Salango: Civil suit against media companies in Adri Pack case dismissed

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A civil suit filed against 17 media companies by teachers aides in the Adri Pack case has been dismissed. The complaint, filed last year by attorneys for teachers aides June Yurish and Kristen Douty, sought damages on the claim that broadcasting an audio tape of the alleged abuse of a non-verbal special needs student from Berkeley Heights Elementary School was illegal and caused damages to the aides. “The teachers aides who were sued in the case turned around and sued all the media defendants; they sued Nancy Grace, they sued West Virginia Radio, they sued the television stations; the judge threw that out yesterday,” Attorney Ben Salango told MetroNews affiliates WEPM & WCST on ‘Panhandle Live’. “She recognized what it was; she followed the law. Speech on the radio, the newspaper, even my speech is protected by the First Amendment. She quickly recognized that. She followed the law. She threw that case out.” The complaint, filed last year by attorneys for teachers aides June Yurish and Kristen Douty, sought damages on the claim that broadcasting an audio tape of the alleged abuse of a non-verbal special needs student from Berkeley Heights Elementary School was illegal and caused damages to the aides. Their complaint stated Yurish stood to lose more than $300,000 in salary and lost retirement income and Douty more than $900,000 for the same, as well as lost healthcare benefits for both. The suit also claimed severe emotional distress. “They were trying to claim that because the instances of abuse were reported by the media nationwide, that somehow that caused them economic harm. The judge didn’t buy it. So she dismissed that suit with prejudice,” according to Salango. Defendants included West Virginia Radio Corporation, Nexstar Media and Sinclair Broadcasting.