Plaintiff, a doctor, sued our clients, CBS Broadcasting, Inc., for a CBS Evening News broadcast reporting on questions and concerns that had been raised about insurance scams targeting military families, including the fact that plaintiff had been paid nearly $5 million from TRICARE (the military insurance program) for what appeared to be unnecessary (and often unperformed) testing. We filed a detailed Answer on behalf of CBS asserting the defenses of substantial truth and privilege and the absence of actual malice, among other defenses, and asserted the applicability of the Anti-SLAPP Statute. We then removed the case to federal court and communicated to Plaintiff that the report was true and privileged and that CBS stood by its report and intended to file an Anti-SLAPP Motion if the suit against it was not dismissed. After being made aware of the exposure for attorney’s fees for attempting to prevent our client from reporting on matters of public concern, and discussions with Plaintiff concerning the same, Plaintiff dismissed the lawsuit.
Cockerell v. CBS News, Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-01840-9 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division
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