A high school newspaper that referred to a Seattle rental landlord’s properties as “crack shacks” did not commit defamation, a Washington state appeals court ruled on Feb. 24.
In 2009, Roosevelt High School’s newspaper published an article with the headline “Sisley Slums Cause Controversy.” In the story, reporter Emily Shugerman wrote that the 40 rundown properties owned by “infamous landlords” Drake and Hugh Sisley had generated 48 code violations in 15 years. Rental houses not far from the high school, the article said, were “endearingly referred to as the ‘crack shacks’ or ‘ghetto houses.’”
This content has been archived.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
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
