Stewart v. Oklahoma Publishing Co. [1] SummaryThreat Type: LawsuitDate: 05/13/2002Status: ConcludedDisposition: Dismissed (total)Material RemovedLocation: Oklahoma Verdict or Settlement Amount: N/ALegal Claims: DefamationFalse Light Dennis Stewart sued the Oklahoma Publishing Co. and others for publishing the Oklahoma Department of Corrections sex offender registry on NewsOK.com, a regional news website. The registry incorrectly listed Stewart's address as associated with a registered offender who had previously... read full description PartiesParty Receiving Legal Threat: The Oklahoma Publishing Co.; Griffin Television (KWTV-Ch.9); NewsOK LLCType of Party: IndividualType of Party: OrganizationLocation of Party: OklahomaLocation of Party: OklahomaLegal Counsel: Steven E. Chlouber - Fuller, Chlouber & Frizzell; Douglas E. Stall - Lathan, Stall, Wagner, Steele & LehmanLegal Counsel: Robert Nelon - Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson Description Dennis Stewart sued the Oklahoma Publishing Co. and others for publishing the Oklahoma Department of Corrections sex offender registry on NewsOK.com [2], a regional news website. The registry incorrectly listed Stewart's address as associated with a registered offender who had previously lived at that address. The complaint included claims for defamation and false light invasion of privacy. An Oklahoma jury awarded Stewart $200,000 in compensatory damages and $3.5 million in punitive damages. The defendants appealed, and the Court of Civil Appeals reversed the judgment, holding that the defendants could not be liable because the fair report privilege [3] covered publication of the sex offender registry. According to the MLRC, NewsOK.com voluntarily removed the registry in February 2002 because of problems with out-of-date addresses in the data provided by the Department of Corrections. Related Links: Reporters Committee For Freedom of the Press: $3.5 million libel judgment reversed [4] DetailsWeb Site(s) Involved: NewsOK.com [2] Content Type: TextPublication Medium: WebsiteSubject Area: DefamationThird-Party ContentFalse Light Court Information & DocumentsJurisdiction: OklahomaSource of Law: OklahomaCourt Name: Oklahoma District Court, Creek County; Oklahoma Court of Civil AppealsCourt Type: StateCase Number: No. CJ-02-490 (district court) CMLP Information (Private)Priority: 1-HighThreat Source: MLRC