An try and sue a number of US media shops and golf journalists in a $750 million (A$1.2bn) defamation lawsuit has backfired spectacularly on controversial LIV star Patrick Reed, who has been ordered to pay authorized prices to the defendants.
Reed pursued the mind-boggling damages from Gannett and Golfweek, together with journalists Doug Ferguson of the Related Press, Eamonn Lynch, Damon Hack, and Golf Channel commentators Brandel Chamblee and Damon Hack.
Central to Reed’s case was the declare that the Golf Channel and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan tried to defame the 33-year-old Texan “since he was 23 years outdated”, and that the alleged assaults intensified over his resolution to affix LIV Golf.
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Reed’s authorized crew claimed that he misplaced out on “a number of multimillion-dollar sponsorship offers on account of the continual hurt”.
Their allegations additionally included “misreporting info with falsity and/or reckless disregard of the reality, that’s with precise and constitutional malice, purposely omitting pertinent key materials details to mislead the general public, and actively focusing on (Reed) to destroy his fame, create hate, and a hostile work surroundings for him.”
The lawsuit was twice dismissed, most lately in September.
In a recent authorized blow, nonetheless, Reed has now reportedly been instructed he should pay lawyer charges and different prices to these he was suing.
A Jacksonville federal choose dominated on Friday that Reed had introduced ahead meritless lawsuits with the intention to stifle free speech, in response to a number of US media shops.
Choose Timothy Corrigan stated: “Reed doesn’t meet the required pleading of precise malice to carry the press chargeable for defamation.
“Whereas Reed could also be pissed off on the unfavorable media protection he receives [some of which seems over the top], underneath Florida regulation and the First Modification, Reed fails to carry actionable defamation claims and his instances due to this fact should be dismissed.”
Reed’s lawyer, Larry Klayman, issued a strongly-worded assertion in response to the ruling, saying that it might be appealed and that “justice will probably be completed”.
“The dishonest and unethical faux information golf media, within the hip pocket of and depending on the PGA Tour, should be held to account for his or her callous and malicious makes an attempt to destroy Mr. Reed, as a method to attempt to destroy LIV Golf, for clicks and earnings,” the assertion learn, in response to experiences.
“Keep tuned. This combat is much from over.”
It’s unclear how a lot Reed has been ordered to pay the defendants.
Nonetheless, response to the announcement has been unkind to Reed, who was concerned in a number of dishonest storms on the PGA Tour earlier than he jumped ship to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league.
“Patrick Reed misplaced his lawsuit, badly. You simply hate to see it,” posted the Fore Play podcast in reporting the information.
Fore Play podcast host Dan Rapaport added: “Play silly video games, win silly prizes.”
One of many defendants, Chamblee, additionally didn’t miss the chance to take a swipe at Reed in victory.
“To be truthful he has been purchased, and now works for a person who doesn’t permit free speech… so I can see how Reed would fall into this entice,” Chamblee posted on X.
Reed is often known as a serial blocker of X customers who criticise him on the social media platform.
Moreover, final 12 months, circumstantial proof supplied a hyperlink between his spouse, Justine, and the controversial pro-Reed X account @useGolfFACTS.