Telemundo Hit With Federal Libel Suit for Linking Miami Strip Club Traffic Arrest With Drug Bust
When Miami resident Merwin Larreal was arrested over an outstanding traffic infraction during a drug raid at The Booby Trap in Miami, he claims Telemundo 51 damaged his reputation by linking him with a group charged with trafficking drugs.
June 25, 2019 at 04:14 PM
3 minute read
Telemundo office. Photo: Daniel J. Macy/Shutterstock.com
Spanish language media company Telemundo of Florida LLC is facing a federal lawsuit alleging libel over a news report by one of its stations about a strip club drug bust in April 2018.
Plaintiff Merwin Larreal worked at The Booby Trap in Miami and was arrested during the sting — for a traffic violation.
Police had been investigating possible drug trafficking at the club, but after questioning Larreal they found he had an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to appear at court over a traffic infraction.
Several dancers and club staff were arrested on drugs charges, according to the lawsuit, but Larreal claims a Telemundo 51 news story three days later wrongly linked him to the raid.
The complaint claims the station reported his name and photo without telling viewers that he'd been arrested on a different charge. It claims that missing detail has since held Larreal out to “scorn and public ridicule,” as he lost his job and ”is now thought by the community in which he works and resides to be a trafficker of narcotics.”
The case, originally filed April 18, moved into the Southern District of Florida after it was removed from Miami-Dade Circuit on Monday. Telemundo of Florida did not respond to the lawsuit before it transferred.
The complaint said the news report remained on the station's website for more than 11 months, and Larreal complained to Telemundo 51 in March but got no answer. The story has since been removed.
Station spokesperson Melissa Castro declined to comment and its attorneys Giselle M. Girones and Deanna K. Shullman of Shullman Fugate's Jacksonville and West Palm Beach offices, and Lynn D. Carrillo of NBCUniversal in Hialeah did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The standard for proving defamation by a media organization against a public figure is high, requiring evidence of “actual malice.” But for a private person in Florida it can come down to ”mere negligence,” according to the Florida Bar.
Larreal seeks damages under defamation per se, which argues that the alleged false statement was so detrimental to the plaintiff that its mere existence warrants damages.
Augusto Ramon Lopez and Gustavo Daniel Lage of SMGQ Law in Coral Gables represent the plaintiff but did not respond by deadline.
Read the complaint:
Read more:
Florida Judge Unseals Documents in $60M Defamation Suit Over 'War Dogs' Movie
Media Company Fires Back at Ex-Trump Staffer's $100M Suit Over Stripper Abortion Report
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
U.S. Eleventh Circuit Remands Helms-Burton Trafficking Case Involving Confiscated Cuban Port
3 minute read
Miami Lawyer Guilty of Indirect Criminal Contempt But Dodges Paying Legal Fees
4 minute read
Winston & Strawn Snags Sidley Austin Cross-Border Transactions Partner in Miami
2 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
