Court: First Amendment protects “hate group” label

Litigation Reports

A federal judge has ruled that a liberal advocacy group has a First Amendment right to call a Christian ministry a hate group for its opposition to homosexuality.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson, in a 141-page decision issued late Thursday, threw out a complaint filed by the Florida-based Coral Ridge Ministries Media Inc. against the Southern Poverty Law Center of Montgomery.

Coral Ridge, also called James Kennedy Ministries of Fort Lauderdale, sued the nonprofit law center, Amazon and others in 2017 because it wasn’t included in a program that lets Amazon customers donate to nonprofit groups. The suit said the refusal was because the law center had labeled the ministry a hate group for its stance against homosexual behavior.

The judge ruled that the liberal watchdog organization has a free-speech right to make the claim, but he didn’t address whether the ministry is a hate organization.

Attorneys representing the ministry did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. In a statement, the Southern Poverty Law Center said the decision is a win for groups that want to “share their opinions and educate the public.”

“Any organization we list as a hate group is free to disagree with us about our designation, but this ruling underscores that the designation is constitutionally protected speech and not defamatory,” said Karen Baynes-Dunning, interim president of the organization.

Related listings

  • Trial begins Monday in Kansas abortion stalking lawsuit

    Trial begins Monday in Kansas abortion stalking lawsuit

    Litigation Reports 09/30/2019

    A federal jury will decide whether the operator of a Wichita abortion facility had reasonable grounds to seek a protection-from-stalking order against an abortion protester.Jury selection begins Monday in the federal lawsuit filed by anti-abortion ac...

  • Dutch-based court files new charges against Hariri suspect

    Dutch-based court files new charges against Hariri suspect

    Litigation Reports 09/16/2019

    A U.N.-backed court based in the Netherlands unveiled new charges Monday, including terrorism and intentional homicide, against a Hezbollah fighter who also is accused of assassinating former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.The Special Tribunal ...

  • Appeals court expands minor leaguers salary lawsuit

    Appeals court expands minor leaguers salary lawsuit

    Litigation Reports 08/17/2019

    A federal appeals court has expanded a lawsuit by minor league baseball players alleging they are being paid less than minimum wage.Players sued major league teams in February 2014, claiming most earn less than $7,500 annually in violation of several...

Does a car or truck accident count as a work injury?

If an employee is injured in a car crash while on the job, they are eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. “On the job” injuries are not limited to accidents and injuries that happen inside the workplace, they may also include injuries suffered away from an employee’s place of work while performing a job-related task, such as making a delivery or traveling to a client meeting.

Regular commutes to and from work don’t usually count. If you get into an accident on your way in on a regular workday, it’s probably not considered a work injury for the purposes of workers’ compensation.

If you drive around as part of your job, an injury on the road or loading/unloading accident is likely a work injury. If you don’t typically drive around for work but are required to drive for the benefit of your employer, that would be a work injury in many cases. If you are out of town for work, pretty much any driving would count as work related. For traveling employees, any accidents or injuries that happen on a work trip, even while not technically working, can be considered a work injury. The reason is because you wouldn’t be in that town in the first place, had you not been on a work trip.

Workers’ compensation claims for truck drivers, traveling employees and work-related injuries that occur away from the job site can be challenging and complex. At Krol, Bongiorno & Given, we understand that many families depend on the income of an injured worker, and we are proud of our record protecting the injured and disabled. We have handled well over 30,000 claims for injured workers throughout the state of Illinois.