Corporation’s lawyers argue expensive but ‘groundless’ litigation restricts ability to cover public figures
The BBC has asked a US court to throw out Donald Trump’s $10bn (£7.5bn) lawsuit over the way a documentary edited one of his speeches, warning that proceeding with the case would have a “chilling effect” on its reporting on the president.
In papers filed to the Florida court dealing with the case, the BBC’s US lawyers claimed Trump’s reputation had not been damaged by the documentary, given it aired in the UK a week before his re-election.
The broadcaster’s lawyers also reiterated that the Panorama documentary, Trump: a Second Chance, was simply not published in the US, including Florida, meaning the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case.
They also cited other cases to argue that defendants should not have to deal with “expensive yet groundless litigation”, which restricted the ability to cover public figures.
