{"id":17463,"date":"2015-12-15T12:28:54","date_gmt":"2015-12-15T17:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/?p=17463"},"modified":"2015-12-16T10:12:45","modified_gmt":"2015-12-16T15:12:45","slug":"nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/","title":{"rendered":"Nebraska Court Rules That Anti-Disparagement Lawsuit Filed by ASA-Member Tanning Salons May Proceed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>American Suntanning Association, Dec. 4 2015<\/em>\u00a0&#8212; Earlier this year, tanning salon operators in Nebraska, supported by the American Suntanning Association (ASA), filed a lawsuit in Nebraska state court against the Nebraska Cancer Coalition (NCC), and two of its officers, alleging defamation and violation of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act. In response, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the action, arguing that the plaintiff salon operators had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.<\/p>\n<p>In a decision entered November 24, 2015, the Nebraska District Court denied the defendants\u2019 motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In ruling in favor of the plaintiff salon operators, the Court found that the complaint alleged facts sufficient to state a claim against both the NCC and the two individually named defendants, for both defamation and violations of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act.<\/p>\n<p>As part of its ruling, the Court found that the lawsuit sufficiently stated facts showing the alleged false and defamatory statements made by the defendants in their \u201cThe Bed Is Dead\u201d campaign (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebedisdead.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">www.thebedisdead.org\/<\/a>), were made in the course of the defendants\u2019 business, vocation, or occupation. In so ruling, the Court relied on plaintiffs\u2019 allegations that the defendants\u2019 anti-tanning campaign was:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;a coordinated scheme [that] is funded in part by individuals and commercial entities having a direct financial interest in generating negative publicity about indoor tanning salons, including the sunscreen and cosmetic industries and those providing UV light treatments in medical facilities,&#8221; and that<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Dr. Watts and other members of the NCC have a financial interest in destroying Plaintiffs&#8217; businesses, as Dr. Watts and others in his industry seek to offer cosmetic dermatology services to Plaintiffs&#8217; customers, in place of those services provided by Plaintiffs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Court also noted in its ruling that \u201cDefendants&#8217; statements, as alleged by Plaintiffs, prejudice Plaintiffs in their profession, trade, and business\u201d and that \u201cPlaintiffs have sufficiently alleged that Defendants&#8217; statements are defamatory per se.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To review the ruling, and find out more information about the suit, please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/nebraskatanfacts.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Nebraskatanfacts.com<\/a>. To contribute to a dedicated fund to support this litigation (your contribution may be tax deductible as a business expense), please visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/zfm9hbg\" target=\"_blank\">ASA Legal Fund\u2019s GoFundMe page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American Suntanning Association, Dec. 4 2015\u00a0&#8212; Earlier this year, tanning salon operators in Nebraska, supported by the American Suntanning Association (ASA), filed a lawsuit in Nebraska state court against the Nebraska Cancer Coalition (NCC), and two of its officers, alleging defamation and violation of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act. In response, the defendants filed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17464,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nebraska Court Rules That Anti-Disparagement Lawsuit Filed by ASA-Member Tanning Salons May Proceed - Smart Tan News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"American Suntanning Association, Dec. 4 2015\u00a0-- Earlier this year, tanning salon operators in Nebraska, supported by the American Suntanning Association (ASA), filed a lawsuit in Nebraska state court against the Nebraska Cancer Coalition (NCC), and two of its officers, alleging defamation and violation of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act. In response, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the action, arguing that the plaintiff salon operators had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.  In a decision entered November 24, 2015, the Nebraska District Court denied the defendants\u2019 motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In ruling in favor of the plaintiff salon operators, the Court found that the complaint alleged facts sufficient to state a claim against both the NCC and the two individually named defendants, for both defamation and violations of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act.  As part of its ruling, the Court found that the lawsuit sufficiently stated facts showing the alleged false and defamatory statements made by the defendants in their \u201cThe Bed Is Dead\u201d campaign (www.thebedisdead.org\/), were made in the course of the defendants\u2019 business, vocation, or occupation. In so ruling, the Court relied on plaintiffs\u2019 allegations that the defendants\u2019 anti-tanning campaign was: &quot;a coordinated scheme is funded in part by individuals and commercial entities having a direct financial interest in generating negative publicity about indoor tanning salons, including the sunscreen and cosmetic industries and those providing UV light treatments in medical facilities,&quot; and that &quot;Dr. Watts and other members of the NCC have a financial interest in destroying Plaintiffs&#039; businesses, as Dr. Watts and others in his industry seek to offer cosmetic dermatology services to Plaintiffs&#039; customers, in place of those services provided by Plaintiffs.\u201d The Court also noted in its ruling that \u201cDefendants&#039; statements, as alleged by Plaintiffs, prejudice Plaintiffs in their profession, trade, and business\u201d and that \u201cPlaintiffs have sufficiently alleged that Defendants&#039; statements are defamatory per se.\u201d  To review the ruling, and find out more information about the suit, please visit Nebraskatanfacts.com. To contribute to a dedicated fund to support this litigation (your contribution may be tax deductible as a business expense), please visit the ASA Legal Fund\u2019s GoFundMe page.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nebraska Court Rules That Anti-Disparagement Lawsuit Filed by ASA-Member Tanning Salons May Proceed - Smart Tan News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"American Suntanning Association, Dec. 4 2015\u00a0-- Earlier this year, tanning salon operators in Nebraska, supported by the American Suntanning Association (ASA), filed a lawsuit in Nebraska state court against the Nebraska Cancer Coalition (NCC), and two of its officers, alleging defamation and violation of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act. In response, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the action, arguing that the plaintiff salon operators had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.  In a decision entered November 24, 2015, the Nebraska District Court denied the defendants\u2019 motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In ruling in favor of the plaintiff salon operators, the Court found that the complaint alleged facts sufficient to state a claim against both the NCC and the two individually named defendants, for both defamation and violations of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act.  As part of its ruling, the Court found that the lawsuit sufficiently stated facts showing the alleged false and defamatory statements made by the defendants in their \u201cThe Bed Is Dead\u201d campaign (www.thebedisdead.org\/), were made in the course of the defendants\u2019 business, vocation, or occupation. In so ruling, the Court relied on plaintiffs\u2019 allegations that the defendants\u2019 anti-tanning campaign was: &quot;a coordinated scheme is funded in part by individuals and commercial entities having a direct financial interest in generating negative publicity about indoor tanning salons, including the sunscreen and cosmetic industries and those providing UV light treatments in medical facilities,&quot; and that &quot;Dr. Watts and other members of the NCC have a financial interest in destroying Plaintiffs&#039; businesses, as Dr. Watts and others in his industry seek to offer cosmetic dermatology services to Plaintiffs&#039; customers, in place of those services provided by Plaintiffs.\u201d The Court also noted in its ruling that \u201cDefendants&#039; statements, as alleged by Plaintiffs, prejudice Plaintiffs in their profession, trade, and business\u201d and that \u201cPlaintiffs have sufficiently alleged that Defendants&#039; statements are defamatory per se.\u201d  To review the ruling, and find out more information about the suit, please visit Nebraskatanfacts.com. To contribute to a dedicated fund to support this litigation (your contribution may be tax deductible as a business expense), please visit the ASA Legal Fund\u2019s GoFundMe page.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Tan News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SmartTan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-15T17:28:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-12-16T15:12:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_160390574-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"334\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"smarttannews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SmartTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SmartTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"smarttannews\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"smarttannews\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/person\/722dc7049af55e0ed743d67ce9ed4819\"},\"headline\":\"Nebraska Court Rules That Anti-Disparagement Lawsuit Filed by ASA-Member Tanning Salons May Proceed\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-15T17:28:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-16T15:12:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/\"},\"wordCount\":378,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_160390574-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/\",\"name\":\"Nebraska Court Rules That Anti-Disparagement Lawsuit Filed by ASA-Member Tanning Salons May Proceed - Smart Tan News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_160390574-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-15T17:28:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-16T15:12:45+00:00\",\"description\":\"American Suntanning Association, Dec. 4 2015\u00a0-- Earlier this year, tanning salon operators in Nebraska, supported by the American Suntanning Association (ASA), filed a lawsuit in Nebraska state court against the Nebraska Cancer Coalition (NCC), and two of its officers, alleging defamation and violation of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act. In response, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the action, arguing that the plaintiff salon operators had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. In a decision entered November 24, 2015, the Nebraska District Court denied the defendants\u2019 motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In ruling in favor of the plaintiff salon operators, the Court found that the complaint alleged facts sufficient to state a claim against both the NCC and the two individually named defendants, for both defamation and violations of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act. As part of its ruling, the Court found that the lawsuit sufficiently stated facts showing the alleged false and defamatory statements made by the defendants in their \u201cThe Bed Is Dead\u201d campaign (www.thebedisdead.org\/), were made in the course of the defendants\u2019 business, vocation, or occupation. In so ruling, the Court relied on plaintiffs\u2019 allegations that the defendants\u2019 anti-tanning campaign was: \\\"a coordinated scheme is funded in part by individuals and commercial entities having a direct financial interest in generating negative publicity about indoor tanning salons, including the sunscreen and cosmetic industries and those providing UV light treatments in medical facilities,\\\" and that \\\"Dr. Watts and other members of the NCC have a financial interest in destroying Plaintiffs' businesses, as Dr. Watts and others in his industry seek to offer cosmetic dermatology services to Plaintiffs' customers, in place of those services provided by Plaintiffs.\u201d The Court also noted in its ruling that \u201cDefendants' statements, as alleged by Plaintiffs, prejudice Plaintiffs in their profession, trade, and business\u201d and that \u201cPlaintiffs have sufficiently alleged that Defendants' statements are defamatory per se.\u201d To review the ruling, and find out more information about the suit, please visit Nebraskatanfacts.com. To contribute to a dedicated fund to support this litigation (your contribution may be tax deductible as a business expense), please visit the ASA Legal Fund\u2019s GoFundMe page.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_160390574-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_160390574-1.jpg\",\"width\":440,\"height\":334},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nebraska Court Rules That Anti-Disparagement Lawsuit Filed by ASA-Member Tanning Salons May Proceed\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/\",\"name\":\"Smart Tan News\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Smart Tan\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Smart-Tan.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Smart-Tan.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":164,\"caption\":\"Smart Tan\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SmartTan\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/SmartTan\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/person\/722dc7049af55e0ed743d67ce9ed4819\",\"name\":\"smarttannews\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0189f76465f47ce293287354f8076bfdb83130e65538eb34fcd2cd44e9f0e53?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0189f76465f47ce293287354f8076bfdb83130e65538eb34fcd2cd44e9f0e53?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0189f76465f47ce293287354f8076bfdb83130e65538eb34fcd2cd44e9f0e53?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"smarttannews\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/author\/smarttannews\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nebraska Court Rules That Anti-Disparagement Lawsuit Filed by ASA-Member Tanning Salons May Proceed - Smart Tan News","description":"American Suntanning Association, Dec. 4 2015\u00a0-- Earlier this year, tanning salon operators in Nebraska, supported by the American Suntanning Association (ASA), filed a lawsuit in Nebraska state court against the Nebraska Cancer Coalition (NCC), and two of its officers, alleging defamation and violation of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act. In response, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the action, arguing that the plaintiff salon operators had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.  In a decision entered November 24, 2015, the Nebraska District Court denied the defendants\u2019 motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In ruling in favor of the plaintiff salon operators, the Court found that the complaint alleged facts sufficient to state a claim against both the NCC and the two individually named defendants, for both defamation and violations of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act.  As part of its ruling, the Court found that the lawsuit sufficiently stated facts showing the alleged false and defamatory statements made by the defendants in their \u201cThe Bed Is Dead\u201d campaign (www.thebedisdead.org\/), were made in the course of the defendants\u2019 business, vocation, or occupation. In so ruling, the Court relied on plaintiffs\u2019 allegations that the defendants\u2019 anti-tanning campaign was: \"a coordinated scheme is funded in part by individuals and commercial entities having a direct financial interest in generating negative publicity about indoor tanning salons, including the sunscreen and cosmetic industries and those providing UV light treatments in medical facilities,\" and that \"Dr. Watts and other members of the NCC have a financial interest in destroying Plaintiffs' businesses, as Dr. Watts and others in his industry seek to offer cosmetic dermatology services to Plaintiffs' customers, in place of those services provided by Plaintiffs.\u201d The Court also noted in its ruling that \u201cDefendants' statements, as alleged by Plaintiffs, prejudice Plaintiffs in their profession, trade, and business\u201d and that \u201cPlaintiffs have sufficiently alleged that Defendants' statements are defamatory per se.\u201d  To review the ruling, and find out more information about the suit, please visit Nebraskatanfacts.com. To contribute to a dedicated fund to support this litigation (your contribution may be tax deductible as a business expense), please visit the ASA Legal Fund\u2019s GoFundMe page.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nebraska Court Rules That Anti-Disparagement Lawsuit Filed by ASA-Member Tanning Salons May Proceed - Smart Tan News","og_description":"American Suntanning Association, Dec. 4 2015\u00a0-- Earlier this year, tanning salon operators in Nebraska, supported by the American Suntanning Association (ASA), filed a lawsuit in Nebraska state court against the Nebraska Cancer Coalition (NCC), and two of its officers, alleging defamation and violation of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act. In response, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the action, arguing that the plaintiff salon operators had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.  In a decision entered November 24, 2015, the Nebraska District Court denied the defendants\u2019 motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In ruling in favor of the plaintiff salon operators, the Court found that the complaint alleged facts sufficient to state a claim against both the NCC and the two individually named defendants, for both defamation and violations of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act.  As part of its ruling, the Court found that the lawsuit sufficiently stated facts showing the alleged false and defamatory statements made by the defendants in their \u201cThe Bed Is Dead\u201d campaign (www.thebedisdead.org\/), were made in the course of the defendants\u2019 business, vocation, or occupation. In so ruling, the Court relied on plaintiffs\u2019 allegations that the defendants\u2019 anti-tanning campaign was: \"a coordinated scheme is funded in part by individuals and commercial entities having a direct financial interest in generating negative publicity about indoor tanning salons, including the sunscreen and cosmetic industries and those providing UV light treatments in medical facilities,\" and that \"Dr. Watts and other members of the NCC have a financial interest in destroying Plaintiffs' businesses, as Dr. Watts and others in his industry seek to offer cosmetic dermatology services to Plaintiffs' customers, in place of those services provided by Plaintiffs.\u201d The Court also noted in its ruling that \u201cDefendants' statements, as alleged by Plaintiffs, prejudice Plaintiffs in their profession, trade, and business\u201d and that \u201cPlaintiffs have sufficiently alleged that Defendants' statements are defamatory per se.\u201d  To review the ruling, and find out more information about the suit, please visit Nebraskatanfacts.com. To contribute to a dedicated fund to support this litigation (your contribution may be tax deductible as a business expense), please visit the ASA Legal Fund\u2019s GoFundMe page.","og_url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/","og_site_name":"Smart Tan News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SmartTan","article_published_time":"2015-12-15T17:28:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-12-16T15:12:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":440,"height":334,"url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_160390574-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"smarttannews","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SmartTan","twitter_site":"@SmartTan","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"smarttannews","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/"},"author":{"name":"smarttannews","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/person\/722dc7049af55e0ed743d67ce9ed4819"},"headline":"Nebraska Court Rules That Anti-Disparagement Lawsuit Filed by ASA-Member Tanning Salons May Proceed","datePublished":"2015-12-15T17:28:54+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-16T15:12:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/"},"wordCount":378,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_160390574-1.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/","url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/","name":"Nebraska Court Rules That Anti-Disparagement Lawsuit Filed by ASA-Member Tanning Salons May Proceed - Smart Tan News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_160390574-1.jpg","datePublished":"2015-12-15T17:28:54+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-16T15:12:45+00:00","description":"American Suntanning Association, Dec. 4 2015\u00a0-- Earlier this year, tanning salon operators in Nebraska, supported by the American Suntanning Association (ASA), filed a lawsuit in Nebraska state court against the Nebraska Cancer Coalition (NCC), and two of its officers, alleging defamation and violation of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act. In response, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the action, arguing that the plaintiff salon operators had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. In a decision entered November 24, 2015, the Nebraska District Court denied the defendants\u2019 motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In ruling in favor of the plaintiff salon operators, the Court found that the complaint alleged facts sufficient to state a claim against both the NCC and the two individually named defendants, for both defamation and violations of the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act. As part of its ruling, the Court found that the lawsuit sufficiently stated facts showing the alleged false and defamatory statements made by the defendants in their \u201cThe Bed Is Dead\u201d campaign (www.thebedisdead.org\/), were made in the course of the defendants\u2019 business, vocation, or occupation. In so ruling, the Court relied on plaintiffs\u2019 allegations that the defendants\u2019 anti-tanning campaign was: \"a coordinated scheme is funded in part by individuals and commercial entities having a direct financial interest in generating negative publicity about indoor tanning salons, including the sunscreen and cosmetic industries and those providing UV light treatments in medical facilities,\" and that \"Dr. Watts and other members of the NCC have a financial interest in destroying Plaintiffs' businesses, as Dr. Watts and others in his industry seek to offer cosmetic dermatology services to Plaintiffs' customers, in place of those services provided by Plaintiffs.\u201d The Court also noted in its ruling that \u201cDefendants' statements, as alleged by Plaintiffs, prejudice Plaintiffs in their profession, trade, and business\u201d and that \u201cPlaintiffs have sufficiently alleged that Defendants' statements are defamatory per se.\u201d To review the ruling, and find out more information about the suit, please visit Nebraskatanfacts.com. To contribute to a dedicated fund to support this litigation (your contribution may be tax deductible as a business expense), please visit the ASA Legal Fund\u2019s GoFundMe page.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_160390574-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_160390574-1.jpg","width":440,"height":334},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/nebraska-court-rules-that-anti-disparagement-lawsuit-filed-by-asa-member-tanning-salons-may-proceed\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Nebraska Court Rules That Anti-Disparagement Lawsuit Filed by ASA-Member Tanning Salons May Proceed"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/","name":"Smart Tan News","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization","name":"Smart Tan","url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Smart-Tan.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Smart-Tan.png","width":500,"height":164,"caption":"Smart Tan"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SmartTan","https:\/\/x.com\/SmartTan"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/person\/722dc7049af55e0ed743d67ce9ed4819","name":"smarttannews","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0189f76465f47ce293287354f8076bfdb83130e65538eb34fcd2cd44e9f0e53?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0189f76465f47ce293287354f8076bfdb83130e65538eb34fcd2cd44e9f0e53?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0189f76465f47ce293287354f8076bfdb83130e65538eb34fcd2cd44e9f0e53?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"smarttannews"},"url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/author\/smarttannews\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17463"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17471,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17463\/revisions\/17471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}