This is really fascinating, although I would like to point out this was the news division of the Fox Tampa affiliate and NOT Fox News Channel, which was fairly new at the time. And if the Fox Tampa Affiliate news division is anything like Miami's....well, let's say I did some research.
Can you find ANY news source with this as a story? I could only find it on organic food sites. Not exactly an unbiased opinion. It was mainly the term "settlement by jury decision" in the story that bugged me. If a jury decides something, there was no settlement.
Even more interesting is that all the news stories say the jury decided in the court of appeals. There are no juries in appeals. It's three judges.
This must have been one HELL of an appeal. In most appeals, the amount of paper work might be 1-2 volumes at the clerk's office. The FIRST appeal was NINETY-SIX volumes of documents over 2 years. There were briefs filed not only by the reporters and the TV station, but "friend of the court" briefs by the Fox network and even the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
This must have been one hell of a case. The appeal didn't happen until 2001, four years after the case started. AND, the reporters filed ANOTHER appeal in 2005, which was quickly dismissed for unknown reasons.
A couple of other things now that I'm looking at the Circuit Court docket for the case. There is NOTHING that shows that the Reporters ever won this case. They apparently had 3 counts to their complaint. WTVT won on 2 of them and Jane Akre won on the 3rd, which WTVT appealed and won the appeal and the reporters were ordered to pay WTVT's attorney fees and costs.
Strangely, there is no indication whatsoever this appeal went any higher. I wonder where they won exactly. Other than in our hearts since I've been drinking organic milk for 6 years.
This is really fascinating, although I would like to point out this was the news division of the Fox Tampa affiliate and NOT Fox News Channel, which was fairly new at the time. And if the Fox Tampa Affiliate news division is anything like Miami's....well, let's say I did some research.
ReplyDeleteCan you find ANY news source with this as a story? I could only find it on organic food sites. Not exactly an unbiased opinion. It was mainly the term "settlement by jury decision" in the story that bugged me. If a jury decides something, there was no settlement.
Even more interesting is that all the news stories say the jury decided in the court of appeals. There are no juries in appeals. It's three judges.
This must have been one HELL of an appeal. In most appeals, the amount of paper work might be 1-2 volumes at the clerk's office. The FIRST appeal was NINETY-SIX volumes of documents over 2 years. There were briefs filed not only by the reporters and the TV station, but "friend of the court" briefs by the Fox network and even the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
This must have been one hell of a case. The appeal didn't happen until 2001, four years after the case started. AND, the reporters filed ANOTHER appeal in 2005, which was quickly dismissed for unknown reasons.
A couple of other things now that I'm looking at the Circuit Court docket for the case. There is NOTHING that shows that the Reporters ever won this case. They apparently had 3 counts to their complaint. WTVT won on 2 of them and Jane Akre won on the 3rd, which WTVT appealed and won the appeal and the reporters were ordered to pay WTVT's attorney fees and costs.
Strangely, there is no indication whatsoever this appeal went any higher. I wonder where they won exactly. Other than in our hearts since I've been drinking organic milk for 6 years.