Press Release

08/14/07 - Vedder Price Wins Defamation Case

Illinois Appellate Court Upholds Circuit Court of Cook County Decision

[Chicago, August 14]  The Illinois Appellate Court today affirmed a lower court's order dismissing a claim for defamation filed against Hollinger International, Inc., Chicago Sun-Times, Inc., and The Jerusalem Post by Thomas A. Rose, the former publisher of The Jerusalem Post.

          In its unanimous opinion, the Court held that an alleged defamatory statement contained in an email circulated following Mr. Rose’s termination in May 2004 from The Jerusalem Post constituted a non-actionable expression of opinion.  After a thorough analysis of Illinois law on the fundamental distinction between statements of fact and statements of opinion for first amendment purposes, the Court concluded, among other things, that the email in question did not contain language having a precise and readily understood meaning and that the literary or social context of the email did not signal to the reader that it had factual content.  Accordingly, the Court concluded, the email in question contained only constitutionally protected opinion which may not serve as the basis for a defamation claim under Illinois law.

        Vedder Price attorneys Steven Hamann, James Garvey and Frederic Knape represented the defendant-appellees in the case.  If you would like a copy of this decision, please contact any of the attorneys involved in the case.

• Commercial Litigation
• Employment Litigation
• Supervisor Training
• Wrongful Discharge

• James V. Garvey
• Steven L. Hamann
• Frederic T. Knape