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VICTORY! Maine hospital backs down from defamation threat over teen鈥檚 criticism
- When 15-year-old Samson Cournane wrote a petition calling attention to patient-safety concerns at a local hospital, the hospital threatened to sue his mother for defamation.
- After FIREstepped in, the hospital backed down and did not sue before the statute of limitations for the false defamation claim passed.
- Samson became an advocate for free speech and the Maine state legislature cited his example when it passed new stronger speech protections in April.
BANGOR, Maine, Nov. 7, 2024 鈥 A Maine hospital conglomerate forfeited its ability to sue a teenage critic, after the FIREjumped to his defense. On Wednesday, the two-year statute of limitations for the baseless defamation claim expired 鈥 ending a free speech battle between the hospital and a 15-year-old patient advocate who wasn鈥檛 afraid to speak his mind.
In September 2022, wunderkind Samson Cournane wrote a addressed to his congressman decrying the patient-safety practices and ratings at Northern Light Health鈥檚 Eastern Maine Medical Center. The following month, Samson published a on the same topic in the campus newspaper for the University of Maine, where he is a senior studying computer science.
Samson spoke out when the hospital fired his mother, Dr. Anne Yered, after she raised concerns about lagging pediatric-patient safety protocols. Northern Light Health responded to Samson鈥檚 writings by threatening to sue his mother for defamation, under the false accusation that she had ghostwritten Samson鈥檚 advocacy.
In August 2023, 果冻传媒app官方 demanded the conglomerate retract its threat of a lawsuit based on Samson鈥檚 statements, which are squarely protected by Maine鈥檚 anti-SLAPP statute as opinionated commentary intended to influence public debate. FIREalso enclosed a signed affidavit from Samson certifying that he wrote the petition and op-ed.
COURTESY PHOTOS OF SAMSON FOR MEDIA USE
鈥淲hen Mainers, whether 15 or 50 years old, ask for their government鈥檚 assistance to address perceived wrongs, their statements are protected from baseless lawsuits designed to silence them,鈥 FIRESenior Attorney Jay Diaz wrote at the time. 鈥淪amson鈥檚 advocacy statements are wholly protected by Maine law. Any attempt to sue him into silence will fail.鈥
The statute of limitations for libel and slander in Maine is . Because Samson has not made a statement specific to Northern Light since Nov. 6, 2022, the hospital conglomerate has forfeited its right to sue Samson or his mother for his petition.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 thank FIREenough for having my back throughout this ordeal,鈥 said Samson. 鈥淭ogether we sent a clear message to anyone who thinks they can silence healthcare workers and advocates: we won鈥檛 back down 鈥 and we鈥檒l win.鈥
Samson鈥檚 ordeal is the perfect example of the threat posed to free speech by a strategic lawsuit against public participation, or 鈥淪LAPP鈥 for short. In a SLAPP suit, the goal isn鈥檛 to win the case but to punish critics for speaking out by forcing them into a costly court proceeding. It鈥檚 censorship-by-proxy.
Maine had an anti-SLAPP law on the books when Samson began his advocacy. But his story galvanized state lawmakers to pass to strengthen its protections, extending them to a wider variety of comments, including those made in newspapers and on social media.
Samson personally participated in the push to amend Maine鈥檚 anti-SLAPP law through community outreach, , presentations, and online advocacy. He also shared his story at conferences, including last year鈥檚 Government Accountability Project whistleblower conference, where he met with .
And in one final note of irony, the hospital鈥檚 attempt to silence Samson had the opposite effect, resulting in his Change.org petition going from 700 signatures to more than 22,000.
鈥淟et this be a lesson to future would-be censors,鈥 said Diaz. 鈥淎ttempts to silence your critics often backfire and result in even more negative publicity.鈥
The FIRE(果冻传媒app官方) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought 鈥 the most essential qualities of liberty. FIREeducates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.
CONTACT:
Alex Griswold, Communications Campaign Manager, 果冻传媒app官方: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org
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