FORWARDED MESSAGE from Chris McGovern/UK (MAIL (at) CSERVE {100331.1760}) at
2/1/96 2:29p
TO: JLAIFMAN(at)PNM
All points noted, and will check them out.
Amazed at everyones response, keep them coming.
Question:-
You state " I think that the powers that be really did not
understand Howe's design" was it his design? Ken is adamant it was, but
three other people say it was not, now do I print, his story or do I print
all there stories, and let the reader decide, or is that likely to cause
confusion, what is not in dispute he did head the team.
Comments please.
Chris
CC: MAIL(at)CSERVE {INTERNET:tjhiggin(at)alpine.b17a.ingr.com} (T.J. Higgins)
***** NOTES from Jay Laifman (JLAIFMAN (at) PNM) at 2/1/96 12:59p
I would be careful, very careful on that one. One man's truth is another
man's actionable slander. Moreover, here in the US anyway, even if you
are just repeating what someone else said, you can be held liable for
slander if it turns out to be wrong, and you should have known otherwise.
On the other hand, truth is an absolute defense. My suggestion would be
that to the extent the stories do not conflict, print it. To the extent
there are differences, research it. If you are comfortable that you have
the truth, then think about how much it adds, how you can phrase it so as
to not inflame anyone, and then ask your publisher if you are still
concerned.
I am not a free speech/defamation attorney. So my comments are really
more of a layman as far as this goes. It could be that as long as you
diligently investigate it, and don't find information to the contrary, you
may be ok -- but I'm not sure. My gut is that unless you feel confident,
you should go the conservative route.
If your publisher does not know, I would be happy to research this further
for you.
Jay
+------------------------------------------------------+
| Jay S. Laifman Pircher, Nichols & Meeks |
| 1999 Avenue of the Stars |
| Los Angeles, California |
| (310) 201-8915 |
| Real Estate Attorneys |
+------------------------------------------------------+
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Sep 05 2000 - 09:19:53 CDT