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Alabama basketball walk-on guard Kai Spears is suing the New York Times for a story that said he was in Brandon Miller's car during the fatal shooting on the Tuscaloosa Strip on Jan. 15, according to a lawsuit obtained by The Tuscaloosa News.

Spears is seeking $75,000, not counting interest and court costs.

Spears’ attorneys, Matt Glover and Stephen P. New, are making the argument on the basis of defamation/libel and false light invasion of privacy. The lawsuit was filed in district court in the northern district of Alabama.

"We plan to defend against the suit vigorously,” a New York Times spokesperson told The Tuscaloosa News.

Billy Witz wrote the story at the center of the lawsuit, published on March 15. Witz wrote that Spears was in the car with Miller, who was the driver.
 
I wish him well if the story is not correct about him being in the car. To bad his lawyers will get the majority of the money.
Reading the article and i see this:

New is asking the court to order the New York Times to pay compensatory and punitive damages, attorney's fees and an other relief deemed suitable by the court..


So, while the suit is 75k, they can seek at least 500k in compensatory, and punitive damages, and then Fees.. (Maybe 30 to 50k) and etc, so I"m thinking around 5 million when it's said and done. My bad for not reading the article in first place.
 
Oh it definitely was a big negative impact to him and the school. The whole thing circulated for days.. and NYT refused to take the article down after he requested them to do so. IMO, that warrants higher settlement
How big is “big?” That’s what his lawyers must prove. Did he lose $5-$10 million in revenue opportunity? Remember, the NYT is innocent until proven guilty. His lawyers must demonstrate that he was financially impacted.
 
How big is “big?” That’s what his lawyers must prove. Did he lose $5-$10 million in revenue opportunity? Remember, the NYT is innocent until proven guilty. His lawyers must demonstrate that he was financially impacted.
I don't think they have to prove that they lost 5-10 million dollar. That's not how I took it from the link I provided. They just have to prove that the article damaged his reputation, hurt his chance to earn more money. That's If they go to trial, so I think they will settle. I just believe it'll be between 5-10 million dollar.

This link:


I understand that compensatory damage reflects the actual losses suffered by the plaintiff and meant for them to help recover lost salary. I don't know how they will award compsensatory damage, but it sounds like it'll be less than punitive damages

However:
Punitive damages are only awarded under very specific, limited circumstances. Pursuant to section 6-11-20 of the Alabama Code, punitive damages are only to be awarded when the plaintiff can prove that the defendant consciously or deliberately engaged in oppression, fraud, wantonness, or malice with regard to the plaintiff.

Punitive damages-
instead to punish the injured party and protect others from the damaging conduct at-issue.

In Alabama, as is the case in other jurisdictions, punitive damages serve two fundamental purposes:

  • Punishing the defendant for their conduct, and
  • Discouraging the defendant (and others in a position akin to that of the defendant) from engaging in similar conduct, thus protecting society from future dangers.
Punitive damages accomplish this task by operating as “supplementary” damages in addition to the existing compensatory damages, thus rocketing up the potential damages award significantly. Punitive damages essentially multiply the compensatory damages and are then added to that total. For example, if you have a compensatory damages claim equivalent to $250,000, and the court awards three times the compensatory damages in the form of punitive damages, then you would receive $750,000 in punitive damages for a $1 million total recovery.
 
How big is “big?” That’s what his lawyers must prove. Did he lose $5-$10 million in revenue opportunity? Remember, the NYT is innocent until proven guilty. His lawyers must demonstrate that he was financially impacted.

I think it's more of when he goes to look for employment his name will forever be linked to the murder of a girl. Employers won't take a second look at whether or not he was innocent or even there. They will look at their current company and wonder if they will feel comfortable with a guy linked to that story walking amongst them. He will never be able to get away from the internet and what was put in those articles. Damage was definitely done here. I hope he gets everything he can.
 

The New York Times has corrected a months-old article to say Alabama basketball player Kai Spears was not in a car with Brandon Miller at the scene of a deadly shooting, two days after the player filed a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper.

The Times announced the decision with a new article on Friday in which it reported that Alabama basketball manager Cooper Lee acknowledged he was in the car with Miller, not Spears.

In light of that revelation, Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said the article would be corrected:

“We have a longstanding policy of correcting errors,” she said in a statement. “Based on information in the affidavit and new reporting by our newsroom, we believe our original story was not accurate and plan to append an editor’s note to the story.”
The correction reportedly came due to a revelation made in Spears' lawsuit for defamation and invasion of privacy. The lawsuit claimed Lee had gotten into Miller's car minutes before the shooting on Jan. 15, leading to the Times confirming his involvement through email.

What happened with The New York Times and Alabama's Kai Spears?​

In the Times' original article by reporter Billy Witz published on March 15, Spears was reported to have been in the car as it was hit by bullets at the scene of the shooting in Tuscaloosa.

The incident resulted in the death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris and capital murder charges for former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and his friend Michael Davis. Miller has not been charged with a crime and saw no discipline from Alabama, but his involvement dominated coverage of the Crimson Tide's season and still hangs over his head as he prepares for the 2023 NBA Draft, where he is projected to be a top 3 pick.

In its reporting of Spears' alleged involvement, the Times anonymously cited "a person familiar with the case identified that person as Spears."

Spears declined comment to the Times before publication, but his father, Marshall athletic director Christian Spears, released a statement a day later calling the reporting "irresponsible and demonstrably false" and suggesting the family would pursue legal action. Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne also released a statement calling the report "inaccurate."

The Times added the objections to their article, but didn't correct it, telling AL.com "We’re confident in our reporting and stand by it.”

The legal action arrived Wednesday, when Spears filed a lawsuit against the Times seeking "in excess of $75,000" in compensatory and punitive damages, with a pledge to use the proceeds of any court award to pay for school for Harris' 5-year-old son. Spears claimed he “has experienced severe emotional distress as his life has been disrupted by the untrue statements linking him to a criminal event” and said the Times report “will forever label him as a person associated with a murder.”

The lawsuit also included a sworn affidavit from a high school friend of Spears' and exchanges on FaceTime to show Spears wasn't present. Instead, Spears reportedly said he was at a barbecue restaurant with Miller and two friends when Miller asked them if they wanted to stay out. The other three declined and went home, while Miller got into a car with Lee.

After checking with Lee, the Times was no longer confident in its reporting.
 

The New York Times has corrected a months-old article to say Alabama basketball player Kai Spears was not in a car with Brandon Miller at the scene of a deadly shooting, two days after the player filed a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper.

The Times announced the decision with a new article on Friday in which it reported that Alabama basketball manager Cooper Lee acknowledged he was in the car with Miller, not Spears.

In light of that revelation, Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said the article would be corrected:


The correction reportedly came due to a revelation made in Spears' lawsuit for defamation and invasion of privacy. The lawsuit claimed Lee had gotten into Miller's car minutes before the shooting on Jan. 15, leading to the Times confirming his involvement through email.

What happened with The New York Times and Alabama's Kai Spears?​

In the Times' original article by reporter Billy Witz published on March 15, Spears was reported to have been in the car as it was hit by bullets at the scene of the shooting in Tuscaloosa.

The incident resulted in the death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris and capital murder charges for former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and his friend Michael Davis. Miller has not been charged with a crime and saw no discipline from Alabama, but his involvement dominated coverage of the Crimson Tide's season and still hangs over his head as he prepares for the 2023 NBA Draft, where he is projected to be a top 3 pick.

In its reporting of Spears' alleged involvement, the Times anonymously cited "a person familiar with the case identified that person as Spears."

Spears declined comment to the Times before publication, but his father, Marshall athletic director Christian Spears, released a statement a day later calling the reporting "irresponsible and demonstrably false" and suggesting the family would pursue legal action. Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne also released a statement calling the report "inaccurate."

The Times added the objections to their article, but didn't correct it, telling AL.com "We’re confident in our reporting and stand by it.”

The legal action arrived Wednesday, when Spears filed a lawsuit against the Times seeking "in excess of $75,000" in compensatory and punitive damages, with a pledge to use the proceeds of any court award to pay for school for Harris' 5-year-old son. Spears claimed he “has experienced severe emotional distress as his life has been disrupted by the untrue statements linking him to a criminal event” and said the Times report “will forever label him as a person associated with a murder.”

The lawsuit also included a sworn affidavit from a high school friend of Spears' and exchanges on FaceTime to show Spears wasn't present. Instead, Spears reportedly said he was at a barbecue restaurant with Miller and two friends when Miller asked them if they wanted to stay out. The other three declined and went home, while Miller got into a car with Lee.

After checking with Lee, the Times was no longer confident in its reporting.
Will the lawsuit proceed after this or will it be dropped?
 
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