Netflix filed a motion this week that asks for a dismissal of a lawsuit concerning Making a Murderer.
The lawsuit was filed last year by a former Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office police officer, Andrew Colborn. Colborn is suing for defamation, emotional distress, and negligence.
Making a Murderer is a documentary series that first premiered on Netflix in 2015. The series documents the trials of Steven Avery, who was first exonerated of a sexual assault case in the 1980s, but then later convicted in a different case: the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc County.
In his suit, Colborn disputes the documentary's portrayal of Avery's legal defense theory: that Colborn and another sheriff's deputy planted evidence to ensure Avery's conviction. Colborn argues that the documentary selectively edited trial testimony and took his statements and actions out of context.
Netflix's motion argues that Colburn fails to prove that Netflix acted with malice when it distributed Making a Murderer.
"His Amended Complaint comes nowhere close to satisfying federal pleading standards—indeed, it does not even plausibly plead negligence," the motion states. "Because amendment would be futile and because Colborn’s intentional infliction of emotional distress claim is based entirely on the premise that Netflix defamed him, his lawsuit against Netflix should be dismissed with prejudice."
Read the full motion here:
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF MO... by on Scribd
