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Post: The Coast News: Jury divided in defamation case against moldPosted by Myco X on 9/05/08
http://www.thecoastnews.com/articles/4553/
Jury divided in defamation case against mold activist
September 05, 2008 By Randy Kalp Reporter The Coast News
VISTA — On Aug. 26, a San Diego Superior Court jury found
that mold advocate Sharon Kramer defamed VeriTox scientist
Dr. Bruce Kelman in a 2005 press release, but that VeriTox
itself wasn’t wronged by her statement.
Kelman and VeriTox, formerly known as a GlobalTox, filed a
defamation suit against Kramer for comments she made in the
press release “Jury Finds ‘Toxic Mold’ Harmed Oregon
Family, Builder’s Arbitration Clause Not Binding.” They
were seeking a monetary sum of $1 each.
Throughout the trial, attorney Keith Scheuer argued that
the lawsuit was to “vindicate Kelman’s reputation and to
get a finding that he didn’t lie under oath.”
At the heart of the weeklong trial was the phrase from
Kramer’s three-page press release: “ … Dr. Kelman altered
his under oath statements on the witness stand” while he
testified as an expert witness in an Oregon mold lawsuit.
Kramer published the press release after speaking to
several sources, including the victim and his attorney.
“She had four sources, did a considerable amount of
investigation and believed her story was correct,” Brandon
Landlow, her attorney, said.
After speaking with jurors following the trial, he said he
believed the panel had misunderstood the meaning of “actual
malice” leading them to focus entirely on a belief that
Kramer supposedly had some sort of animosity for Kelman,
which was untrue and legally irrelevant.
“It’s not unusual for jurors to have a tough time with the
concept of actual malice, because they focus on that second
word malice not realizing that it doesn’t really mean the
kind of malice people normally think, which is ill will or
hatred,” Landlow said. “What it means is that you have to
essentially know what you’re saying is untrue or have
substantial overwhelming doubts that it’s true.”
Landlow said Kramer would most likely file an appeal.
Contact Reporter Randy Kalp via e-mail at
rkalp@coastnewsgroup.com.
Posts on this thread, including this one
The Coast News: Jury divided in defamation case against mold, 9/05/08, by Myco X. Re: The Coast News: Jury divided in defamation case against , 9/05/08, by Sharon.
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