District Attorney Glenn Funk (left) and NewsChannel 5's Phil Williams
District Atttorney Glenn Funk’s long-running libel suit against NewsChannel 5 reporter Phil Williams is over.
In a Davidson County Circuit Court filing Wednesday, Funk’s attorneys submitted a proposed order for Judge William Acree to dismiss the case. Funk sought at least $200 million after NewsChannel 5’s Williams aired a report in early 2016 that included allegations of bribery made during the deposition of a civil case in Williamson County.
Elements of the case have already gone all the way to the Tennessee Supreme Court, which last year affirmed the state’s “fair report privilege,” protecting journalists from certain malice claims. The case was remanded back to the circuit court.
In January, Funk dropped all of his other claims aside from the question over the bribery allegation. After Acree denied summary judgment motions in April, both sides were preparing for discovery in the case, with Funk asking for Williams’ investigative files and NewsChannel 5 seeking Funk’s financial records and tax returns. Today's actions end those requests.
Shortly after the filing, this statement appeared on NewsChannel 5’s site:
In 2016, NewsChannel 5 reported on David Chase’s Williamson County lawsuit arising out of his domestic violence charges. NewsChannel 5 never alleged – and never intended to allege or convey – that District Attorney Glenn Funk received an offer of a bribe, solicited, or accepted a bribe in connection with that case.NewsChannel 5 reported on a line of questioning made by attorney Brian Manookian, who represented some of the parties in that civil case. Witnesses were questioned about an alleged request for $2 million by public relations consultant Bill Fletcher to David Chase’s father. As NewsChannel 5 reported, Mr. Fletcher said any such request related to compensation for his consulting services and that he did not attempt to bribe District Attorney General Funk. No witness ever testified that these fees were connected to Glenn Funk.
The lawsuit between Mr. Funk and NewsChannel 5 has been dismissed with prejudice. There was no admission of liability or fault and no payment of any money to either party.
District Attorney Funk could not be reached for comment, but his office offered the following statement: “District Attorney Funk is pleased with the retraction.”
Update, 8:47 p.m.: Newschannel 5 General Manager Lyn Plantinga reached out to the Scene after reading the statement from the DA's office. "In order to end this matter, we agreed to restate the facts from our previous reporting," she says. "The statement speaks for itself. There is no mention of a retraction."
