By: David Noack THE DAILY CAMERA of Boulder, Colo., has been sued by a former reporter who charges defamation, invasion of privacy and outrageous conduct.
The action is the latest move in an unusual confrontation between a reporter and her newspaper over who owns the notes and files she collected while covering the JonBenet Ramsey murder case.
William D. Meyer, a Boulder attorney representing former reporter Allison Krupski, filed a lawsuit against the newspaper last month in Boulder District Court. She asked for unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
Krupski, who was the Camera's lead reporter on the unsolved murder case, left the newspaper last December taking a number of files and documents she had acquired while covering the killing and investigation of the young beauty queen.
The Camera called Krupski a "thief" and sued her to regain the documents, which the paper valued at $15,000. But in January, a judge ruled that Krupski could keep the files but ordered her to turn over copies to the newspaper.
When the Camera then tried to drop its suit, Krupski argued that dismissing it would deny her the right to sue the newspaper.
District Judge Daniel Hale denied the paper's motion to dismiss.
Hale wrote: "Based on preliminary findings, there is a substantial likelihood" Krupski would win "on the merits of at least the theft claim."
The suit, Meyer said, intends to show that the Camera acted recklessly in publishing stories about Krupski that were "false, or that the statements were made with a reckless disregard as to whether they were false." Meyer said that because of the publicity surrounding the case, Krupski, 23, a Northwestern University graduate, has suffered a loss of earnings, damage to her personal and business reputation, public humiliation, embarrassment and emotional distress.
Marc Flink, the newspaper's Denver-based attorney, declined to comment on the case, as did Colleen Conant, Camera publisher and executive editor. ?(E&P Web Site: http://www.mediainfo.com) [Caption]
?(copyright: Editor & Publisher May 9, 1998) [Caption]
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