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John Oliver, a giant squirrel and a defamation lawsuit by a coal industry titan

Bergslagstroll

Bergslagstroll

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John Oliver have now been sued by mining giant Murray Energy Corporation and chief executive Robert E. Murray.

Before he got going, Oliver offered up a proviso. “I’m going to need to be careful here,” he said, “because when we contacted Murray Energy for this piece, they sent us a letter instructing us to ‘cease and desist from any effort to defame, harass, or otherwise injure Mr. Murray or Murray Energy,’ and telling us that ‘failure to do so will result in immediate litigation.’”

Then he tore into the 77-year-old coal magnate.


Murray was a “geriatric Dr. Evil,” he said, who mistreated his employees and tried to weaken coal safety regulations through litigation. He suggested Murray was “on the same side as black lung” and criticized his response to a deadly 2007 mine accident in Utah found to have been caused by safety violations...

Murray is known for aggressively suing journalists and media organizations that run critical content about him and his companies. Between 2001 and 2015, he filed at least nine lawsuits against journalists and news outlets that published a negative advertisement from an activist group, claiming they maligned his character and threatened his employees’ jobs, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Most if not all never went to trial.
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I think it was good that John Oliver and HBO had the guts to stand up against Murray Energy Corporation and chief executive Robert E. Murray.

Also as a Swed it would be intersting if Oliver is being sued as a executuive producer or a journalist? Because in Sweden journalist that work for news media with executive producers are protected from litigation that only the executive producer can be sued. As a way to increase the right to free speech.

The clip John Oliver and HBO is sued for.

 
HBO has good lawyers and they were careful to stick to only the facts and gave a few personal opinions about Murray as a person, both of which are protected under the 1st amendment and can't be libel. I'm glad somebody has the gumption to call such terrible people out.
 
Yeah, those bully tactics won't work on John Oliver and HBO. They have their own army of lawyers. All this will do is bring Murray more bad press, because you can be damn sure Oliver will double down now. :)
 
RabidAlpaca said:
HBO has good lawyers and they were careful to stick to only the facts and gave a few personal opinions about Murray as a person, both of which are protected under the 1st amendment and can't be libel. I'm glad somebody has the gumption to call such terrible people out.
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Yeah in this case I have to side with John, even if he has proven the be somewhat of a yammering sphincter recently.

The big deal being that Murray is all butt hurt over being diced in the media, and now he is going to his normal method.

Old news from old coal.
 
Skeptic Bob said:
Yeah, those bully tactics won't work on John Oliver and HBO. They have their own army of lawyers. All this will do is bring Murray more bad press, because you can be damn sure Oliver will double down now. :)
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I'm sure they have some of the best lawyers in the industry on retainer because of Bill Maher so what's a little more work?
 
Looks like Murray is in need of a safe space.
 
I find this ironically funny:

quote from WT
"In its lawsuit, Murray Energy charged that the segment was both unfair to the coal industry and hurtful to Mr. Murray, whose health is declining.

“They did this to a man who needs a lung transplant, a man who does not expect to live to see the end of this case. They attacked him in a forum in which he had no opportunity to defend himself, and so he has brought this suit to try to set the record straight,” reads the lawsuit, filed in Marshall County, West Virginia, court.

“Worse yet, Defendants employed techniques designed solely to harass and embarrass plaintiffs, including Mr. Murray, a seventy-seven year-od citizen in ill health and dependent on an oxygen tank for survival,” the suit continues, “who, despite the foregoing, continuously devoted his life, including by working seven days each week, to save the jobs and better the lives of the thousands of coal miners that he employs in West Virginia and elsewhere.”"


Not funny that he needs a transplant, or bad health but why he is probably in poor health COAL.
 
Given the collapse of coal he is probably desperate for cash
 
RabidAlpaca said:
Rest assured, his golden parachute was big enough to deliver his fat ass to extreme luxury. His employees on the other hand were not so lucky.
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Murray is private so who knows what the numbers are.
 
Oborosen said:
Yeah in this case I have to side with John, even if he has proven the be somewhat of a yammering sphincter recently.

The big deal being that Murray is all butt hurt over being diced in the media, and now he is going to his normal method.

Old news from old coal.
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I like John too, but since the election, 'yammering sphincter' is a very good description.
 
Skeptic Bob said:
Yeah, those bully tactics won't work on John Oliver and HBO. They have their own army of lawyers. All this will do is bring Murray more bad press, because you can be damn sure Oliver will double down now. :)
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Yes, think for example of John Oliver’s feud with FIFA executive Jack Warner.



John Oliver Responds To Jack Warner's Response To John Oliver With Fire And Stuff | HuffPost

The sad and troubling thing is that Murray Energy Corporation and Robert E. Murray strategy can work against bloggers and small news media that lack the financials and legal means to fight back.
 
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