Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
The law recognizes that public figures are more likely to be the subject of defamatory statements than private citizens. This is especially true when a public figures dies suddenly and unexpectedly. Amid rumors surrounding the recent death of the actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman, was a report in the National Enquirer that he and the playwright, David Bar Katz, had been lovers.
Once the report came out, Katz said, “After I dropped the kids at school I looked at my phone, and I’ve gotten a million calls.” He also said that photographers were stalking him on the street. Although Katz said that he was tempted to ignore it, his friends urged him to file a libel lawsuit. Shortly after he did so, the Enquirer withdrew the article with an apology.
The report inaccurately quoted Katz as saying that he and Hoffman were lovers, that they had freebased cocaine the night of Hoffman’s death, and that Katz had seen Hoffman using cocaine many times.
It is well known that Katz and Hoffman were good friends. While they met through friends in the movie industry about fifteen years ago, they didn’t become close until later, when their children began attending the same school in Greenwich Village. They would often have breakfast together after the school drop-off. However, Katz insists that, although he and Hoffman discussed addiction, Hoffman never did drugs in front of him.
Mr. Burstein of the National Enquirer explained that the false report was an honest mistake. He said that his reporters “did a search and found someone named David Katz who appeared to be the son of David’s father. They asked, ‘Are you David Katz who is the playwright?'” He said that he was and they believed him. Burstein further explained that the man “sounded distraught. They couldn’t believe that someone would be so callous to say, ‘I’m the real David Katz'” when he wasn’t. Burstein said that the interview was conducted by a senior reporter who worked on the story with some researchers. The reporter was convinced that it was the right person.
The lawsuit was quickly settled, although Katz did not claim any money for himself. Instead, he formed the American Playwriting Foundation which will give out an annual prize of $45,000 for an unproduced play. It is to be called the Relentless Award. The foundation and the prize are both being paid for by the National Enquirer and its publisher, American Media Incorporated as a part of the settlement of the libel lawsuit. The exact amount of money that the Enquirer paid to settle the lawsuit has not been revealed, although Mr. Burstein did say that “It’s enough for the foundation to give out these grants for years to come.”
As part of the settlement, the Enquirer also provided Katz with contact details for the person who fooled them into thinking that he was David Katz. The real Katz has said that he intends to sue the man, although he hasn’t filed yet. He wants to be sure that he files the lawsuit against the correct person.