Judge dismisses lawyer’s defamation counterclaim

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted February 9, 2024 11:28 AM

In a case where a lawyer alleged he was defamed by a press release from a gun manufacturer that accurately recounted the allegations in the company’s lawsuit against the attorney, a federal judge in Connecticut rejected the broad version of the “self-report exception” to the fair-report privilege.Contrary precedent listed by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer included a 2020 federal case from Illinois.The Connecticut litigation started when Sig Sauer Inc. sued Jeffrey S. Bagnell and his law firm for allegedly posting …

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