ARIZONA DAILY STAR: Thurs., Dec. 7, 2006
Court upholds award against enviro group
PHOENIX- An Arizona appeals court on Wednesday upheld a jury's $600,000 judgment in favor of a rancher in a defamation lawsuit, rejecting an environmental group's argument that documents it posted on the Internet were shielded by the First Amendment.
The Court of Appeals upheld a Pima County Superior Court jury's award of compensatory and punitive damages to Jim Chilton in his lawsuit against the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit with offices in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, D.C.
Chilton contended he and his business, Chilton Ranch and Cattle Co., were defamed by false postings the center made on its Web site. The posting referred to alleged overgrazing on Chilton's grazing allotment, issued by the U.S. Forest Service for 21,500 acres in the Arivaca area northwest of Nogales, Ariz.
The center unsuccessfully opposed the 10-year renewal granted for Chilton's grazing permit, and the group subsequently posted links to the center's appeal and related photographs on its Web site.
FULL STORY: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/159340.php