"Varsity Blues" Family Wins Significant Procedural Decision Against Netflix in Defamation Case
Netflix's procedural maneuver fails; case remanded to Massachusetts Superior Court
BOSTON, Aug. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- John B. Wilson, who has pled not guilty in the so-called "Varsity Blues," and his family have won a significant procedural victory before Boston federal Judge Mark L. Wolf, after a hearing during which the judge commented that the Wilsons' defamation claim is viable. Among other claims, the Wilsons claim that Netflix falsely portrayed Johnny Wilson as a fake athlete when in fact, he was an accomplished water polo player who joined the USC water polo team after he was admitted to the university. Netflix argued in Court yesterday that its film was a fair report of the official proceedings against John Wilson, an argument the Court commented yesterday from the bench that it tentatively intended to reject, allowing the case to proceed in state court.
The morning following the hearing, Netflix stipulated that the case will be remanded back to state court as the Wilsons had requested. This outcome refutes at this stage of the proceedings Netflix's defense that even if its "Operation Varsity Blues" film contained defamatory statements concerning John B. Wilson, these are protected by the fair report privilege, rendering Netflix immune from liability for defamation and thereby requiring the dismissal of a defamation case against them.
Mr. Wilson's Complaint filed against Netflix on July 6, 2021, argues that Netflix film features a false, highly misleading, and defamatory portrayal of the allegations and evidence against Mr. Wilson, which is neither an accurate nor fair report of the criminal proceedings against him. The Complaint further alleges that through suggestions of fact and innuendo, Netflix gave viewers the false and defamatory impression that the Wilsons engaged in substantially similar illegal conduct as the other parents and families included in the film, and that "No individual, including a defendant awaiting trial in a criminal case, is required to sit by and permit the unlawful and unfair destruction of their reputation by a global media outlet."
Publicly available exculpatory information that the Wilsons provided to Netflix in advance of the airing includes the fact that Wilson's son was a starter on multiple highly nationally ranked high school and club teams and was approached by more than one Division I college water polo and swimming teams to possibly join their programs. Furthermore, the information featured in the film is edited in such a way to create an erroneous impression that Johnny Wilson, a talented water polo player who was part of the United States Olympic development program, gained admission to USC by pretending to be a water polo player.
Other advance information supplied to Netflix in advance of the airing of the film were the results of extensive polygraph testing conducted by highly respected and experienced professionals, which proved that Wilson did not bribe or direct anyone else to bribe any college official to violate their college admissions policies, nor did he know Singer's college application process was illegal. Netflix knowingly ignored these facts and instead produced false, highly misleading, and actionable content, so the fair report privilege does not protect it because it is not accurate or fair.
The case, Civil Action No.1:21-CV-10894-MLW, is being handled by Todd & Weld LLP.
SOURCE Todd & Weld LLP
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