GSG Secures Appellate Victory in Media Defamation Case

GSG attorneys Brian Toth, Freddy Funes, and Natalie Bedoya McGinn secured a significant victory for Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. when Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal affirmed an order dismissing a defamation case against the Spanish-language media company. In this case, a physician had sued an award-winning journalist and a group of foreign and U.S media companies for defamation arising out of a series of broadcasts about the business and regulation of stem-cell treatment in the Dominican Republic. GSG successfully obtained a trial court order dismissing the case on the grounds that that each of the alleged defamation could not be proven; consisted of rhetorical hyperbole; or was protected commentary or opinion. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal order with a written opinion in October. As part of its media law practice, GSG represents a wide range of national and international companies and journalists in cases involving the First Amendment, defamation, and related matters.