ABSENCE OF MALICE
When Mobil Corp. President William Tavoulareas won a $2.05 million libel judgment last year against the Washington Post, attorneys for the newspaper predicted that the jury's finding would be set aside by the judge who tried the case. They were right: last week Federal District Judge Oliver Gasch threw out the verdict. Tavoulareas is a "public figure," Gasch ruled, and thus was required to prove that the Post knew its story was false or showed reckless disregard for its accuracy. Said Gasch: "There is no evidence that the editors responsible for the article ever doubted its truthfulness."
The suit stemmed...
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