A Yolo County, CA, judge denied claims by a victims’ advocacy group that KCRA violated the privacy of slain Yolo County Sheriff’s deputy Tony Diaz’s family when it aired the dashcam video showing his shooting, reports The Sacramento Bee. Find a link to the video after the jump.

Nina Salarno Ashford, the Crime Victims United attorney representing the deputy’s family, maintained the Yolo courts gave the Sacramento NBC affiliate the video without the Diaz family’s knowledge and the station then aired portions of the video not used in court, thus violating the family’s privacy.

Salarno Ashford argued for a protective order stopping viewing of the dashboard camera video that captured the shooting, citing privacy provisions in what is known as Marsy’s Law that are designed to protect the privacy of crime victims and their families. Read more

WTAE, Hearst’s ABC affiliate in Pittsburgh, has settled a defamation lawsuit with a woman who accused the station of wrongly showing her photo during a report on a kidnapping case, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Kathy Bass claims the station used her photograph during a report on her daughter, kidnapping suspect Kathy Ann Bass. Kidnapping charges against the younger Bass were later dropped, according to the Post-Gazette; she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to between one and two years in prison.

The lawsuit claimed defamation and invasion of privacy. WTAE filed a motion to dismiss the case in December. Terms of the settlement were not public.

WTAE is seeking to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against the Pittsburgh ABC affiliate that was transferred to federal court last week. Kathy Bass is suing the station over an August 2010 report, claiming WTAE used her photograph while reporting on a woman named Kathy Ann Bass who was accused of kidnapping.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has details on the station’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit:

Attorneys for Hearst wrote that the one-year statute of limitations on defamation claims expired. The delay, Hearst’s lawyers wrote in a brief, may stem from “misgivings about pursuing a claim alleging misidentification as an arrestee when she in fact has an arrest history of her own, the offending mug shot of plaintiff was provided to the press by authorities, and the arrestee alleged to be mistaken for plaintiff is … plaintiff’s daughter.”

A lawyer for Bass confirmed that his client was the mother of the accused kidnapper, but said it had no bearing over the case, according to the Post-Gazette.

A Philadelphia judge has dismissed former KYW anchor Alycia Lane‘s defamation lawsuit against the CBS O&O.

Lane, who was a KYW anchor from 2003-08, accused her former station of defaming her after she was terminated from the station after she was involved in a physical altercation with a New York City police officer. She also brought a lawsuit against her former co-anchor, Larry Mendte, after he hacked into her email and leaked private information.

The judge threw out some, but not all, of the claims against Mendte. He pleaded guilty to hacking into her email in 2008.

Lane currently anchors the morning newscast on KNBC, the NBC O&O in Los Angeles.

A defamation lawsuit against Pittsburgh ABC affiliate WTAE was transferred into federal court last week, according to the Herald-Standard.

The station is being sued over the use of a photograph. Kathy Bass, 49, claims WTAE used a picture of her while reporting on a 21-year-old woman named Kathy Ann Bass who was arrested for kidnapping in 2010.

Bass claims she received several phone calls asking about her role in the kidnapping after the report was broadcast, the Herald-Standard reports. The suit claims defamation and invasion of privacy.

A libel lawsuit between two meteorologists at WCMH in Columbus has been settled, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Bob Nunnally sued chief meteorologist Jym Ganahl earlier this month, alleging that Ganahl and “an unknown individual or individuals” made false statements that hurt Nunnally professionally and caused him to be exposed to “ridicule, hatred or contempt.”

The Dispatch reports that court records state a settlement has been reached, but do not offer further details. Both meteorologists are veterans of the Columbus NBC affiliate: Ganahl joined the station in 1979 and Nunnally joined the station in 1996.

WCMH meteorologist Bob Nunnally (left) has filed a libel lawsuit against Jym Ganahl (right), the station’s chief meteorologist, in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

The Columbus Dispatch reports the complaint was filed on November 5 and alleges that Ganahl and “an unknown individual or individuals” made false statements that hurt Nunnally professionally and caused him to be exposed to “ridicule, hatred or contempt.”

Attorneys for both parties would not detail what was allegedly said. The suit seeks damages of more than $25,000. Read more

An Illinois appeals court has ruled that a defamation lawsuit against Chicago Fox O&O WFLD and Fox Television can continue. The defamation lawsuit stems from a series of reports that the station did in May 2010 on spotlighting four judges, including James Ryan, who had been leaving the courthouse “well before the end of the business day,” according to court documents. The Hollywood Reporter has details:

The Fox investigation included logs from the sheriff’s office showing that courtrooms were closing earlier than they should have been, hidden cameras showing judges leaving early, an on-scene reporting, such as one reporter who found a judge sunbathing outside of her home at 2 pm.

But the report also had an error. The Fox station identified Judge Ryan as being one of the judges who left work earlier. In the report, the station showed his house and car in the driveway during work hours. Unfortunately, the house and car belonged to his neighbor.

Ryan filed a $28 million lawsuit accusing WFLD and Fox Television of defamation, false light, infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy by intrusion. Fox Television filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that it was an infringement of free speech.  Read more

A Dallas dentist accused of fraud has been granted a temporary restraining order against Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA, Courthouse News Service reports.

The dentist, Richard Malouf, was investigated for Medicare fraud earlier this year. In the lawsuit against WFAA, Malouf said the station, as well as a local real estate reporter in Dallas, ran 40 stories about him and his home, where he is constructing a massive water park, in the past year. The lawsuit alleges the reporters of trespass, invasion of privacy, defamation, libel, slander and conspiracy.

The order bans WFAA, including investigative reporter Byron Harris, and the real estate reporter from coming within 50 feet of his residence, as well as taking any images of the property.

A Dallas dentist who has been accused of billing fraud is seeking a temporary restraining order against Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA and reporter Byron Harris, according to the station (video above).

The dentist, Dr. Richard Malouf, is accused of billing Texas taxpayers for unneeded children’s braces. In July, WFAA reported on the construction of a water park at Malouf’s home. The temporary restraining order alleges that Malouf and his family will suffer “imminent irreparable harm” if the station takes pictures of his backyard, according to WFAA. Read more