Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeB1972
You might be able to get him for Libel (fairly strange use as it's usually used for defamatory comments, but I could see it working as, IIRC, the wording behind the law just has to state that the comments are untrue).
|
You can't get him for libel or defamation. One of the base elements of either of those torts is that an individual (the one being sued) makes an untrue statement ABOUT ANOTHER PERSON. In the case of a public figure, the defendant had to do so with actual malice with regard to the truth or falsity of the statement. And even if he defamed some of his teammates in the book, it would only be the person defamed who could sue - none of this class action silliness.
I honestly cannot come up with a cause of action for this sort of thing, and I teach law. I am ashamed of the attorneys who filed the suit in the first place and for the California courts for not throwing it out on first sight.
The closest thing you could sue for, I would think, would be false advertising of some sort, and unless Penguin knew what they were selling was false, they cannot be held responsible anyway.