Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAn Indiana-based travel marketing business is suing Nexstar Media Group for defamation after a report by WXIN-TV Channel 59 in Indianapolis claimed the business was running a scam involving a French Lick resort.
The lawsuit was filed May 22 in Hamilton Superior Court by Club Esprit LLC but is currently listed in the Marion Commercial Court docket, according to MyCase. Club Esprit is listed as operating on the northeast side of Indianapolis, according to the Better Business Bureau.
The lawsuit names several defendants, including two WXIN (Fox 59) employees and other media outlets who republished the Fox affiliate’s story.
Fox 59 is not specifically listed as a defendant, but WXIN reporter Zach Myers and anchor Melissa Crash are listed.
Representatives for Fox 59 and Nexstar did not respond to a request for comment.
“Club Esprit filed this lawsuit because no legitimate business should be publicly labeled a ‘scam’ or ‘Ponzi scheme’ without basic verification of the facts first,” Chris Jeter, who is representing Club Esprit in the lawsuit, told The Indiana Lawyer in an emailed statement. “The complaint alleges that the reporting falsely claimed both French Lick Resort and the Better Business Bureau had confirmed the promotion was a scam when neither had done so. In today’s digital world, those kinds of accusations spread instantly and continue causing damage long after the original story airs. Our client pursued legal action because the reputational and economic harm here was real, substantial, and entirely avoidable.”
The lawsuit stems from a March 10 news segment by Myers reporting that a Club Esprit promotional offer sent to residents in the mail is a scam. The news report, which no longer is listed on Fox 59’s website but was found on Haystack News, informs viewers that the French Lick Resort is not running the promotion and anyone who receives the letter should not call the phone number listed.
The bottom of the letter specifies that the offer is not affiliated with the resort. The resort confirmed with The Lawyer over the phone that there was no affiliation.
Club Esprit alleges that WXIN made the accusation without verifying its validity. According to the lawsuit, Myers acknowledged that he hadn’t confirmed the allegations with legal counsel for the French Lick Resort before airing the story. Club Esprit claims the news outlet also didn’t reach out to its company for a statement before the story was broadcasted.
The Better Business Bureau Serving Central Indiana confirmed it was not aware of the story before it aired and requested a retraction, according to the complaint.
After Fox 59 aired the publication, the media outlet WDRB-TV Channel 41 in Louisville republished the story to its viewers, which “further amplified the defamatory statements to a new audience,” the complaint states.
Club Esprit is now suing the defendants for defamation, trade libel, false light and tortious interference with business relationships, claiming the defendants acted with “reckless disregard” toward the statements made in the news segment. The company said that “had Defendants undertaken basic investigative steps, they would have discovered that their accusations were false,” according to the lawsuit.
Club Esprit is seeking compensatory and presumed damages in the case. It also asks that the news segment be removed and that a correction be issued addressing the false statements.
The case is Club Esprit LLC v. Ad-Venture Media Inc. d/b/a WBIW, Crane Credit Union, Crane Credit Union, 49D01-2605-CE-028558.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.