Golfer John Daly Ordered to Pay Attorneys’ Fees
September 30, 2009
After rejecting a defamation lawsuit against The Florida Times-Union, a Florida state court has ordered professional golfer John Daly to reimburse the newspaper for over $296,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs expended on the litigation.
Daly is a professional golfer who promotes his image as the “bad-boy” of the sport. In March 2005, Daly participated in the Players’ Championship golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Mike Freeman, at the time a sports columnist for The Florida Times-Union, wrote an opinion piece entitled “Daly, Duval Star in Golf’s Surreal Life.” In the column, Freeman expressed various opinions about Daly’s notorious career and personal life. Specifically, Freeman wrote,
How does Daly not fail the scoundrel sniff test with fans despite possessing definite Thug Life qualifications? Look at the Daly blog. Domestic violence accusations? Yup. Substance abuse issues? Unfortunately. Three different kids from three different moms, making him the Shawn Kemp of golf? Yes. A former wife indicted for laundering illegal drug profits? Roger that.
He still received endorsement deals from TrimSpa and Dunkin’ Donuts despite a rap sheet that would make R.J. Soward look like a Backstreet Boy.
It is always interesting to observe what behavior fans and the media will tolerate from athletes. A hard-working Jaguars safety asks for more money and a trade and it’s Armageddon. Daly hasn’t played but one or two decent rounds of golf lately, abuses his body, is accused of smacking women around and fans are lined up five rows deep outside the ropes to get his autograph. Remarkable.
In response to the column, Daly sued the newspaper for defamation, alleging the facts in the column were false and that comparisons to other athletes implied false facts about him. More specifically, the complaint alleged three different theories of defamation, which were grouped under the general headings of (1) the Domestic Abuse Counts; (2) the Three Children/Three Moms Counts; and (3) the “Thug Life” Counts. All three theories were thrown out on summary judgment.
As to the Domestic Abuse Counts, Daly alleged that he had never been accused of domestic abuse, either in the past or presently. The Court ruled that there was no genuine dispute regarding the truth of the column based upon the fact that Daly admitted during his deposition that the words “domestic abuse” and “John Daly” had become “locked together.” Moreover, Daly admitted to pleading guilty to a crime of domestic abuse.
As to the Three Children/Three Moms Counts, the Court found that the underlying facts were true – that Daly had three different children with three different women – and that the comparison to Shawn Kemp was pure opinion. In addressing Daly’s argument that the comparison to Kemp suggested Daly’s children were illegitimate, the Court stated, “interpersonal comparisons based upon stated facts are not actionable, even when a plaintiff contends they are poorly considered or otherwise offensive.”
Finally, as to the “Thug Life” Counts, the Court again found that the underlying facts were true and that the comparison to R.J. Soward, as well as the reference to having “Thug Life qualifications,” were protected opinions.
After judgment was entered against Daly on his claims, The Florida Times-Union requested reimbursement of its attorneys’ fees based upon a Florida statute that allows such recovery when a party rejects a settlement offer and, later, loses the case. The court granted the motion, citing the “excellent” results obtained by the newspaper and noting Daly’s responsibility for “unnecessarily” continuing the litigation “without proof that any of the allegedly defamatory statements at issue were false.”
Daly voluntarily dismissed his appeal of the summary judgment order, but the appeal of the order awarding attorneys’ fees is pending before the Florida First District Court of Appeal.
For more information, contact:
Zachary Potter 904.798.5464 | zachary.potter@hklaw.com
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