Patrick Reed Going After Judge Who Dismissed His $750 Million Defamation Lawsuits, Wants Him Recused
Patrick Reed filed a total of 55 defamation claims in lawsuits totaling approximately $750 million shortly after leaving the PGA Tour and joining LIV Golf. Each of the lawsuits were dismissed in late September, but the former Masters champion doesn't appear to be going down without a fight.
Reed and his legal team have now taken aim at the judge who dismissed the claims and is seeking that he be recused.
Among the notable names included in the now tossed-aside lawsuits included golf media members Brandel Chamblee, Shane Bacon, Shane Ryan, Damon Hack, and Eamon Lynch, among others.
Court documents stated that the accused had been “actively targeting Mr. Reed since he was 23 years old to destroy his reputation, create hate, and a hostile work environment for him.”
US District Judge Timothy Corrigan admitted that some of the coverage about Reed "seems over the top," but ultimately dismissed the cases and explained why in a 78-page document.
“While Reed may be frustrated at the negative media coverage he receives (some of which seems over the top), under Florida law and the First Amendment, Reed fails to bring actionable defamation claims and his cases therefore must be dismissed,” Corrigan wrote.
Patrick Reed doesn't appear to be done with his defamation lawsuits. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Patrick Reed Wants Judge Recused Who Tossed Out Defamation Lawsuits
Reed and his representatives didn't agree with Corrigan's ruling or explanation and have since filed a motion to disqualify him. Team Reed would have liked to have seen the lawsuits played out in front of a jury.
“The motion to disqualify Judge Corrigan is based on an extreme prejudged mindset to deep six these cases, by wrongfully taking away from the jury the right to determine whether Mr. Reed had been defamed," a release shared by Klayman Law Group read.
“Among the defamatory statements were attacks on Mr. Reed as a habitual cheater when in fact he has never been found to have cheated, as well as his playing professional golf on the LIV Golf Tour, where he and other top LIV players have been branded and smeared as murderers, takers of blood money, terrorist sympathisers and being employed by the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Putin, when in reality he simply plays professional golf on a tour financed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.”
Reed's lawyer is seeking that the cases be assigned to another jurist in the Middle District and proceed.
While the defamation suits themselves didn't come as a surprise given the brutal media coverage he's received over the years, it was the $750 million in damages that caught the attention of the golf world.
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