Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Nevada

Nevada Supreme Court Rewrites Libel Law

As former small-business owners, we are involved in a libel suit against Gannett. Recently, the Nevada Supreme Court upheld the district court's finding of summary judgment in favor of the defendant. We have been repeatedly denied our day in court because we have been found, erroneously, to be

limited purpose public figures for the purpose of media reporting on our services to the public. In so doing, the

Court, literally, CHANGED the crucial verbiage in the controlling authority, Gertz v. Welch. We have filed a Petition for Rehearing in the matter, with little expectation of justice. Our complaints to various agencies always refer us back to the Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct. Problem is, the Committee Chairman of the Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct is ALSO the attorney for the respondent newspaper! Our question is: Because the wording in the Gertz doctrine was so OBVIOUSLY altered to fit their decision, are we able to transfer or re-file our case to Federal Court? (All parties reside in Nevada) We don't believe we can possibly get a fair shake from the state level. Thank you.


Asked on 12/19/02, 2:32 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Sheldon G. Bardach Law Offices of Sheldon G. Bardach

Re: Nevada Supreme Court Rewrites Libel Law

You do not need diversity to file in Federal Court. What you do need, and what you have is a federal question under the U.S. Constitutional right to free speech. That should be enough to give the Federal Courts jurisdiction. Further the ingrown nature of the state court proceedings, also should raise an issue which the Federal Courts would find jurisdictional, the denial of "due process."

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Answered on 12/20/02, 4:17 pm


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