Trey Burke is getting sued

[8]

His reputation took a blow. That is the result of defamation, which I believe will be the issue of the case.


Didn't Trey say it was an Ian Clark selfie? That's a false statement.



I see this being settled out of court as well, not because Binnion has no case, but because the amount he wants is pennies to these guys.

Defamation per Cornell law:

"To establish a prima facie case of defamation, four elements are generally required: a false statement purporting to be fact concerning another person or entity; publication or communication of that statement to a third person; fault on the part of the person making the statement amounting to intent or at least negligence; and some harm caused to the person or entity who is the subject of the statement."
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/defamation

1. False Statement: Trey said photo was Ian Clark selfie.
2.Publication/communication to third party: posted to thousands of instagram followers.
3. Fault of intent or negligence: easily negligence.
4. Some harm to subject : public ridicule, loss of reputation, and emotional turmoil.

That took me all of five minutes to see he has the bones of a case against Trey.

Wow, why do people even go to law school? You've got it all figured out, Atticus!

 

[ema]

If some rich douche-bags mocked me or a member of my family over an illness or a physical problem in the public or social media, especially the way this stupids did, I sure would look for every way to sue them. In the worst case, my base would be psychological abuse/violence or causing of psychological trauma.

You don't necessarily have to get physically assaulted to have a case against the bullies. There are many non-physically-violent behaviors that may harm a person and even cause many kinds of psychological trauma. And public mockery could very well be one of them, especially in a case that the victim has already a very hard life conditions and is much more vulnerable against such offense than usual.

I hope he wins and sets an example and gets at least some kind of financial relief in the meantime.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

That is not what is happening here.

The insulting joke was levied publically, thus influencing other's opinions and defaming Binnion's reputation.

What you are referring to is different. As a disabled person myself, insults are levied on the regular, but they are not defaming me because they are not done on public stages by people who hold a great deal of influence to alter my reputation, thus no law has been broken. While I find it repugnant when I am ridiculed and judged for a disability and not the content/merit of my being, I know nothing illegal has taken place. I reserve my right to verbally bitch slap those who come at me like that. That is free speech, and should be protected for both parties.

Defamation is another matter. It is serious, and illegal for a reason. Nothing new is happenng here, except three celebrities who decried Sterling (who broke moral codes and NBA laws, not US laws) were engaging in a more socially acceptable form of the same thing. That, in and of itself was not illegal. Defamation is though, as it has numerous and unforeseeable ramifications on those who have been defamed.

This isn't defamation. Quit throwing that around. Truth is pretty much always a defense to a defamation claim. Making fun of someone for the way they look is not libel or slander (defamation). Just because it was rude and hurt his feelings doesn't meet the legal standards of defamation.

From your own link:

a false statement purporting to be fact concerning another person or entity;... and some harm caused to the person or entity who is the subject of the statement.

What false statement did shaq and trey make? And the harm the laws refer to often requires more than hurt feelings. This aspect of defamation is often the most difficult part to prove in court.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

1. False Statement: Trey said photo was Ian Clark selfie.
2.Publication/communication to third party: posted to thousands of instagram followers.
3. Fault of intent or negligence: easily negligence.
4. Some harm to subject : public ridicule, loss of reputation, and emotional turmoil.

1. Might be relevant if Ian Clarke was suing trey, but it's irrelevant to the guy in the photo.
2. Correct.
3. Nope, not easily negligent.
4. Still not really the type of harm courts look for. And you really think this guy's reputation took a hit from this? He became famous and got tons of positive publicity.

That took me all of five minutes....

 

[jazzVA]

I don't know about the merits of the lawsuit but Shaq needs to grow up (mentally obviously)...how shallow must your life be if you're posting crap like this on Twitter in your 40s...probably impresses the teenage bimbos he's creeping around though...I hope Trey learns this is not a good look at any age...

 

[jope]

i agree they didn't do enough to get sued, however, i hope this whole situation catalyzes an outlook change in Trey, Shaq, and the rapper... to stop being douches.

 

[fishonjazz]

That is not what is happening here.

The insulting joke was levied publically,

So if you call me a jerk on jazzfanz (a public website) then i should he able to sue you?

Seems kinda ridicilous tbh

 

[da ThRONe]

Do we even know if Burke knew this was a real person before posting? He may not have even known this individual actual existed. When I 1st saw it I assumed it was some type of photoshop job as I was completely unfamiliar with this gentleman's condition.

 

[kanye]

Sexy Favors is actually preaching the truth and you guys are not dealing well. this is going to settle and dude is getting paid.

if it went to trial, it would actually be kinda interesting, because Trey's lawyer would absolutely play the 'no false statement' card as hard as possible, but I don't think most judges or juries would bite on that. especially because Shaq would undoubtedly be a total idiot in court and remove all potential sympathy to his case.

there are some jurisdictional issues here that are kinda interesting as well, cuz this thing is def getting removed to fed court if it's going anywhere at all, and I'm not sure Trey has enough contacts with Illinois to get pulled in on this there w/o this dude having to go to Ohio or Utah to make this happen. idk what the law is re: personal jurisdiction on twitter.

 

[ekimebirt]

His lawsuit will do more to damage his reputation than the post. He had no reputation to speak of before to damage. Now he is blowing his reputation as a victim of an insensitive prank to a money grubbing opportunist making a mockery of our legal system.

 

[Stoked]

Sexy Favors is actually preaching the truth and you guys are not dealing well. this is going to settle and dude is getting paid.

if it went to trial, it would actually be kinda interesting, because Trey's lawyer would absolutely play the 'no false statement' card as hard as possible, but I don't think most judges or juries would bite on that. especially because Shaq would undoubtedly be a total idiot in court and remove all potential sympathy to his case.

there are some jurisdictional issues here that are kinda interesting as well, cuz this thing is def getting removed to fed court if it's going anywhere at all, and I'm not sure Trey has enough contacts with Illinois to get pulled in on this there w/o this dude having to go to Ohio or Utah to make this happen. idk what the law is re: personal jurisdiction on twitter.

Settling out of court because the defendants don't want the bad publicity it will bring is far different than winning a court case based on someone being ajerk online.

Also the best example of "defamation" agaisnt Burke is that he called him another man's name. Very shaky ground.

He will get paid out of court imo but if it went to court I seriously doubt he would win.

Edit: I wonder if Burke's apology to this guy and he was fine and moved on. Then an attorney contacted him and connvinced him to sue because he was a victim.

 

[candrew]

This is why in this day and age you never, ever, ever, ever apologize for anything.

My brother got into an incident a few years back with some guy which turned into a legal matter. He tried to defuse the situation by apologizing to the guy and the **** bag turned around and immediately used it against him in court.