Hatfill v. Foster

DECISION AND ORDER REVISITING CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE LAW AND ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

MCMAHON, District Judge.

I. Introduction

In October 2003, defendant Conde Nast Publications published an article by defendant Donald Foster entitled “Message in the Anthrax,” describing Foster’s investigations into the 2001 anthrax attacks. Defendant Reader’s Digest Association republished the article two months later, under the name “Tracking the Anthrax Killer.” Both articles contained allegedly libelous statements imputing the anthrax attacks (and other unsavory activities) to Dr. Steven Hatfill, a medical doctor…