Falwell Award in Hustler Ad Suit Upheld

A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld a $200,000 award that television evangelist Jerry Falwell won from Hustler magazine even though the court agreed that the magazine had not libeled Falwell by portraying him as an incestuous drunkard in an advertising parody.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opened what lawyers for both sides agreed was a new standard under which individuals can win damages from news organizations.

Emotional Distress Cited

The appeals court said that, despite Falwell’s failure to prove that the magazine acted with “actual malice,” the current requirement of Supreme Court libel rulings, he could win the award for the “intentional infliction of emotional distress” by Hustler’s controversial and outspoken publisher, Larry Flynt.

The ruling was hailed by Falwell as denying “smut peddlers” the First Amendment’s free press protections. “This landmark ruling brings to a screeching halt the obscene and yellow journalism practiced by the likes of Larry Flynt,” the minister said.

Lawyers for Hustler said they did not know if the case would be appealed. The Supreme Court “has not been friendly to the media” and any ruling there “might get broader,” said Jonathan Rogers of Roanoke, Va.

The 4th Circuit ruling applies to federal courts in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and North and South Carolina.