Washington Redskins

[pendell]

So our local paper ran an article (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/40063/the-cranky-redskins-fans-guide-to-dan-snyder/) on our local team and their owner.

True article or false? We..ell, Dan Snyder is suing the paper (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/early-lead/2011/02/the_hits_just_keep_coming_over.html?tid=wp_feature dstories) over the piece.

Read. And if you don't live here, give thanks to whatever you're not damned to football hell like us Washingtonians are.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[An Enemy Spy]

Wow. Thank god we have Paul Allen instead of this guy. He actually made things better here.

[Joran]

The only positives about Dan Snyder's reign as owner:

1) Never a dull moment, winning or losing, there's always some kind of stupid drama to talk about.

2) He's not a cheap owner. He will spend money on the team.

However, for my own sanity, I switched to the Baltimore Ravens in 2000, since I'm a native Marylander and they have the state seal on their shoulders, and just follow the Redskins for hilarity and schadenfreude.

[arguskos]

The City Paper is a bunch of heroes, as is their holding company. Did you see that? This... tyrant flat out told the paper's owners to back down because it would cost too much! My god! What a prick!

Everyone should be as brave as the City Paper in standing up for their right to expose bad decision-making on a mass scale and refusing to bend in the face of overwhelming aggression. Go them! It's moments like this that make me wish I was a billionaire, cause I'd pay for their defense on moral grounds alone.

[Joran]

The City Paper is a bunch of heroes, as is their holding company. Did you see that? This... tyrant flat out told the paper's owners to back down because it would cost too much! My god! What a prick!

Everyone should be as brave as the City Paper in standing up for their right to expose bad decision-making on a mass scale and refusing to bend in the face of overwhelming aggression. Go them! It's moments like this that make me wish I was a billionaire, cause I'd pay for their defense on moral grounds alone.

Something I did not know: newspapers have libel insurance. Pay a deductible, get a team of lawyers. Ninja lawyers.

Still, the City Paper has a circulation of maybe 30K. Now, this is front page news on multiple news sites and probably millions of people have now read the article. PR nightmare and completely self-inflicted.

[Abies]

I don't understand, what is he suing over? Are some of the things in the list fabricated? Certianly he can not be foolish enough to call into question the editorial portions of the commentary.

In order to have a case he woudl have to prove 1) Facts were fabricated and 2) Those fabrications somehow damaged him.

Considering everyone with an opinion already thinks he's a moron totally incapable of running a Footabll team, I'm not sure how any of the things listed could hurt his public image.

[Joran]

I don't understand, what is he suing over? Are some of the things in the list fabricated? Certianly he can not be foolish enough to call into question the editorial portions of the commentary.

In order to have a case he woudl have to prove 1) Facts were fabricated and 2) Those fabrications somehow damaged him.

Considering everyone with an opinion already thinks he's a moron totally incapable of running a Footabll team, I'm not sure how any of the things listed could hurt his public image.

And since Dan Snyder is a public figure, it's even worse:

They need to prove that it was malicious or at the very least, a reckless disregard for the truth. Seeing how everything in the article was linking to previous articles, yeah...

In the United States, because of the First Amendment, the burden for proving libel is very, very high.

See: Stepien v. Franklin

[pendell]

I don't understand, what is he suing over? Are some of the things in the list fabricated? Certianly he can not be foolish enough to call into question the editorial portions of the commentary.

In order to have a case he woudl have to prove 1) Facts were fabricated and 2) Those fabrications somehow damaged him.

Considering everyone with an opinion already thinks he's a moron totally incapable of running a Footabll team, I'm not sure how any of the things listed could hurt his public image.

The point is not to WIN the lawsuit. The point is to force the company to spend weeks, months, or years fighting it, and racking up commensurate legal fees. Dan Snyder believes he has deeper pockets than they; even fighting a losing lawsuit will allow him to drive them into bankruptcy.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Abies]

The point is not to WIN the lawsuit. The point is to force the company to spend weeks, months, or years fighting it, and racking up commensurate legal fees. Dan Snyder believes he has deeper pockets than they; even fighting a losing lawsuit will allow him to drive them into bankruptcy.

Why would the paper even need to mount a defense? As mentioned, the burden of proving libel is on the accusor. Since everything in that article was either opinion, or easily verified factual information any judge who isn't already in Snyder's pocket should throw the case out with more prejudice than that woman who claimed mental distress upon discovering that "Crunchberries" were not, in fact, berries.

[Telonius]

2) He's not a cheap owner. He will spend money on the team.

This is more of a bug than a feature.


However, for my own sanity, I switched to the Baltimore Ravens in 2000, since I'm a native Marylander and they have the state seal on their shoulders, and just follow the Redskins for hilarity and schadenfreude.

Sadly, not an option for me. I started out life as a Browns fan...

[pendell]

Why would the paper even need to mount a defense? As mentioned, the burden of proving libel is on the accusor. Since everything in that article was either opinion, or easily verified factual information any judge who isn't already in Snyder's pocket should throw the case out with more prejudice than that woman who claimed mental distress upon discovering that "Crunchberries" were not, in fact, berries.

That's what someone like Snyder pays lawyers for; to find every applicable law, loophole, possible instance, and build it up into some legal wall of stone that a judge won't instantly dismiss as meritless. You also throw a tremendous Wall of Text with hundreds of alleged infractions. Make it big enough, make it complex enough, be creative enough, and you can build a case that the judge won't instantly throw out.

And at that instant, you've won.

The other side will have to hire lawyers , then spend forever researching your allegations and dismantling them piece by piece. Then get their argument in front of a judge. In the meantime you're using arguments and motions and every other tactic to drag the trial out as long as possible. Every hour you do so is another billable hour for the lawyers on the other team -- who may not actually be interested in stopping you from doing this. The longer the suit drags on , the more they get paid, after all.

Eventually, several years down the road, the judge finds for the defendant. Which means neither of you gets anything. You shrug your shoulders and go on. Your opponent is financially ruined. And who knows? There's always the possibility you must might win! Or at least force a settlement, which if it doesn't bankrupt the paper will shut it up. That's a win too.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[pendell]

There we go (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/06/AR2011020604059.html). The lawsuit alleges that the cover art is meant as directly insulting to Dan Snyder's ethnicity.

Funny, I had no idea of his ethnic background. I thought he was a friend computer does not like that word citizen! -- and as everyone knows, those are found in EVERY ethnic group, everywhere in the world.


Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Joran]

That's what someone like Snyder pays lawyers for; to find every applicable law, loophole, possible instance, and build it up into some legal wall of stone that a judge won't instantly dismiss as meritless. You also throw a tremendous Wall of Text with hundreds of alleged infractions. Make it big enough, make it complex enough, be creative enough, and you can build a case that the judge won't instantly throw out.

And at that instant, you've won.

The other side will have to hire lawyers , then spend forever researching your allegations and dismantling them piece by piece. Then get their argument in front of a judge. In the meantime you're using arguments and motions and every other tactic to drag the trial out as long as possible. Every hour you do so is another billable hour for the lawyers on the other team -- who may not actually be interested in stopping you from doing this. The longer the suit drags on , the more they get paid, after all.

Eventually, several years down the road, the judge finds for the defendant. Which means neither of you gets anything. You shrug your shoulders and go on. Your opponent is financially ruined. And who knows? There's always the possibility you must might win! Or at least force a settlement, which if it doesn't bankrupt the paper will shut it up. That's a win too.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

Snyder at least threatened this strategy: Letter sent to private equity firm that owns the paper (http://www.scribd.com/Letter-from-Washington-Redskins-General-Counsel-David-Donovan-to-Atalaya-Capital-Management-LP/d/48061507). Note: he sent the letter to the private equity firm, not the editors of the paper. He also didn't respond to questions about what exactly they got wrong nor an offer for his own column or equal time.

Relevant quote:

"...Mr. Snyder has more than sufficient means to protect his reputation. We presume that defending such litigation would not be a rational strategy for an investment fund such as yours. Indeed, the cost of litigation would presumably quickly outstrip the asset value of the Washington City Paper."

The problem of course is: Papers have libel insurance. The paper has already paid this sum and need not pay anything else to defend itself.

Also, if the judge finds it completely without merit, he can dismiss it with prejudice, which means the plaintiff can't refile it. Of course, Snyder could choose to sue in another jurisdiction, but that probably won't go over well.

http://www.tbd.com/articles/2011/02/dan-snyder-lawsuit-a-complete-analysis-49871.html


There we go (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/06/AR2011020604059.html). The lawsuit alleges that the cover art is meant as directly insulting to Dan Snyder's ethnicity.

As an owner of a franchise named the REDSKINS, that takes a lot of gumption.

[arguskos]

As an owner of a franchise named the REDSKINS, that takes a lot of gumption.
Nah, just needs for you to be an *******, which Mr. Synder is rapidly proving himself to be. He even claimed that the article in question insulted his wife's battle against breast cancer, despite the article having absolutely no reference to breast cancer in any way at all. :smallsigh:

[grimbold]

when i heard mcnabb went to washington
i was like
*facepalm*
now my childhood hero is in the land of football insanity

[Orzel]

For all I care, the skins' only purpose is to give my Giants 2 easy wins. :smalltongue:

I can't say Dan Synder and not laugh.