HUNTINGTON – A man is suing HD Media Co. after he claims it failed to print a retraction.
On Feb. 24, HD Media published an article in the newspaper and online claiming Jeremy Dale Bartram had been arrested and charged with carjacking a man in a church parking lot after he had given him a ride in Huntington, according to a complaint filed June 26 in Cabell Circuit Court.
Bartram claims the article said he was charged with grand larceny in connection with the theft of the victim’s 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass and cell phone.
HD did not investigate the criminal complaint at all in order to establish merit in regards to validity and authenticity of the report before publication of the defamatory article, according to the suit.
Bartram claims he went in person to the defendant’s place of business and requested a retraction in writing in relation to the defamatory article.
The defendant published a vague and incomplete correction stating that Jeremy Adam Bartram was arrested for the incident and that his name and age had been misprinted in the police blotter of the Feb. 24 edition, according to the suit.
Bartram claims a correction is not equivalent to a retraction and the statement did not exonerate him whatsoever.
The defendant was careless and negligent in their actions toward an adequate and sufficient retraction and a retraction must appear in a manner comparable to that of the original publication and be disseminated to the same audience, according to the suit.
Bartram claims he has had numerous family and friends inquire in regards to the publication of the defamatory article and the article has caused him great emotional and reputable injuries.
Bartram is seeking compensatory damages in the amount of $30,000 and punitive damages in the amount of $5,000. He is representing himself.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Paul T. Farrell.
Cabell Circuit Court case number: 17-C-365