Shriners v. Hill [1]

Shriners Hospitals for Children and the Imperial Council of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America (collectively, "Shriners") sued James Vernon Hill and Charity Watch Center, Inc. for defamation in September 2006.  Hill and James Dolnier, who operated the Charity Watch website, published a series of articles questioning the Shriner's use of tax-exempt contributions. 

According to the complaint, these articles falsely suggested the following: "that the [Shriners] were violating the law by not properly using or applying contributed funds; that there is corruption within Shriners which has led to investigations by law enforcement agencies; and that money donated for charitable purposes is being used for non-charitable purposes." Cmplt. ¶ 13. 

The case settled [2] in April 2008.  The terms of the settlement are not public.  Hill disputes that any of his statements were false and indicates that the case settled because of the economic burden of litigation.