A Florida judge has entered an order in favor of NBCUniversal dismissing a lawsuit by George Zimmerman against the company. Seminole County Judge Debra Nelson, who presided over Zimmerman's criminal trial, wrote in her order that "there are no genuine issues of material fact upon which a reasonable jury could find that the Defendants' acted with actual malice; that there exists absolutely no clear and convincing evidence that Defendants' knew that the information published was false at the time it was published, or recklessly disregard the truth or falsity of those statements at the time they were published."
Zimmerman had sued NBCUniversal for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. NBCUniversal had filed a motion for summary judgment, which essentially asks the judge to rule on the claims based on the undisputed facts presented to her. "NBC News is gratified by the court's dismissal of this lawsuit, which we have always believed to be without merit," an NBC News spokesperson said in a statement. The lead lawyer for George Zimmerman has been contacted for comment.
IN-DEPTH
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