Netflix dodges defamation suit over troubled teen documentary 'The Program'

(CN) — The 10th Circuit ruled Monday that a Netflix documentarian is protected from a defamation lawsuit brought by a former operator of programs for troubled teens, finding her statements were protected by the First Amendment.

The three-judge panel upheld the dismissal of Narvin Lichfield’s complaint for failure to state a claim against director Katherine Kubler and Netflix.

Lichfield, who ran three youth facilities affiliated with the Utah-based World Wide Association of Specialty Programs, or WWASP, says that he was defamed by Kubler’s 2024 Netflix three-part documentary titled “The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping,” which detailed the director’s time at the Academy at Ivy Ridge. Although Lichfield claims he did not work at Ivy Ridge, the documentary details widespread physical, sexual and mental abuse at WWASP facilities, including accusations against Lichfield.

Shortly after the documentary’s release, Lichfield filed a lawsuit against Kubler and Netflix over their portrayal of him. But the 10th Circuit judges ultimately found that portrayal was protected.

“The primary question on appeal is the threshold legal question of whether Lichfield has properly alleged that any of Kubler’s statements are subject to defamatory meaning,” U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Federico wrote. “Under Utah defamation law, Utah constitutional law, and the First Amendment, the answer is no, so the claims must be dismissed.”

Lichfield took issue with three distinct parts of the documentary. The first paired a photo of him with a newspaper headline about a teen’s death at one of the WWASP facilities, along with a statement from Kubler that people at the top can “get away with murder.”

“The totality of the first challenged segment consists of a passing visual juxtaposition and the use of an idiomatic expression,” Federico, a Joe Biden appointee, wrote. “Any reasonable viewer would understand that if Kubler had meant to accuse Lichfield of involvement in a teen’s death, she would say more and say it explicitly at some point in the series.”

Lichfield noted how the documentary mentioned his arrest in Costa Rica after authorities raided one of the WWASP facilities there following accusations of abuse, but failed to mention that the criminal charges against him were dropped and that he was exonerated. But the panel found that the omission did not make the statement materially false.

“So long as there is no statement of material falsehood — implied or otherwise — the director, editor and producer must be free to exercise their collective editorial discretion,” Federico wrote. “In other words, Lichfield has not shown this speech contained material falsehood. And without material falsity, there has been no defamation.”

The panel also found that, taken in context, Kubler’s own accusations against Lichfield were protected speech. During one segment of the documentary, Kubler films Lichfield having drinks and singing at a karaoke bar in Utah, while she describes him as a child abuser, con man and criminal.

“The broad-sweeping and inherently subjective language of Kubler’s statements, in conjunction with context that exacerbates their subjectivity, render her speech protected as privileged opinion under the Utah Constitution and as evaluative opinion under the First Amendment,” Federico wrote. “The district court correctly held that Lichfield failed to allege a statement capable of defamatory meaning in this third contested segment.”

A lower court initially ruled that Kubler’s statements in the documentary were protected speech and dismissed the lawsuit under anti-SLAPP laws, which allow defendants to seek quick dismissal of lawsuits they believe are aimed at stifling their First Amendment rights.

The panel ruled Lichfield was not entitled to dictate how Kubler documented her experiences and the history of the troubled teen programs.

“A person who is the subject of the speech is not entitled to hold the editor’s pen or exercise a producer’s review merely because he is the subject of a given segment or article,” Federico continued.

The panel also affirmed the lower court decision denying Lichfield’s leave to amend his complaint.

U.S. Circuit Judge Timothy Tymkovich, a George W. Bush appointee, and U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Bacharach, a Barack Obama appointee, joined Federico in the opinion.

In addition to defamation, Lichfield sued over false light, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy.

Kubler’s documentary is one of several recent productions that have renewed scrutiny over so-called troubled teen programs that have faced decades of accusations of abuse and misconduct against children.

Attorneys for Kubler and Lichfield did not respond to requests for comment.

The WWASP programs were reportedly shut down around 2010 after investigations into abuse.