Coffee shop owner claims defamation in lawsuit
A Wilkinsburg coffee shop owner has sued a local radio station, claiming that a story last year about sexual misconduct allegations against him “blatantly” reported false accusations, defamed him and harmed his business.
Joseph Davis, owner of Biddle’s Escape, filed the suit Tuesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court against Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corp., which operates 90.5 WESA-FM.
Mr. Davis and his lawyers claim the Aug. 2 story “Former Employees Accuse Coffeehouse Owner Of Sexual Harassment” by reporter Bill O’Driscoll contained “false accusations regarding the plaintiff’s sexual misconduct.”
The article, which the lawsuit said was published online and broadcast, contained accounts of three female former coffee shop employees who accused Mr. Davis of unwanted
kissing or attempted kissing between 2012 and 2016.
It “grievously fractured the plaintiff’s standing in his community by destroying the plaintiff’s professional and personal reputation with customers and members of the community,” the lawsuit said.
The three-count complaint alleges defamation, false light invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It seeks a jury trial and damages of more than $35,000.
Terry O’Reilly, president and CEO of Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corp., said Wednesday he had not seen the lawsuit, but he defended Mr. O’Driscoll and the story.
“Bill’s a good reporter, and we stand behind his journalism,” Mr. O’Reilly said. “I can tell you that his story prior to publication was not just vetted through our normal editorial process, but also legal review.
So we’re very comfortable with it.”
The lawsuit alleges “... the article imputes criminal offenses and serious sexual misconduct to the plaintiff and his reputation” and claims the “false allegations ... spread throughout the community.”
Mr. Davis claims he has lost $10,000 to $15,000 per month in business after the article came out. The lawsuit links the article to the alleged losses.
After the story was published, it appeared on other online platforms, including a Pittsburgh subreddit page on the website Reddit.com, the lawsuit said.
Site users posted comments about the story, “encouraging others to no longer do business with Biddle’s Escape,” the lawsuit said, giving five examples of online comments.
It was not clear if those were the only negative comments posted on the website or just a sampling.
Mr. Davis also took issue with how the article portrayed attempts to reach him for comment.
“Davis did not respond to multiple phone messages seeking comment for this story,” according to the article.
But Mr. Davis claimed the defendant “had only reached out to the plaintiff once, and had failed to answer plaintiff’s attempts to reach out to the defendant for a comment.”
The issue of what attempts were made to contact Mr. Davis prior to publication could be relevant. Mr. Davis claims the defendant “intentionally and/or recklessly published the article” and “was blatantly reporting false accusations and with a proper investigation would not have reported such accusations.”
Mr. O’Driscoll on Wednesday declined comment.
Mr. O’Reilly said he could not speak to specific allegations.
“Until we see the actual suit, I think I’m uncomfortable responding to any of the details,” he said.