(CN) - A former nursing home staffer can't sue a newspaper for reporting that she sued her supervisor for allegedly checking to see if she was wearing a bra, a New York appeals court ruled.
Karen Tenney said she was working as a dietary assistant in a nursing home when her co-workers spread rumors that she was violating the uniform policy by not wearing a bra.
Her supervisor allegedly touched her back to investigate the rumor, and Tenney sued in federal court for sexual harassment, gender discrimination and illegal search.
The local Press-Republican newspaper wrote an article titled "Alleged county nursing home bra frisk sparks lawsuit."
That article sparked another lawsuit from Tenney -- this time against the newspaper. She claimed the article was inaccurate and exposed her to public ridicule.
The trial court dismissed the claim based on the fair report privilege, and the 3rd Department New York Appellate Division affirmed.
"While plaintiff argues that certain factual statements included in the article are false and that the article, as a whole, is misleading because it focuses on only one aspect of the federal lawsuit, the basis for each of the contested statements may be found in either plaintiff's federal complaint or in documents referred to therein," Justice Leslie Stein wrote.
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