ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 10, 1996 TAG: 9612100128
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
A ROANOKE KENNEL OWNER says news reports ruined his business.
In a series of exclusive reports about the death of a dog at a Roanoke kennel last year, Channel 10 News aired a question to its viewers: "Was it just a horrible accident, or was it a case of animal abuse?"
This week in Roanoke Circuit Court, a jury must answer a different question: Was Channel 10's report fair and accurate, or was it a libelous and misleading account that destroyed Chris Benson's reputation and business?
Benson, owner of Puppyland, a Franklin Road pet grooming and boarding service, has filed two libel lawsuits seeking $16 million against WSLS (Channel 10) and reporter Kris Loyd. His lawyer, Barry Tatel of Roanoke, told the jury Monday that Loyd's reports of animal abuse at Puppyland were based on "half-truths, falsehoods and a fabrication of events."
In September 1995, Channel 10 aired a series of reports - starting with the death of a dog that was being boarded at Puppyland and quickly escalating to revelations that at least 20 people had complained that their dogs also were abused.
The reports, which often topped the station's newscasts and were touted as "exclusives," stated that Benson was accused of "the death of a man's best friend," and of "torturing people's pets."
An investigation found that one dog - a Pomeranian named Kieshan - died at Puppyland after suffering broken ribs and a punctured lung. But Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell ruled there was not enough evidence to support charges.
Channel 10 is standing by its story. The station has lined up more than a dozen former employees and customers to testify that they either witnessed animal abuse at Puppyland or had pets return home with mysterious injuries after a visit to the kennel.
Libel is injury to a person's reputation by the publication and broadcast of false statements. If the television station can satisfy the jury that its reporting was based on truth, Benson will not be able to recover any damages.
"There is abundant evidence of animal abuse," said Daniel Brown, a Roanoke lawyer who represents WSLS and Loyd. "We said he was the subject of a criminal investigation, and that is absolutely true."
After the station aired its first report of Kieshan's mysterious death, "Boom, the phone started to ring" with calls from people who said their pets also were abused, Brown said.
The case - the first time in years that a Roanoke jury has considered a libel claim against a media outlet - is scheduled to last three days.
Also named as a defendant in Benson's lawsuit is Amy Martin, a former Puppyland employee who gave an interview to Loyd describing the abuse of animals that she said she witnessed at the business.
Several employees testified Monday that business at Puppyland slowed to a trickle after Channel 10's reports. Puppyland went from handling 15 to 20 dogs a day to one or two, they said, and the telephone began to ring with obscene and annoying calls as WSLS pursued its story.
Benson's son, Chris, testified that his father became depressed after the reports, and that he took to sitting in his deserted business with the lights off during working hours. "It ruined the business that he had worked for all his life," Chris Benson Jr. said of the TV report.
The death of Daryl Epperly's dog, which was the origin of Channel 10's report, was described by Tatel as an unfortunate incident that may never be fully explained. But it did not justify the journalism that followed, he told the jury.
"Channel 10 and Kris Loyd were making news," he said. "They weren't reporting it, and there is a difference."
LENGTH: Medium: 70 linesby CNB