An excerpt from the long Law Office of John Randolph, PLLC v. EWU Media LLC, decided Monday by the Washington Court of Appeals (Judge Linda Coburn, joined by Judges Leonard Feldman and Ian Birk):
Attorney John Randolph, who is bipolar, had a mental health episode on August 3, 2021. During the incident Randolph approached a child at a public park and tried to persuade the child to go boating or parasailing with him. When police responded, Randolph made several nonsensical statements, including an inaccurate belief that he was the child's father. According to Randolph, this conduct is consistent with the occurrence of a manic episode associated with bipolar disorder.
The matter resolved with Randolph pleading guilty to disturbing the peace. About two years later, Explore with Us (EWU) Media posted a 14-minute video on YouTube and Facebook, consisting of segmented police body camera (bodycam) and security camera footage of the August 3 incident. Portions of the video include EWU Media's voice-over narration that added information beyond what was depicted in the footage, including that Randolph "does, in fact, have a bit of dirt on him, so to speak," "apparently" is "hiding a rather tumultuous past," and could "relapse" at any time.
The posting received millions of views and thousands of comments, including references to Randolph being a pedophile. Randolph received harassing emails and voicemails, including a death threat. He eventually closed his law practice because of the constant harassment from the public. Randolph sued EWU Media, asserting multiple claims based on his assertion that the narration over the video was false and defamatory because it includes statements leading viewers to believe Randolph is a pedophile who could relapse at any moment….
