‘Penthouse’ Publisher Wins Libel Award (Press, 22 April 1980)
This is a Generative AI summary of this newspaper article. It may contain errors or omissions. Please note that the language in the summary is reflective of the original article and the societal attitudes of the time in which it was written.
Summary: ‘Penthouse’ Publisher Wins Libel Award (Press, 22 April 1980)
On 22 April 1980, a significant ruling was made regarding a libel case involving two American sex magazine publishers. A judge in Columbus, Ohio, reduced a jury's initial damages award from a record US$39 million to US$4 million. This case involved Bob Guccione, the publisher of "Penthouse," who was awarded the original amount after a jury found that "Hustler," published by Larry Flynt, had committed "absolutely revolting" libel against him. The libel stemmed from a controversial photograph published in "Hustler," which depicted two men engaged in homosexual activity. The image featured a superimposed head photograph of Guccione on one of the models, which led to the claims of defamation. In court, Guccione expressed that there had been a sustained campaign of vilification against him, his partner Kathy Keeton, and the "Penthouse" brand by Flynt and "Hustler" over a period of four years. Judge Craig Wright, presiding in the Common Pleas Court, described the libel as "the grossest sort." However, he deemed the punitive damages initially awarded by the jury to be excessive, leading to the significant reduction. The punitive damages were reduced from US$26 million to US$2 million against Flynt and from US$11 million against "Hustler" to US$850,000. The compensatory damages awarded to Guccione, which totalled US$1.15 million, were upheld. Guccione has a window of 20 days to either accept the revised damages or seek to restore the original verdict, which would result in a new trial. Similarly, Flynt retains the option to appeal the decision. Guccione's lawyer, Jeff Deitchman, noted that despite the reduction, the damages still represent the largest libel settlement in United States history at the time. This case exemplifies the contentious relationship and rivalry between the two magazine publishers.
Important Information
The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact
The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand