Michael Kassan’s Defamation Suit Against UTA’s Lawyer Is Dismissed
variety.comGene Maddaus Senior Media Writer In a victory for trash-talking lawyers, a judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit against attorney Bryan Freedman, finding he did not defame ad exec Michael Kassan by calling Kassan a “pathological liar.” Kassan sued in March, as one part of an acrimonious legal battle over his departure from United Talent Agency.
Kassan claimed that Freedman, who represents UTA, “crossed the line” when he made the “shocking and defamatory” statement to Deadline.
Judge Daniel S. Murphy ruled that the comment was made in the context of a heated dispute in which epithets and hyperbole are to be expected.
Given that, the judge found that Freedman was offering his opinion on Kassan’s character, and was not attempting to make a diagnosis. “Freedman did not claim to be an expert in the field of psychology and did not make factual assertions about Kassan’s mental fitness,” Murphy wrote.
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