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Nevada high court ends casino mogul Steve Wynn's defamation suit against The Associated Press

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Nevada high court ends casino mogul Steve Wynn's defamation suit against The Associated Press
News

News

Nevada high court ends casino mogul Steve Wynn's defamation suit against The Associated Press

2024-09-06 12:34 Last Updated At:12:41

LAS VEGAS (AP) —

The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday ended a defamation lawsuit brought by casino mogul Steve Wynn against The Associated Press in 2018, rejecting his bid for a jury to hear his claim that he was defamed by an AP story about two women who alleged Wynn committed sexual misconduct.

The seven-member court upheld a February ruling by a three-judge panel that cited the state's anti-SLAPP law, or “strategic lawsuits against public participation, that blocks lawsuits filed to intimidate or silence critics.

That ruling said anti-SLAPP statutes “were designed to limit precisely the type of claim at issue here, which involves a news organization publishing an article in a good faith effort to inform their readers regarding an issue of clear public interest.”

In what the unanimous full court said was an effort to clarify the law, Justice Ron Parraguirre wrote that Wynn, as a public figure, needed to show “clear and convincing evidence to reasonably infer that the publication was made with actual malice."

“The public had an interest in understanding the history of misconduct alleged to have been committed by one of the most recognized figures in Nevada,” the opinion said, “and the article directly relates to that interest.”

Attorneys who represent Wynn personally and those who handled the case did not respond to email and telephone messages seeking comment.

“The Associated Press is very pleased with the Nevada Supreme Court’s decision," Lauren Easton, AP vice president of corporate communications, said in a statement.

The AP plans to seek reimbursement for legal costs through a lower court.

Dominic Gentile, a veteran Nevada lawyer well-known for his work in First Amendment law, said the ruling “will make it even more difficult for a public figure to bring an action over expressive conduct.”

“In most cases, the standard is ‘a preponderance of evidence’ that a lawsuit is being brought to stifle speech,” he said. “This case has taken that and raised the bar for someone who is a public figure to not get thrown out of court.”

Gentile has been an attorney in the state since 1979 and has taught at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Boyd School of Law. Malice, he said, means “you know it’s false or you didn’t do enough to determine that it was.”

Wynn, now 82 and living in Florida, is the billionaire developer of a luxury casino empire in the U.S. and the Chinese gambling enclave of Macao. He has consistently denied sexual misconduct allegations, which were first reported in January 2018 by the Wall Street Journal.

He resigned as CEO of Wynn Resorts Ltd. after the reports became public, divested company shares and quit the corporate board. Last year, he cut ties to the industry he helped shape in Las Vegas, agreeing with Nevada gambling regulators to pay a $10 million fine, with no admission of wrongdoing.

In a flurry of settlements in 2019, the Nevada Gaming Commission fined Wynn's former company a record $20 million for failing to investigate claims of sexual misconduct made against him before he resigned. Massachusetts gambling regulators fined the company and a top executive $35.5 million for failing to disclose while applying for a license for a Boston-area resort that there had been sexual misconduct allegations against Wynn.

Wynn Resorts agreed in November 2019 to accept $20 million in damages from Wynn and $21 million more from insurance carriers on behalf of current and former employees of Wynn Resorts to settle shareholder lawsuits accusing company directors of failing to disclose misconduct allegations.

Those agreements also included no admission of wrongdoing.

Wynn filed his defamation lawsuit in April 2018 against AP, one of its reporters and one of the women, Halina Kuta. Kuta filed claims to police that Wynn raped her in the 1970s in Chicago and that she gave birth to their daughter in a gas station restroom.

Neither accuser was identified in the AP report. Their names and other identifying information were blacked out in documents obtained by AP under a public records request. Las Vegas police refused to provide additional details and said too much time had elapsed since Kuta said the events occurred in 1973 or 1974. No charges were ever filed against Wynn.

The AP typically does not publish names of people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but Kuta agreed to be named in later news reports.

Wynn attorneys argued that the article, which cited police documents, failed to fully describe elements of Kuta’s account that would have cast doubt on her allegation.

A trial court judge later ruled that Kuta defamed Wynn with her claims, which the judge termed “totally fanciful,” and awarded Wynn a nominal $1 in damages.

FILE - Casino mogul Steve Wynn is seen at a news conference in Medford, Mass., on March 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

FILE - Casino mogul Steve Wynn is seen at a news conference in Medford, Mass., on March 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

FILE - The Wynn Las Vegas and Encore are seen on June 17, 2014, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

FILE - The Wynn Las Vegas and Encore are seen on June 17, 2014, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

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Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui wins the women's race at the New York City Marathon

2024-11-04 00:09 Last Updated At:00:10

NEW YORK (AP) — Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui won the women's race at the New York City Marathon on Sunday, pulling away from defending champion Hellen Obiri in the final mile.

It was Chepkirui's first time running the New York race after starting to run marathons in 2022. She finished the race in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 35 seconds. Obiri finished nearly 15 seconds behind.

Obiri was looking to be the first repeat champion since Mary Keitany of Kenya won three in a row from 2014-16. Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya finished third, giving the African nation the top three spots.

Sara Vaughn, the top American women’s finisher, was in the lead group heading into Mile 20 when they entered the Bronx before she dropped off the lead pack. She finished sixth.

Vaughn was geared up to run Chicago before COVID-19 kept her from competing in that race. She was a late addition to this marathon.

The day got started with an upset in the men's wheelchair race as three-time defending champion Marcel Hug was beaten by Daniel Romanchuk, who won in 2018 and 2019. Susannah Scaroni won the women’s wheelchair race. It was her second victory in New York, also taking the 2022 race and giving Americans winners in both events — the first time that has happened.

The 26.2-mile course took runners through all five boroughs of New York, starting in Staten Island and ending in Central Park. This is the 48th year the race has been in all five boroughs. Before that, the route was completely in Central Park when it began in 1970. The first race had only 55 finishers while more than 50,000 are expected to compete this year.

The weather was perfect to run in with temperatures in the lower 40s when the race started. Last year, it was 61 degrees when the race started.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Yuma Morii, of Japan, center, makes his way across the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with the elite men's division runners during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Yuma Morii, of Japan, center, makes his way across the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with the elite men's division runners during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Yuma Morii, of Japan, right, makes his way across the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with the elite men's division runners during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Yuma Morii, of Japan, right, makes his way across the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with the elite men's division runners during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Yuma Morii, right center, of Japan, makes his way onto the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with runners in the men's elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Yuma Morii, right center, of Japan, makes his way onto the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with runners in the men's elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Yuma Morii, left, of Japan, makes his way onto the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with runners in the men's elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Yuma Morii, left, of Japan, makes his way onto the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with runners in the men's elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Yuma Morii, right center, of Japan, makes his way onto the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with runners in the men's elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Yuma Morii, right center, of Japan, makes his way onto the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with runners in the men's elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Yuma Morii, right, of Japan, makes his way onto the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with runners in the men's elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Yuma Morii, right, of Japan, makes his way onto the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with runners in the men's elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Yuma Morii, of Japan, right, makes his way across the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with the elite men's division runners during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York.(AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Yuma Morii, of Japan, right, makes his way across the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with the elite men's division runners during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York.(AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

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