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The multi-year honour-loss lawsuit, sparked by a ProPublica article, officially ended on January 24th, marking the final victory in the case of author, freelance journalist William D. Cohan . The New York State Court of Appeals ruled in his favour in 2023, and the state’s Supreme Court obstructed the decision in September 2024, refusing to hear the appeal. The plaintiffs ultimately agreed to pay Cohan certain defense costs and did not pursue a long-term appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. So the parties concluded the case.
The suit comes from a July 2020 article written by Cohan, entitled “The Strange Fall of Coach and CEO of Kate Spade’s Parent Company.” The subject of the article, Jide Zeitlin, sued Cohan in 2021, claiming that he was slandered by the story. This article has become a partner and Fortune 500 CEO of Zeitlin from her “impossible” modest situation to her as the son of a Nigerian maid. He also looked into his downfall as allegations of extramarital relationship with a woman he filmed helped lead to his resignation from Tapestry, a company that owns coaches and other well-known brands.
As previously reported by Propublica, the state court of appeals found the article “completely contradicts the actual existence of maliciousness.” The Court of Appeals allows Cohan to cite Zeitlin’s denial in the article, allowing readers to judge for themselves and rely on “hosts of other sources that the plaintiff of credibility does not object.” He admitted to the fact that he provided a link to the original document. As the opinion stated, “The plaintiff’s actual allegations of maliciousness rely heavily on his own statement.”
“This is a huge victory for hardworking journalism in the public interest,” said Jeremy Kutner, advisor to Propublica. “We are excited that the court has reaffirmed its protections for press freedom when it matters more than ever.”
Ballard Spahr LLP’s Jay Ward Brown and Emmy Parsons represented Cohan and Propublica.
