Birfers sue Esquire Magazine for $200 million

[cali]

Birthers Sue Esquire Over Parody, Seeking More than $200 Million
Jun. 29 2011 - 12:10 pm | 1,755 views | 0 recommendations | 15 comments
By JEFF BERCOVICI
Books about US President Barack Obama are disp...

Image by AFP/Getty Images via @daylife

Joseph Farah and Jerome Corsi have some pretty interesting beliefs. They believe Barack Obama was born in Kenya, not there’s no proof Barack Obama was born in Hawaii.* They also believe Hearst Corp. and a writer it employs ought to pay them hundreds of millions of dollars for making fun of them for believing that first part.

Farah, the CEO of WorldNetDaily.com, and Corsi, author of “Where’s the Birth Certificate? The Case That Barack Obama Is Not Eligible to Be President,” have filed suit against Hearst, Esquire magazine and writer Mark Warren over a satirical article that they say defamed them and damaged their business interests. They’re seeking compensatory damages of $100 million and punitive damages of $20 million, plus legal costs.

Warren published the article on May 18, 2011, just after Obama released his long-form birth certificate, answering the doubts of Corsi and other so-called birthers. An Onion-style parody, it was headlined “BREAKING! Jerome Corsi’s Birther Book Pulled From Shelves!”

As often happens with satire on the internet, the article was received my many readers (or non-reading reTweeters) as straight news, forcing Esquire to add an update “for those who didn’t figure it out yet”:

<snip>

http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffbercovici/2011/06/29/birthers-sue-esquire-over-parody-seeking-120-million/

[hifiguy]

1. They will be laughed out of court

and should consider themselves lucky if the judge doesn't hammer them for Esquire's costs and attorney fees and sanction them to boot. Doom, DOOOOOOOOM awaits them in court.

:rofl:

[cali]

2. you are so wrong

at least according to ever brilliant minds over in freepwadville.

To: Berlin_Freeper

If this thing goes to court, will the plaintiffs be allowed to produce the Obama 17-layer “birth certificate” as evidence, and if so, would they be allowed to have expert witnesses testify under oath as to its authenticity (or lack thereof)?

2 posted on Wednesday, June 29, 2011 5:42:20 PM by Stosh
< Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies>
To: Stosh

If it comes down to that I suspect the Obama thugs will intimidate Esquire magazine to settle.

[Warpy]

4. This will never get before a jury

Corsi is just pissed off because Obama's release of his long form cut his book profits off at the knees.

Personally, I think most judges will be silently applauding. Judges (with a few glaring, mostly conservative examples) are not stupid people.

Besides, they'll tell him right out that he doesn't need to sue Esquire. He needs to sue the state of Hawaii for allowing a black president to be born there.

[provis99]

3. hypocrites.

These are the same people that complain about frivolous lawsuits.

[Old and In the Way]

5. "a satirical article that they say defamed them and damaged their business interests. "

You mean a business interest built on telling lies about Democrats? I know skinning the rubes is lucrative, but $200MM worth? I hope they get a judgement against them that requires them money tying up the Court's time on frivolous lawsuits.

[malaise]

6. The book was one HUGE flop

:rofl:

[Dawson Leery]

7. The same right wing kooks who demand tort reform are always the first to file suit.

Hypocrites.