SHORT TAKES : Newton to Appeal Award Loss
Wayne Newton will appeal a federal ruling that overturned the singer’s record $5.2-million libel judgment against NBC News for a 1980 broadcast linking him to organized crime.
Lawyers for Newton said the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals “overlooked or misconstrued” some evidence and interpreted other evidence unfairly in favor of NBC in its Aug. 30 ruling.
In a petition asking for a rehearing, the attorneys said that failing to overturn the verdict would “chill the rights of public figures to bring defamation suits against powerful media defendants.”
The petition was filed last week, Newton attorney Morton Galane said Thursday.
A jury in Las Vegas found that NBC’s story falsely implied that organized crime figures had helped Newton buy the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in exchange for a hidden interest.
It awarded Newton $19.3 million, but that was later reduced to $5.2 million, mostly in punitive damages.
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