WorldNutDaily Birther Lawsuit Against Esquire Dismissed
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. District Court dismissed a lawsuit on Monday against Esquire Magazine over a satirical blog post that said Joseph Farah, a prominent proponent of the "birther" movement, had denounced a book alleging that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Farah, CEO and editor-in-chief of the conservative-leaning website WorldNetDaily.com, had sued Esquire Magazine, its parent company Hearst Communications Inc., and writer Mark Warren for defamation, invasion of privacy, interference with business relations and violations under a federal trademark law.
In dismissing the suit in Washington, Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that the post was satire related to a matter of public interest and should be protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which deals with freedom of expression.
Collyer also concluded that the trademark law cited by Farah applied only to commercial speech, not to satirical non-commercial speech.
The post described fictional interviews with Farah and sources from World Net Daily in which Farah was described as having said, "We'll do anything to hurt Obama, and erase his memory, but we don't want to look like .... idiots, you know?"
Farah had sought over $100 million in actual and compensatory damages and more than $20 million in punitive damages. Esquire magazine officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
WorldNutDaily Birther Lawsuit Against Esquire Dismissed
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. District Court dismissed a lawsuit on Monday against Esquire Magazine over a satirical blog post that said Joseph Farah, a prominent proponent of the "birther" movement, had denounced a book alleging that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Farah, CEO and editor-in-chief of the conservative-leaning website WorldNetDaily.com, had sued Esquire Magazine, its parent company Hearst Communications Inc., and writer Mark Warren for defamation, invasion of privacy, interference with business relations and violations under a federal trademark law.
In dismissing the suit in Washington, Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that the post was satire related to a matter of public interest and should be protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which deals with freedom of expression.
Collyer also concluded that the trademark law cited by Farah applied only to commercial speech, not to satirical non-commercial speech.
The post described fictional interviews with Farah and sources from World Net Daily in which Farah was described as having said, "We'll do anything to hurt Obama, and erase his memory, but we don't want to look like .... idiots, you know?"
Farah had sought over $100 million in actual and compensatory damages and more than $20 million in punitive damages. Esquire magazine officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
