Former Salt Lake County Attorney Ted Cannon has lost his bid for a multimillion-dollar libel judgment against Redbook Magazine over an April 1990 article the magazine published about his alleged relationship with his former secretary.
Third District Judge Frank G. Noel dismissed the $5.6 million libel suit filed by Cannon, ruling that the suit was filed after the statute of limitations for libel had run out.Redbook asked Noel to dismiss the suit because it was filed after Utah's one-year statute of limitations for libel claims had run out. In a hearing Friday, Noel agreed. The Redbook issue containing the article "My Boss Ordered Me to Sleep with Him," by Shauna Clark appeared on the newsstands in mid-March, Redbook's attorneys claimed.
Cannon didn't file his suit until more than a year later. Redbook also sought to dismiss Cannon's suit on the grounds that his reputation was already so sullied that he was libel proof. Noel did not comment on the libel-proof arguments during Friday's hearing.
Clark was delighted with the ruling. "I'm so happy. It's been a long five years. I'm glad it's finally over. I hope that's the end of it."