Judge throws out libel suit against scientist

Written byBob Grant

| 1 min read

Listen with Speechify

0:00

1:00

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge threw out a linkurl:defamation;https://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/53709/ suit today (November 20) filed by a Korean fertility researcher against a scientist who wrote an opinion piece criticizing his work. Judge James Dunn upheld a motion filed by the defendant, Bruce Flamm of the University of California,Irvine. Flamm's motion claimed that the lawsuit sought to stifle Flamm's criticism of Kwang Yul linkurl:Cha's;https://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15149/; controversial 2001 linkurl:study;https://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/53166/ linking prayer to in vitro fertilization success. In an email to The Scientist, Flamm described his elation at the suit against him being thrown out court. ''This is a great victory for science, peer review and academic freedom,'' Flamm wrote. Cha filed the lawsuit against Flamm in August over a sentence Flamm wrote in an linkurl:opinion piece;https://www.obgynnews.com/article/PIIS0029743707702021/fulltext;published in the March 15, 2007 issue of Ob. Gyn. News. The lawsuit characterized Flamm's criticism of Cha's IVF-prayer study -- which started when the study was published -- as ''a bitter personal vendetta against Dr. Cha.'' Though Cha's attorneys insisted that the suit was in reference only to a single sentence, Flamm saw the suit as an attack on his right to criticize the work of other scientists. In October, Flamm filed a motion to throw out the suit because it was an attack on his freedom of speech and constituted what is referred to in California law as a ''strategic lawsuit against public participation,'' or SLAPP. Judge Dunn upheld Flamm's ''anti-SLAPP'' motion, and so negated Cha's defamation suit. According to Flamm, Cha has 60 days to appeal this decision. Cha's spokesperson did not have any response by the time this was posted.

Interested in reading more?

The Scientist ARCHIVES

Become a Member of

Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!

Join for free today

Already a member?

Add The Scientist as a preferred Google source to see more of our trusted coverage.

Meet the Author

Bob Grant
Go to The Scientist's LinkedIn Page
From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.
View Full Profile