AXIS Media and Entertainment - Claims examples
Defamation
1.
The plaintiff filed suit against the insured radio station and its reporter alleging that the reporter broke the story on the insured’s station that the plaintiff had a prior arrest. The plaintiff alleged the manner in which the story was reported was defamatory, alleging causes of action against the station for slander and violation of his civil rights. The plaintiff was running for public office in his county and alleged the station conspired to run a “smear” campaign that cost him the election. The station reported on plaintiff’s arrest record for a domestic dispute incident. Neither party to that incident denied any of the facts in the news piece.
2.
A radio station is accused of running various broadcasts that defamed a corporation located in a foreign country. Suit was filed in the foreign country. Substantial legal fees were incurred given the choice of laws issues and different legal standards for defamation.
3.
A TV station reports on a trial which occurred in a neighboring county. The reporter used her notes of the proceeding as the basis for the story, which she attended live. The defendant subsequently sued the station for defamation, notwithstanding the fact that the transcript of the trial largely supported the reporting.
4.
A television station is sued by a woman with the same name as another woman arrested for DUI. The plaintiff’s unrelated mugshot was shown on the local television news during a story about the other woman’s DUI arrest where video was shown of a woman being pulled out of her car with her pants off because she had urinated on herself. The plaintiff says acquaintances thought it was her given her mugshot was shown and the video was taken from a distance so that viewers could likely not differentiate between the two different “Jane Does”.
Claims examples may be based on actual cases, composites of actual cases or hypothetical claim scenarios and are provided for illustrative purposes only. Facts have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the parties. Whether or to what extent a particular loss is covered depends on the facts and circumstances of the loss, the terms and conditions of the policy as issued and applicable law.
