MovieChat Forums > Denial (2016) Discussion > i don't understand the premise of the la...

i don't understand the premise of the lawsuit

posted 8 years ago by civ-e
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can you sue someone because they have opposing academic views?

or is suing over libel due to merely labeling someone as a "denier", which the argument is that it's the same as calling someone a "wife-beater".

and why are they arguing about historical facts in court as to whether or not the holocaust actually happened, rather than the issue of defamation.

[–] ZortMcFleen 8 years ago

can you sue someone because they have opposing academic views?

Your case isn't likely to be taken up unless there's some other cause than that.

or is suing over libel due to merely labeling someone as a "denier", which the argument is that it's the same as calling someone a "wife-beater".

That's what Irving argued, that it was a slander. The case demonstrated that it was not a slander, in the sense that it was true, Irving is a Holocaust denier.

and why are they arguing about historical facts in court as to whether or not the holocaust actually happened, rather than the issue of defamation.

Lipstadt accused Irving of twisting historical facts in the way no honest historian would. She had to prove she was right. That meant showing what the facts are and how Irving distorted them.