Girls Gone Wild Founder Defamed Steve Wynn

“Girls Gone Wild” founder, Joe Francis, learns the hard way: House always wins.  Casino mogul, Steve Wynn, won $20 million in his lawsuit against Joe Francis.  Francis claimed that Wynn threatened to kill him over a gambling debt.  Wynn denied this and claimed Francis had defamed his character.  During trial, Grammy winning record producer, Quincy Jones, even sided with Wynn and testified that Francis made these comments to him.  As such, Wynn sued Francis for slander.

What is Slander?

Slander is a form of defamation. Slander is a spoken defamation whereas libel is written defamation.  In order for Steve Wynn to prove that he was defamed, he must prove a number of elements: (1) the statement by Francis must be defamatory, meaning it adversely affects Wynn’s reputation, (2) the statement must be concerning Wynn, meaning people who hear it must know it was about Wynn, (3) the defamatory statement must be made to a third person, and (4) it must cause damages.  Slander requires that the plaintiff prove special damages (economic damages).

The jury ended up siding with Wynn, determining there was clear and convincing evidence that Wynn satisfied all the elements necessary to prove his case and that Francis knew his allegations were false.

Have you ever been defamed? To learn more about defamation click here.