She’s a public figure right now according to the legal definition of “public figure”:
n. in the law of defamation (libel and slander), a personage of great public interest or familiarity like a government official, politician, celebrity, business leader, movie star or sports hero. Incorrect harmful statements published about a public figure cannot be the basis of a lawsuit for defamation unless there is proof that the writer or publisher intentionally defamed the person with malice (hate).
Obviously case law (the biggie is Sullivan) expands on the definition but it can probably be said that McGinniss hates Palin :-) And if he knew ALL the allegations in the book to be untrue she may prevail, but it appears that the Glen Rice allegations were true and that alone will diminish her chances of prevailing on the suit. Truth is an absolute defense.
But I agree that she can’t run for the Presidency while embroiled in a nasty defamation law suit. No one in their right mind would do so.
Most of the posts on this thread are entirely missing the point of this letter. The purpose of the letter was NOT to threaten a law suit.
The purpose of the letter was to serve a notice and demand that Random House take all necessary steps to preserve evidence for discovery - INCLUDING correspondence between McGinnis and Random House’s lawyers, for which McGinnis has effectively waived attorney-client confidentiality by sending an extraordinarily ill advised e-mail to a private correspondent in Alaska.
McGinnis has crippled the ability of Random House to defend either McGinnis or the book, and Palin’s lawyer’s letter has unambiguously shoved Random House’s nose right down into the stinking pile. They are going to be extraordinarily motivated to get out from under this.
I think the book will be pulled within two weeks, much as was J.H. Hatfield’s tell all about GW Bush, Fortunate Son. Remember that one?
The difference here will be that along with withdrawal and destruction of the book, there will be a substantial cash settlement to the Palins - all with no actual action in court. Random House will not want that - the situation is that bad for them.
Yay! A thought-filled posting! I was wondering about the public figure angle.
Thanks!
Glen Rice never said that anything happen between the two of them! He wasn’t even asked!!!!!!!! That irks me that people on FR would state a claim that is simply not true
BTW you forgot the email that McGinniss sent to Jesse Griffin that is the centerpiece of the potential case! Libel case are difficult to prove but in this case that email proves there was malice and that email makes RH liable to opening up their correspondence between RH and McGinniss, something RH would be foolish to allow in discovery phase. They will settle out of court before that happens