A 96-year old woman won a $1.5 million judgement against a supermarket tabloid for claiming she was 101 years old and pregnant.
The headline read “Pregnancy Forces Granny to Quit Work at 101!” It ran in the October 2, 1990 edition, and claimed that the woman quit her job as a mail carrier because she was pregnant.
Nellie Mitchell – not yet 101 and certainly not pregnant – noticed her 1986 photo being used and sued the Sun, charging invasion of privacy and emotional distress. Sun editor, John Vader, admitted that he chose the woman’s photo because he assumed she would be dead.
The New York Times discussed the judgement in Mrs. Mitchell’s obituary:
On Dec. 5, 1991, a jury returned a $1.5 million judgment for Mrs. Mitchell against The Sun. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld $850,000 in punitive damages but reduced the award for compensatory damages to $150,000, from $650,000.
Mrs. Mitchell died on December 31, 1998 at the age of 103.
Sources
- Nellie was not amused (James J. Kilpatrick, The Victoria Advocate: September 11, 1993)
- Nellie Mitchell, 103; Won Tabloid Lawsuit (The New York Times: January 2, 1999)
