A federal judge dismissed a part of Laurie Fine’s libel lawsuit against ESPN, ruling the statements in question were “fair and true” reports of a judicial proceeding and therefore immune from a libel lawsuit. 

The Feb.11 dismissal involves one of six claims made in the libel suit Fine announced at a press conference last May. In the lawsuit, Fine accused ESPN and its reporters Mark Schwarz and Arty Berko of defaming her in their reporting of sexual abuse allegations against her husband, Bernie Fine, former SU men’s basketball associate head coach.

In dismissing part of the case, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn said ESPN’s reporting is protected because it came from an affidavit filed in court by accuser Bobby Davis, in addition to other court hearings, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Orange.

The majority of Davis’ affidavit was devoted to allegations that Laurie Fine had sexual relations with several SU basketball players.

David Scott, director of communications for ESPN, confirmed the partial motion to dismiss, but declined to comment further because of ongoing litigation.

Lawrence Fisher, Laurie Fine’s attorney, could not be reached for comment.

The libel lawsuit specifically addresses broadcasts and written stories regarding a secretly taped conversation between Laurie Fine and Davis.

Included in the tape are conversations in which Davis claims to be describing how Bernie Fine molested him, and that Laurie Fine did not protest the actions.

The statements involved in the dismissal relate to articles written about Davis’ affidavit, as well as Davis and Mike Lang’s slander suit against SU head men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim, according to court documents.

Davis and Lang filed a defamation suit against Boeheim and Syracuse University in December 2011 after Boeheim defended Fine shortly after the allegations surfaced, calling the stepbrothers liars. A judge threw out the suit last May, saying Boeheim’s statements were opinions and not fact, and therefore protected under free speech.

In arguing against the partial dismissal, Laurie Fine’s lawyer said New York Civil Rights Law Section 74 does not cover the statements in the articles. Section 74 states that “fair and true” reports of judicial proceedings receive “absolute privilege” in libel action, according to court documents.

Her lawyer argued that because the allegations against Laurie Fine in Davis’ affidavit were later ruled irrelevant by the judge in the slander suit, Section 74 doesn’t cover them, according to court documents.

But Kahn, the U.S. district judge, ruled that it would defeat the purpose of Section 74 to have it cover only “fair and true” reports of the complaint, and not reports about “the answer, a motion, or a verdict,” according to the documents.

Kahn ruled that the plaintiff  “cannot circumvent the libel shield” provided by Section 74 by “characterizing the Davis affidavit, and thus the related statements in the Affidavit and Hearings articles, as being outside the scope of a judicial proceeding,” according to the documents.

SU fired Bernie Fine on Nov. 27, 2011. Last November, almost a year after the abuse allegations first surfaced, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced it was closing its investigation into the accusations due to insufficient evidence, and decided not to pursue federal criminal charges against Bernie Fine.

Published on February 18, 2013 at 12:53 am

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