Spanish-Language Newspaper Al Dia Hit With $210,000 Defamation Verdict

The Legal Intelligencer
By Amaris Elliott-Engel

April 10, 2009

A Philadelphia jury returned a $210,000 defamation verdict against a Spanish-language newspaper and in favor of a Philadelphia attorney the newspaper alleged in articles had committed unethical conduct in connection to his election in 2006 as president of the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Plaintiff Kenneth I. Trujillo of the Trujillo Rodriguez & Richards law firm was awarded $150,000 in damages as well as $60,000 in punitive damages after the nine-member jury came back with its verdict April 2, according to the verdict sheet. Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Patricia A. McInerney presided over the trial.

Al Dia does not have insurance, according to Al Dia's pretrial memorandum.

Trujillo alleged in Trujillo v. Guaracao that 25 articles published in English and Spanish in Al Dia disparaged his career, according to the plaintiffs' pretrial memorandum.

Clifford E. Haines and James E. Wells of Haines & Associates represented Trujillo. While Al Dia is an uninsured entity, Haines said he expects to be able to recover from Al Dia, perhaps even within a post-trial settlement.

Defendants Al Dia and Al Dia owner Hernan Guaracao were represented by Robert B. White Jr. of the Law Offices of Robert B. White. White could not be reached for comment.

According to the defense pretrial memorandum, all the articles about Trujillo were true; none of the articles "are capable of defamatory meaning;" and Al Dia claimed that Trujillo's privacy wasn't invaded by the articles because he is a public figure.