As covered late last week in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a man named Chris Kyle wrote a book in which there is a brief passage where the author claims to have decked former Minnesota Governor and former Navy Seal Jesse “The Body” Ventura in a bar fight. In the book, Kyle did not refer to Ventura by name but in promotional media interviews after the book’s publication he left no doubt that this passage in the book was about Ventura, a body blow for sure. Now Ventura is taking Kyle to Court for defamation.
Here are some problems, however. Assuming that Kyle’s tales are fiction (who knows?), what are Ventura’s damages? What are his financial losses caused by Kyle’s tales?
Let’s put that aside. Let’s assume that “The Body” has suffered significant, measurable, financial harm from being characterized as “Jesse The Beaten.” One would have to wonder whether the defendant would have the ka-ching at his disposal to make it right…