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> Metheney sued by candidate
Southsider2k12
post Mar 7 2011, 11:30 AM
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http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...a1079531101.txt

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Common Council candidate sues Metheny

By Matt Field
Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, March 6, 2011 5:02 PM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — A Common Council candidate has filed a lawsuit against a former Coolspring Township trustee for suggesting on a television program that the candidate uses illegal drugs.

Keith Devereaux, a candidate for an open Third Ward council seat, said he was shocked when he heard Dennis Metheny suggest Devereaux smokes "dope" on “News & Views,” a local cable access show.

Metheny accused members of a veterans’ organization he himself once belonged to, The Wall Gang, of drug use during a panel discussion on the upcoming council races.

“I would hope that Keith Devereaux doesn’t get it,” Metheny said during a January taping of the show. “I knew him when I was in The Wall Gang and there’s a few people there that smoke dope. The only reason I say that is because I know it, I seen them.”

Devereaux not only denied Metheny’s accusation, but said he’s active in anti-drug efforts in the city. Now he’s asking for unspecified damages, including the cost of the lawsuit, according to the complaint filed in La Porte County Superior Court 2 on Feb. 25.

Metheny “knew that the statement was not accurate, knew it would be published to viewers of the television program and knew it would cause damage to the plaintiff,” the complaint states.

Metheny said Saturday he wouldn’t comment on the lawsuit.

“I can’t comment,” he said. “It’s under a lawsuit now. If Devereaux wants to talk about it that’s fine. I just can’t talk about.”

“News & Views” producer Al Austin questioned whether Metheny’s comments crossed the line.

“He’s a political figure. He’s running for city council. He’s fair game,” Austin said of Devereaux.

Austin said that Metheny has been back on the show and that Devereaux will also be a guest at an upcoming taping.

“News & Views” is moderated by Councilman Phil Jankowski and features various guests.

Devereaux faces Ronald Hamilton Jr., Jacqueline Hendricks and Danny T. Brown in the May 3 Democratic primary. Councilman Ron Meer decided to vacate the seat to run for mayor.
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Southsider2k12
post Mar 15 2011, 06:49 AM
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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...6b541146226.txt

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Professor: Defamation cases tough to win

IU educator sheds light on suit against Metheny
By Matt Field
Staff Writer
Published: Friday, March 11, 2011 5:07 PM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — A Common Council candidate who’s suing the former Coolspring Township trustee for suggesting on a cable-TV show he uses illegal drugs may have difficulty making his case.

The court likely will consider Keith Devereaux, who is running for the Third Ward council seat, a public figure, and the U.S. Supreme Court has made it difficult for public figures to win defamation cases, an Indiana University law professor said.

The standard that public officials and figures have to meet to win a defamation case is that they have to show the person they are accusing made a statement with what’s called “actual malice,” Professor Donald Gjerdingen said.

“You basically have to show that the person knew that the information was false or that (he or she had) reckless disregard for whether it was true or false,” Gjerdingen said. “That is a really, really tough standard.”

Devereaux is suing former Coolspring Township Trustee Dennis Metheny in La Porte Superior Court 2.

Daniel Pfeifer, Devereaux’s lawyer, said he believes he can make the case that Metheny defamed Devereaux.

“There’s some information that we have that leads us to that conclusion,” Pfeifer said. “I’d rather not try my case in the media.”

During a January taping of “News & Views,” Metheny said members of The Wall Gang, a veteran’s group, “smoke dope.” Devereaux is a member of the group.

Gjerdingen said important Supreme Court First Amendment cases give considerable leeway to people like Metheny who comment on government officials and public figures, a category that can include candidates and celebrities.

The Supreme Court, Gjerdingen said, has created a constitutional privilege to “allow people to say more things about public officials and public figures.”

For his part, Pfeifer isn’t ready to concede that Devereaux is a public figure.

“I’m not right now totally convinced that Keith is a public figure just because he is a candidate for office,” Pfeifer said. “Maybe by default he becomes one.”

Devereaux has not only denied Metheny’s accusation, but said he’s active in anti-drug efforts in the city. Metheny has said he won’t comment on the case.

Devereaux faces Ronald Hamilton Jr., Jacqueline Hendricks and Danny Brown in the May 3 Democratic primary. Councilman Ron Meer decided to vacate the seat to run for mayor.
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MichiganCityDDS
post Mar 15 2011, 01:06 PM
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Should I be proud that I got a mention on his show last August?


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Southsider2k12
post Sep 28 2017, 03:03 PM
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https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local...1f0432f180.html

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LAPORTE — A vocal political watchdog here has lost a defamation lawsuit over comments he made about a county commissioner during the public-input portion of a council meeting in March.

Michigan City physician and LaPorte County commissioner Dr. Vidya Kora was paid $20,000 in a settlement reached with Coolspring Township resident Dennis Metheny, who in November unsuccessfully ran for Kora’s seat on the LaPorte County Commission.

Metheny also issued a public apology during Monday night’s LaPorte County Council meeting in word-for-word statements read directly from the settlement.

‘’I wanted to address these matters today before you to clear the air and apologize for any harm this has caused Dr. Kora,’’ said Metheny.

At the March 27 meeting of the LaPorte County Council, Metheny did not directly allege Kora was overprescribing painkillers to his patients.

It was implied, though, by statements Metheny framed as questions during the public comment portion of the meeting, Kora alleged in his LaPorte Circuit Court defamation lawsuit filed a month later.

At the meeting, Metheny asked council members ''what would you say if I had two people who contacted me in regards to prescriptions that came from Dr. Kora that overprescribed opioids and I had their names. They personally contacted me. What would you say to that?'

He went on to ask if any local officials had contacted the FBI or anyone else in authority ‘’to check on doctors that are overprescribing opioids.’’

While continuing to read from the settlement, Metheny said he never meant to imply wrongdoing on the doctor’s part.

‘’During my comments, I also mentioned Dr. Vidya Kora by name, though my intentions were not to suggest he was over prescribing opioids to patients or engaging in professional misconduct as a physician...’’

In his lawsuit, Kora said he refers patients with chronic pain who may require narcotic pain medications to various pain clinics that may or may not treat the patients with opioids.

Kora also alleged in his legal action that Metheny knew his statements were false and defamatory and phrased them as questions to try and protect himself from liability.

Under Indiana law, though, words creating a false implication or impression are defamatory, according to the lawsuit.

When contacted Wednesday, Kora declined to comment on the settlement.

Metheny also agreed in the settlement any future comments he makes ‘’in this forum will be conducted with civility.’’
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