A SLAPP

A win for open and vigorous debate:

SOUTH BEND — A St. Joseph County judge has dismissed a libel lawsuit against The Tribune and ordered the plaintiff to pay more than $47,000 in legal costs to the newspaper.

St. Joseph County resident Michael Sheneman filed suit against The Tribune in January 2009, alleging that a story written by reporter Jeff Parrott included false statements and libelous claims.

The January 2007 story chronicled accusations by several African immigrants that Sheneman took advantage of their naiveté and defrauded them through real estate investment schemes. No criminal charges have been filed against Sheneman related to the real estate cases.

The Tribune was able to recover its costs because the judge who ruled for the newspaper said "no genuine issues of material fact" were involved in the suit. That allowed the defendant's costs to be shifted to the plaintiff under the state's anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), which refers to meritless lawsuits aimed at silencing a plaintiff's opponents or at least at diverting their resources."

The Tribune's lawyers was quoted as saying the judgment will serve as a disincentive, "discouraging people from filing frivolous lawsuits against entities such as newspapers that practice free speech." That's true enough, but it should also be acknowledged that it might encourage some newspapers to be more reckless than they should be. But that doesn't negate the need to support vigorous public debate, and there's nothing wrong with financially discouraging frivolous lawsuits, whatever the issues or people involved.