Court of Appeals Sides With D Magazine in Defamation Case

Four years. That’s how long this thing has dragged on. Five men who were at one time Dallas cops — Jeffrey Nelson, Alfred Schoelen Jr., Timothy Stecker, David Kattner, and Walter Clifton — sued us for defamation back in 2008. Their claims sprung from a story that Trey Garrison wrote in 2007. A trial court didn’t see much merit in those claims, and we were granted summary judgment. The cops appealed. The case drug on. And on. Our fine attorneys at Haynes and Boone took us golfing and sent us on lavish vacation trips as a way to thank us for all the billable hours that piled up (or they should have). And then, yesterday, I learned that the Fifth District Court of Appeal sided with D Magazine. Richard Smith on the law blog 600 Commerce puts the decision in more technical terms (and provides a link to the court’s opinion).