Excerpts from yesterday's decision by Judge Sheri Polster Chappell (M.D. Fla.) in Shriteh v. NYP Holdings, Inc. (with, as usual, some inevitable oversimplification of some of the legal points):
This is a defamation case. Plaintiff operates seventeen vape (or e-cigarette) retail stores in southwest Florida under the trademark name "the King of Vape." Christenson, writing for the New York Post, authored and published an article about Plaintiff titled, "Florida's Israel-hating 'King of Vape' Faces Bipartisan Crackdown on Sale of Illicit, Kid-Friendly Chinese E-cigs." The following is a summary of the article.
Plaintiff, a.k.a. the "King of Vape," is the co-founder of Safa Goods, one of the largest vape distributors in the United States. Safa Goods sells Chinese-produced vape brands in over a dozen "King of Vape" retail stores in southwest Florida. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Safa Goods (among others) for illegal and fraudulent business practices that target underage e-cigarette users. United States Senator Ashley Moody also announced plans to protect children from illicit vapes. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has cracked down on illicit vape sales. And the Food and Drug Administration is doing the same. All this government action, according to the article, demonstrates the "hotseat" in which Plaintiff sits "as lawmakers and officials try to throttle his distribution of illicit e-cigarettes manufactured in China."
According to the article, Plaintiff not only sells illicit vapes, but also has a "history of anti-Israel advocacy," which shows he is an Israel-hater. In February 1991, an Israeli court found that Plaintiff aided Hamas while working as a freelance reporter in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli judge found that Plaintiff "crossed the line in his work as a journalist" and "became an activist for a terror organization" by reporting information from a Hamas leaflet to readers. Defendants obtained this information from a 1991 New York Times article, which they hyperlinked in their article. Plaintiff also authored a 2003 book Beyond Intifada: Narratives of Freedom Fighters in the Gaza Strip, which covered the uprising of Palestinians against Israel beginning in 1987. And Plaintiff's relative (and director of Safa Goods) previously worked at United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees. The United States ceased all funding to this organization because some of its employees helped Hamas conduct the October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 people.
After Plaintiff complained about the article, Defendants published a revised version titled, "Florida's 'King of Vape' Faces Bipartisan Crackdown on Family's Sale of Kid-Friendly Chinese E-cigs." However, the revised article still [allegedly] includes defamatory statements.
Plaintiff sued for libel, claiming these statements were "materially false" and defamatory:
