theme of the programme or to inflict harm on King," wrote Judge Dorian Damoorgian in his decision.
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