South Dakota Lawyers Argue Over Libel Allegation

Posted Wednesday, November 28, 2007 12:00 am

By: A lawyer for the Sioux Falls Argus Leader newspaper says a libel lawsuit filed by a local official should be dismissed.

Sioux Falls Development Foundation President Dan Scott is suing the paper for $1 million.

Scott says his reputation was damaged when the editor of the newspaper wrote a column that included a fictitious apology from Scott for remarks he'd made in a June speech when he warned South Dakota legislators not to hinder economic growth in Sioux Falls.

The newspaper's lawyer says the column was a parody and is protected by the 1st Amendment.

But Scott's lawyer -- Bill Janklow -- says the column made his client "a laughingstock" and adds that most people thought Scott wrote it.

The arguments were presented in court yesterday in Minnehaha County.

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South Dakota Lawyers Argue Over Libel Allegation

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