LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) – The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will file a motion to dismiss a $10 billion lawsuit against U.S. President Donald Trump over editing of a speech that made him appear to be directing supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol.
In a filing late Monday, the broadcaster argued that the Florida court lacked personal jurisdiction over the case because it did not air the show in Florida and that the president could not prove damages because he was re-elected after the show aired.
Trump said the British public broadcaster defamed him by splicing together parts of a Jan. 6, 2021, speech in which he told supporters to march on the Capitol and another in which he said “fight like hell.” It omitted the part where he called for peaceful protests.
Trump’s lawsuit accuses the BBC of violating Florida laws prohibiting deceptive and unfair trade practices. He is seeking at least $5 billion in damages on both counts in the lawsuit.
BBC asks court to suspend investigation
The BBC has apologized for the editing in its Panorama documentary programme, but said it would defend the case.
The BBC said in Monday’s filing that Trump could not reasonably claim that the documentary was published with “actual malice.”
It said it would dismiss the complaint and asked the court to suspend the discovery phase on the merits, when both sides can obtain evidence from other parties in the lawsuit.
The BBC said unlimited merits discovery while the motion to dismiss was pending would impose “considerable burdens and costs” on defendants that would be unnecessary if the motion were granted.
The BBC is funded by a compulsory license fee charged to all television-viewing households.
“As the plaintiff failed to plead actual loss and claimed only ‘damage to his professional and professional interests’, his claim failed,” the BBC document said.
(Reporting by Kate Holden; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
