Prof. Jane Kirtley Quoted by Star Tribune About UnitedHealth Lawsuit Against the Guardian

Professor Jane Kirtley, Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law, was quoted by the Minnesota Star Tribune about UnitedHealth Group’s lawsuit against the Guardian over a May news story that asserted the Eden Prairie-based health company grew its profits and harmed patients by slashing nursing home transfers to hospitals. In the lawsuit filed this week in a Delaware court against the international news publication, UnitedHealth said the article contained numerous false accusations. Among them: The health care company secretly paid nursing homes to enroll patients in UnitedHealthcare insurance and then coerced residents to sign do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders, preventing costly hospitalizations and lifesaving treatments. The Guardian said in a statement that it stands by its story. The lawsuit seeks financial damages, plus an injunction to remove, retract and prevent republication of any statements the court decides are defamatory. Prof. Kirtley said the request for an injunction is significant because they’re seldom sought or granted in libel cases. She said the broader goal of the lawsuit “certainly could, in part, be a warning to other news media, not to engage in close investigation of UnitedHealthcare. That certainly is one of the reasons that companies file lawsuits like this, to discourage others from pursuing similar lines of inquiry.”