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Sunday, November 17, 2024

One of my favorite Minnesota published appellate opinions is Bebo v. Delander, 632 NW 2d 732 (Mn.App. 2001)

It is online: https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14186602529946530213&q=Bebo&hl=en&as_sdt=6,24

It speaks for itself on defamation, where plaintiff was a private person, not a public figure where actual malice is a heightened requirement to prove a defamation, per New York Times v. Sullivan. It stands for coarse name-calling not being actionable absent unusual circumstance, and statements of future expectation are not statements of fact.

While no single case is determinative of where another will be decided, and the case is not precedent outside of Minnesota, it nonetheless is a common sense decision.

To the extent Trump may want to sue anybody as having defamed him, he has a lawyer and the filing fee, so he can sue. Then, can he win; and can he collect any judgement he might attain. Under Bebo, there are defenses, but nobody wants a deep pocket to file a nuisance suit. So, will Trump sue New York Times?

We'll see. One would hope he'd first demand a retraction. And he is a public figure.

Trump has had his share of litigation, that is fair to say, more than many other public figures.