COLUMBUS, OH - Reminger Co., LPA attorney Patrick Kasson was featured in several media outlets in conjunction with a defamation suit in a federal appeals court involving a tweet by actor James Woods.
Mr. Woods is a noted conservative whose tweets are well-respected and followed by many. At the Trump Convention, a woman was photographed in what appeared to be a Nazi salute. Several sites on the internet and Twitter identified Patricia Boulger as the “Nazi Salute Lady.” Mr. Woods re-tweeted this information, asking a question of his followers if Ms. Boulger, a Bernie Sanders’ supporter, was the “Nazi Salute Lady.” When Mr. Woods learned that Ms. Boulger was not that person, he tweeted that she was not the Nazi salute lady.
Nevertheless, a legal team filed suit against Mr. Woods for defamation and invasion of privacy. The Reminger team, led by Patrick Kasson, successfully convinced the Trial Court to dismiss the case.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in its most comprehensive decision on the legal standard for social media defamation claims, upheld the Trial Court’s decision. The Court of Appeals correctly reasoned that Mr. Woods’ tweet was constitutionally protected speech because it could clearly be read as a question, not a statement of fact.
Coverage of the case result was published in multiple outlets including the ABA Journal, Courthouse News Service, US News and World Report, and the Associated Press.
In addition, Mr. Woods himself also gave Patrick kudos on his own Twitter account, @RealJamesWoods, which has more than 2 million followers:
“Thank you to my attorney Patrick Kasson and his terrific team for their hard work and victory in this case. I am grateful to the judges for their thorough and thoughtful decision. Reading their insights was a rich lesson in the value of our court system,” said Mr. Woods.
The post so far has generated more than 1,800 comments, 9,600 retweets and 39,000 likes at the time of the drafting of this release.
Patrick practices in the Columbus office of Reminger Co., LPA. He serves as the Chair of the Governmental/Public Entity Liability Practice Group and is a leader in the Employment Practices Defense and Directors and Officers Liability practice groups. Patrick is also a member of the firm's Management Committee. Patrick handles litigation involving labor and employment, wage-and-hour, housing discrimination, professional liability, governmental liability, construction defect litigation and general tort liability.
Patrick is a member of various professional associations. He is a frequent speaker at both the local and national level in the areas of employment law, tort defense and trial techniques.
Patrick can be reached by calling 614.232.2418 or by emailing pkasson@reminger.com.
About Reminger, Attorneys at Law:
Reminger Co., LPA is a full-service law firm with fourteen offices throughout the Midwest: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Akron, Youngstown, Sandusky, Toledo, Fort Mitchell, Lexington, Louisville, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Northwest Indiana and Evansville. With more than 140 attorneys collectively, Reminger's practice areas include all aspects of litigation, along with corporate, tax, real estate and probate matters. Our fundamental objective in all the legal services we provide is to obtain the best possible results for our clients in the most practical and efficient manner possible. For more information, visit Reminger at www.reminger.com.
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