Court: Calif. preacher can sue ABC for defamation

[August 25, 2010]  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- An appeals court has reinstated a Los Angeles preacher's defamation lawsuit against ABC's news program "20/20."

The Rev. Frederick Price of the Crenshaw Christian Center accuses the TV newsmagazine and reporter John Stossel of playing a clip from his sermon out of context. It appeared to show the leader of the 18,000-member megachurch boasting about his wealth.

The video actually was part of a sermon on greed and didn't include Price's personal information.

A judge dismissed the case in 2007, ruling the clip was "substantially true" because Price has boasted elsewhere about his wealth.

But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the video portrayed Price falsely and sent the case back to the judge to determine if Price was defamed.

[Associated Press]

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