Posted by Moe Rals on March 16, 2000 at 18:32:22:
Mancow taunts make ex-Bear $1.6
million
March 16, 2000
BY ROBERT FEDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
Ex-Bear Keith Van Horne has sacked the former bosses of "shock jock" Mancow
Muller for $1.6 million as a result of unflattering comments he made on the air in 1994.
Attorneys for Muller's former radio station, WRCX, and its former owner, Evergreen
Media Corp., handed over a check for that amount Wednesday--the same day a trial
was set to begin in Cook County Circuit Court on Van Horne's lawsuit.
Although the settlement does not include an admission of guilt or an apology by Muller,
Van Horne declared victory.
"I feel vindicated as a result of the settlement," Van Horne said. "I hope that station
management will now exercise better judgment in managing Muller's on-air conduct.
Muller calls his show `The Free Speech Radio Network,' but, although I believe in free
speech, it is not a license to lie."
Muller, who now hosts mornings on WKQX-FM (101.1), said: "I have defended my
right to free speech for over half a decade in this case--and I will not abandon that
most precious constitutional right."
The case stemmed from a broadcast of "Mancow's Morning Madhouse" on Nov. 11,
1994.
Van Horne, a former offensive lineman for the Bears, had just finished co-hosting his
overnight talk show on WLUP-FM (97.9) when he encountered Muller, who was
arriving to host his show on WRCX. At the time, the two stations shared ownership
and studios in the John Hancock Center.
After the two men argued, Muller went on the air and accused Van Horne of stalking,
chasing and threatening to kill him in their hallway confrontation.
Calling Van Horne "psychotic," "nuts," "extremely violent," "over the edge" and "a
Charles Manson who works out," Muller said: "He is trained in killing people. This man
should be put behind bars. He is dangerous. . . . If they find my body in a sewer in the
next 24 hours, somebody say it could be Van Horne."
Van Horne denied Muller's allegations and filed a multimillion-dollar defamation suit
against him and Evergreen Media (which later became Chancellor Media and then
AMFM Inc.).
Van Horne subsequently lost his job on the Loop.
The case drew nationwide attention not only because both parties are celebrities but
because Van Horne's lawyers claimed that the station owners were negligent for
hiring Muller since they knew of his reputation for outrageous behavior on the air.
Last October, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the "negligent hiring" part of Van
Horne's suit, setting the stage for a trial that was to have begun Wednesday on the
defamation claim.
Paul Levy, one of Van Horne's lawyers, said what mattered most to his client was
making the $1.6 million figure public.
"In our view, the number speaks to the vindication," Levy said. "Without the number,
the degree of fault wouldn't have been underscored to the extent that it is."
Although neither Muller nor his current employer is out one cent (since the $1.6 million
was covered by his former employer), the resolution can be seen as bad news only for
them.
Potential affiliates of Muller's syndicated morning show may be reluctant to sign him
out of fear of future lawsuits, while the size of the payout could make him a lightning
rod for other claims.
"Mancow has always maintained that this litigation was without merit and that he
would have prevailed had the case proceeded to trial," said Muller's agent, Robert
Eatman.
Despite the settlement, Muller's legal problems are far from over. He still faces a $100
millon defamation lawsuit filed last year by Janet Dahl, wife of rival radio personality
Steve Dahl.
The Dahl suit claims Muller "repeatedly and falsely referred to [her] as engaging in
adultery, fornication and sexual promiscuity in the vilest of terms" on his Q-101
morning show.
Representing Janet Dahl is Deutsch, Levy & Engel, the same Chicago law firm that
represented Van Horne.