Word: distressingly
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...always got "sloshed" before preaching and that he had lost his virginity in an outhouse with his mother. Falwell used the ad in a direct-mail solicitation to outraged supporters who raised $800,000, but he also sued Publisher Larry Flynt for both libel and "intentional infliction of emotional distress...
...federal court jury of eight women and four men in Roanoke, Va., decided that Falwell had not been libeled because the parody was patently unbelievable. Yet in a surprising twist, it found Flynt and his magazine liable on the emotional-distress charge, awarding Falwell $200,000 in compensatory and punitive damages...
Until now, the emotional-distress argument has been successfully used mainly by individuals seeking redress against such pests as harassing bill collectors and malicious pranksters; one case, for example, involved a cruel joker who falsely spread the rumor that a woman's son had hanged himself. Constitutional experts warn that its use by public figures against the press could erode First Amendment protections by circumventing the rigorous standards of proof for libel. New York Attorney Floyd Abrams believes the verdict will be reversed, but, if not, it could encourage "an end run around constitutional protections for people who want...
...case for the rest of the day,' and have a cause of action. Where does it stop?" Flynt's lawyers plan to ask the judge this week to throw out the jury's finding. If he does not, legal scholars predict that the issue of emotional-distress suits against the press may ultimately have to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court...
...schools. Unemployment remains well into double digits. Soup kitchens expect to take in more hungry this year than ever before. A growing number of citizens are below the poverty line. The violence among Detroit's children may be just the most visible manifestation of a city in major distress...