The Story of When Dan Rattiner Got Sued for Libel

There was the time I got sued for an article I wrote. The person suing me said that my article was libelous and had cost him $4 million in lost business.

Well, it went to trial. A jury trial. You don’t easily forget defending yourself in front of a jury for a number of days. And I have not.

Here’s how it came about. In 1970, I had started a free newspaper on Block Island, just off Montauk. It is the Block Island Times, still there today, without me. It is the newspaper for this community.

At that time, there were nine newspapers in the chain, all under the umbrella of Dan’s Papers. Eight were on the East End. And the ninth one was on Block Island, Rhode Island.

In the summer of 1983, I was on Block Island for the weekend, meeting with my editor. With me were my wife and infant son. In between meetings, we enjoyed the island. On the afternoon of the second day, walking down along the waterfront on Main Street in the single town on the island, we were stopped by three young men with clipboards, who insisted on talking with us.

They were offering us a free lobster dinner for the family. All we had to do was follow one of the young men to a particular hotel nearby that was being converted to a timeshare called the Atlantic Sea Resort. We’d be under no obligation to buy a timeshare. Just listen to the salesman tell us about it. After our visit, just for going, we’d be given vouchers for the free lobster dinner. We went.

The sales pitch lasted 15 minutes. After it ended, we were told to go to the hotel lobby and receive the vouchers for the lobster dinner. When we got there, however, we were told that we had to have listened to the sales pitch for at least a half hour to get the dinner, something they had failed to mention to us ahead of time. So, no dinner.

It was my opinion that this was a scam. So I wrote about it, and had it published in the Block Island newspaper. The headline was “Selling Timeshares on Main Street.” And I wrote that this sort of bait-and-switch should not have been allowed.

That resulted in the lawsuit. That word, “scam,” which appeared as a tagline to my article, had cost them $4 million. If they won, I would go bankrupt and probably move away from this area. And that would be the end of my newspaper chain.

Today, it is very expensive for reporters to buy libel insurance. But back then, it was available and I had a small policy with Sterling Insurance, based in London. I sent the paperwork to London and soon was told I should contact their agent working out of Bermuda.

“Speak to the colonel there,” they said. “He handles North America.”

The colonel directed me to Kevin Kelly of the firm Hitchcock and Williams in Providence, Rhode Island. He handled the North American business in New England.

I phoned Kelly and he told me to fly from East Hampton to Providence and we’d talk about this. I called Bill Bendokus, a friend who owned the Block Island airline, and he told me he’d fly me free wherever I needed to go to defend myself. At the Providence airport I handed a cabdriver the address and asked that he take me there.

“See that tall building?” He was pointing to the tallest building in Providence, visible in the distance. “That’s the address.”

Turned out, Kelly’s office was the corner office on the top floor of the tallest building in Providence.

“You’ve come to the right place,” he said.

“I see that,” I said, looking at the stunning view out the window.

The trial was held in a courthouse in Providence. On the first day of the trial, my accuser told the court about his losses. The timeshare effort had failed. Also, he’d been running for office to become a selectman on Block Island, and because of my article, he lost. On cross-examination he confirmed that if you hadn’t listened for a half hour, you got no dinner. He also said that they were supposed to tell you that.

A professor of linguistics said that “scam” was a noun and libelous. On cross-examination he was asked if “scam” could also be an adjective and as such just opinion. He said “no.”

Then I was called to the witness box. For four hours I was called vindictive, reckless and irresponsible, because of the damage done.

That night, I couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning alone in the nearby Providence hotel. And the next morning, I walked to the courthouse, where Kelly took me to a conference room before our case would resume.

“They want to settle for $90,000,” he told me.

“What’s your opinion?” I asked.

“Take it,” he said. “You’ve got coverage for $100,000. And you’re an outsider, not a New Englander. This could go way over that.”

“No deal,” I said. “A scam is a scam.”

“Okay,” he said, sighing.

Back in the courtroom, the judge entered from his chambers, banged his gavel and we were in session again.

Now Kelly had me back on the stand. I explained that the word “scam” had not appeared in the article.

Before that, during the night that we had prepared that week’s newspaper, I drove home with only a bit left to do. One of those things was a tagline. The assistant editors, noting that the story ran two pages, decided to use “scam” as the tagline. Continued on the next page. Continued from previous page. I had not known they had done that.

With that, the judge called a recess. Returning, he said he was throwing out the case. It had no merit. By running for office, the accuser had made himself a public figure. Public figures could not sue for libel without showing “malice aforethought.” I hadn’t even known it happened. And “scam” could be either fact or opinion. Regardless of what the “expert” said.

The judge apologized to the jury for having wasted their time. And he thanked them for their service. They had served the justice system for the people of Rhode Island.

We left the courtroom in silence. Then Kelly spoke.

“I’ve never had this happen before,” he said.

And that was that.

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HELP PRESERVE DAN’S PAPERS 1960–2024

Stony Brook University intends to digitize the complete set of Dan’s Papers back issues (1960–2024) preserved in the Dan Rattiner Collection within their climate-controlled Whitman Library. A total of $130,000 is needed. Currently, $73,000 has been raised. Every dollar helps. Contribute? Write a tax-deductible check to “Stony Brook Foundation” marked “for Dan’s Papers archive” and mail to Stony Brook Foundation, 230 Administration, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-1188 or visit sbugiving.com/danspapers.