Appeals court upholds ruling in favor of CBS in lotto case
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS— A woman who tried to cash in on her ex-husband’s Lotto winnings after they separated but before the divorce was final has lost again in her defamation of character lawsuit against CBS.

In her lawsuit, Mitzi Green alleged that CBS falsely made her out to be a “gold digger” in a weekly news magazine show that discussed the lives of 42 Lotto millionaires living in the West Texas town of Roby.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas had returned a summary judgment for CBS, saying Green presented insufficient evidence to show that the statements aired were false and defamatory.

“We agree with the district court’s conclusion that the facts reported in the broadcast, taken as a whole, were substantially true,” the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a ruling Wednesday affirming the lower court decision.

CBS aired a story entitled “Lotto Town” in January 1998 on its weekly news magazine “48 Hours.” In the course of its one-hour broadcast, CBS showed how the life of one winner, Lance Green, had changed during the year following his Lotto win.

The story included, among other events, Green’s divorce from Mitzi Green, his relationship with his stepdaughter and his ex-wife’s charge that he had sexually abused the girl.

During the broadcast, Lance Green, the CBS correspondent and several Roby residents made statements about Green’s ex-wife, including one statement that she “wanted more money” from Green after he won the Lotto.

At one point during the show, Lance Green and his lawyer expressed the opinion that Mitzi Green fabricated the sexual assault charges against Green, and a Roby resident expresses his belief that Lance Green was innocent.

There was no dispute, the appeals court said in its ruling Wednesday, that after an initial settlement was reached between the Greens in their divorce, she requested a portion of the Lotto proceeds.

In her lawsuit, Mitzi Green said the show invaded her daughter’s privacy by identifying her in connection with embarrassing allegations of sexual abuse. The appeals court said the details of the sexual assault charge were common knowledge in Roby and that both Lance Green and Mitzi Green had disclosed the information to other people.

The court said the sexual abuse allegation also was discussed in open court during the divorce proceedings. Texas law is clear that once information is part of a public record, there can be no liability for publicizing it.

Attorneys representing Mitzi Green and CBS could not be reached for comment. Cheryl Rasmus, representing Mitzi Green, and Thomas Leatherbury, representing CBS, did not return messages left on their answering machines.

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