Judge Throws Out DEA Agents' Lawsuit Against "American Gangster"
I had a feeling this wasn't going very far:
A Manhattan federal judge Thursday tossed out a $55 million suit filed by former federal drug agents who say the movie "American Gangster" tagged them as criminals.Cool. And now that we've thrown DEA out of civil court, let's toss a few of their criminal cases too. Starting with this one…
Three former Drug Enforcement Administration agents sued NBC Universal last month, contending they were slandered by an on-screen claim that Harlem druglord Frank Lucas' cooperation "led to the convictions of three-quarters of New York City's Drug Enforcement Agency."
For starters, Judge Colleen McMahon said, the New York City Drug Enforcement Agency doesn't exist.
"It would behoove a major corporation like Universal (which is owned by a major news organization, NBC) not to put inaccurate statements at the end of popular films," McMahon wrote. "However, nothing in this particular untrue statement is actionable." [NY Daily News]
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