Judge dismisses libel case vs. Mitchell Republic for publishing Legion baseball demands
Summary judgment granted ‘because the contents of the letter were true’
MITCHELL — A libel and defamation lawsuit against two regional media outlets brought by a former member of the Mitchell American Legion baseball team, embroiled in three years of legal challenges related to a hazing incident, has been dismissed.
Peyton Mandel claimed that Forum Communications — the parent company of the Mitchell Republic — and KELO-TV’s owner, Nextar Media, permanently damaged his reputation and economic prospects by printing a letter from American Legion Adjunct C.P. Van Delist to the Mitchell Baseball Association last year.
Circuit Court Judge David Knoff on Thursday, Aug. 6, granted summary judgment to the media companies, effectively dismissing the libel claims against Forum and Nextar.
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