Word: lakian
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Boston case John R. Lakian, a wealthy businessman, sued the Globe over a story that appeared when he ran for Governor of Massachusetts in 1982. The jury agreed with the Globe that Lakian had falsely claimed to have taken graduate courses at Harvard, and that his campaign literature falsely claimed he had won a battlefield promotion in Viet Nam. But Lakian was able to take advantage of a Supreme Court decision (New York Times vs. Sullivan), originally hailed as a great triumph for the press. Under this decision, what matters most is what a writer or editor thought...
...which was published is rarely addressed," the Iowa study says. The harm done to the plaintiff's reputation "is even more rarely explored." Nine times out of ten, after going to tremendous expense, the newspaper wins but often on grounds that seem a technicality to the public. In the Lakian case, the truth was addressed, and Lakian was unable to rebut the strongest charges made by the paper. Still, he claimed vindication. Few plaintiffs any longer "sue to win," the Iowa study concludes, "they win by suing...