A Florida jury on Friday discovered CNN accountable for defaming a non-public safety contractor in a five-minute phase that aired on the community in November 2021.
The jury ordered the corporate to pay not less than $5 million in compensatory damages and an extra quantity for punitive damages that has not but been decided.
The choice got here after a two-week trial in a Panama Metropolis, Florida, courtroom the place attorneys for the performer, Zachary Younger, argued that the community falsely accused him of illegally taking part in a “black market” for exfiltration companies in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US forces.
The phase, narrated by correspondent Alexander Marquardt, targeted on contractors who the community mentioned have been charging exorbitant charges to evacuate Afghans.
Mr. Younger, a Navy veteran, was the one performer featured by title within the phase. He mentioned he has supplied his companies to giant firms searching for worker help in Afghanistan and that his costs are honest. He mentioned the phase ruined his popularity and harm his enterprise.
CNN mentioned its report didn’t allege something false about Mr. Younger. In 2022, the community issued a correction stating that it regretted using the time period “black market” and that the phrase was supposed to check with unregulated actions, not unlawful ones.
A CNN spokesman on Friday mentioned the corporate would wait to remark till a jury orders the community to pay all punitive damages.
It is a creating story. Examine again for updates.
