Monday, June 6, 2022 - Full Court

Lee vs. Patin
Docket Number: 82516
Las Vegas - 1:30 pm - Full Court

Ingrid Patin represented a deceased patient’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit against Dr. Ton V. Lee, his dental practice, and two other dentists.  Dr. Lee prevailed individually at trial, although the jury found his dental practice and one of the other dentists liable.  Patin’s law firm posted a statement on its website regarding the plaintiff’s verdict and award, but that statement omitted the jury’s verdict in Dr. Lee’s favor individually.  Dr. Lee filed suit against Patin and her law firm for defamation.  The district court granted summary judgment after concluding the statement was not defamatory and that the fair report privilege applied.

ISSUES:

The issues on appeal regard whether the statement is capable of a defamatory construction even though Dr. Lee has admitted each piece of the statement is individually accurate, and whether the fair report privilege applies to immunize the defendants from liability here.

Disclaimer:

This synopsis is intended to provide only general information about this case before the Nevada Supreme Court.  It is not intended to be all-inclusive or reflect all positions of the parties.  To access the documents that have been filed in this matter, type the docket number into the court’s case search page: https://caseinfo.nvsupremecourt.us/public/caseSearch.do