The long -term defamation trial, caused by the Proopublica article, officially ended on January 24, which noted the final victory in this case for its author, journalist of the freelance William D. Kohan. The Appeal Court of New York ruled in his favor in 2023, and the highest court of the state left the ruling in September 2024, refusing to hear the appeal. In the end, the plaintiff agreed to pay some expenses for Kohan’s defense and did not continue to apply in the US Supreme Court. With this, the parties have completed the case.
The lawsuit was linked to the July 2020 article written by Kohan called “A bizarre drop in co -director of coach and parent company Kate Sid“Jide Zeitlin, the topic of the article, sued Kohan in 2021, stating that he had slandered the story. The article chronicled the” incredible “Zeitlin as the son of Nigerian maid to become a partner Goldman Sachs and the CEO of Fortune 500. He also reviewed it The fall, because the accusations of the extra -marriage with the woman he took a picture, helped to bring him the resignation from the tapestry, the corporation owned by the coach and other famous brand.
As Previously reported propublica. The State Appeal Court found that the article “On the contrary is contrary to the existence of actual anger”, the standard of evidence that the public figure must match in order to win a defamation lawsuit. The Appeal Court attributed the fact that Kohan quotes the refusal of Zaitlin in the article, gave references to the original documents so that readers could judge and rely on “leading other sources whose reliability of the plaintiff does not call.” According to the opinion, “the plaintiff’s allegations of real malice are largely resting on their own statements.”
“This is a great victory for diligent journalism in public interest,” said Jeremy Kutner, Propublica General. “We are delighted with the fact that the courts confirmed the defense for the freedom of the press at a time when it is more important than if it is.”
Jay Ward Brown and Amy Parsans of LLP Ballard Spahr represented Kohan and Propublica.
