From Black v. CNN, Inc., decided yesterday by Florida Court of Appeal (4th Dist.) Chief Judge Jeffrey Kuntz, joined by Judges Spencer Levine and Alan Forst:
After CNN.com published a story about "surgeries gone wrong" at St. Mary's Hospital, CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°, a television program anchored by Anderson Cooper reported on "secret deaths" at the hospital. Cooper told his audience that these secret deaths stemmed from the surgeon leading the program, Dr. Michael D. Black, failing to conduct the surgeries safely. Cooper even asked why Dr. Black was allowed to continue operating…. Dr. Black filed a defamation lawsuit against the defendants ….
We express no opinion on the merits of Dr. Black's claim. But Dr. Black presented evidence alleging CNN and its employees published a story implying Dr. Black's allegedly deficient performance caused babies to die. The evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for Dr. Black….
