Key Points
- A federal judge postponed a pre-trial conference scheduled for mid-July after one of the parties suing Nexstar made vacation plans that overlapped with the date.
- The case involves two former news directors who were fired by Nexstar after writing and distributing a memo urging reporters to pull back on coverage of Pride Month events.
- The former workers sued Nexstar over comments made by a spokesperson to reporters, and for publicizing details of their termination that were protected under Michigan law.
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A federal judge overseeing a defamation lawsuit brought against Nexstar Media Group by two former news directors has postponed a pre-trial conference intended to help bring the case to a close.
This week, U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker delayed a final pre-trial conference originally scheduled for mid-July to early August after one of the plaintiffs in the case, Amy Fox, said she was going on vacation.
Fox worked as an assistant news director at Nexstar-owned NBC affiliate WOOD-TV (Channel 8) until June 2023, when she was one of four people fired over a memo circulated to newsroom employees that encouraged the station’s reporters to pull back on coverage of local Pride Month parades.
The memo was ordered by her then-boss, WOOD News Director Stanton Tang, who was also fired following a weeks-long investigation into the matter. The other two dismissed workers were suspected of leaking copies of the memo after journalists at the station protested its directives.
Fox and Tang filed separate lawsuits against Nexstar one year later, arguing that a company spokesperson defamed them by making statements about their firings to reporters at CNN and other news outlets. Nexstar was unsuccessful in its attempts to have the lawsuits dismissed, leading to an initial settlement conference that ended last year without a resolution in the case.
The final pre-trial conference was ordered by the court as the last opportunity to avoid the time and financial expense of a jury trial, which could take place later this year. The final pre-trial conference was originally scheduled for mid-July, according to court records reviewed by The Desk.
Earlier this month, attorneys for Fox said she wanted to go on vacation instead and would not be able to attend the conference, court records show. Rather than appear in person, Fox offered to telephone in to the conference. Nexstar did not oppose Fox appearing remotely.
But the judge overseeing the case did, saying Fox needed to attend the conference in person and finding that a vacation arranged by other relatives was not a good enough excuse. The judge had previously given Fox and Tang an opportunity to propose three potential dates for the conference, and the mid-July date was one that was previously accepted before Fox made the court aware of her vacation.
“Litigation is almost always inconvenient,” the judge wrote in an order filed on May 11. “But trying to set a simple (final pre-trial conference) that everyone commits to attend should not be challenging.”
In addition to giving the parties an opportunity to settle the matter before a trial, the judge said it gives him a chance to explain to Fox and Tang what will happen if a settlement isn’t reached, “to make sure everyone understands and is prepared for what the trial process entails before the court inconveniences citizens by summoning them to the courthouse for jury service.”
The judge said he was happy to reschedule the final pre-trial conference for a date where Fox and Tang could show up in person, but “this time…please make sure there are no misunderstandings before submitting alternative dates to the court.”
The final pre-trial conference was ultimately rescheduled to August 4, with all pre-trial documents due by July 7. A jury trial could be scheduled for later this year or early next year of the parties are unable to settle the matter beforehand.
More Stories
- Final settlement conference scheduled in Nexstar news director defamation lawsuit
- WOOD-TV news director Stanton Tang fired over anti-gay memo
- Nexstar exec: Fired news director’s memo influenced by church discussions
- Judge says jury gets to decide if Nexstar defamed news directors fired over memo
- No settlement reached in news director’s lawsuit against Nexstar
