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Defamation Cases Against Netflix, Funimation Have Different Outcomes

By Adolfo Pesquera
October 01, 2022

Defamation litigation crops up often in the entertainment industry. Two recent Texas Court of Appeals opinions raise issues worth noting in such cases, though each of the Texas decisions had different outcomes.

In Netflix Inc. v. Barina, 04-21-00327, Netflix failed to obtain a lawsuit dismissal on appeal of a defamation suit that arose from a documentary on guardianship abuse of an infirmed millionaire.

In 2017, guardianship proceedings began for Charles Thrash, a successful businessman who at 79 was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. In 2018, Thrash's great-niece Tonya Barina became guardian of his estate. Thrash's girlfriend Laura Martinez and her adult daughter contested guardianship with the help of their San Antonio-based attorney Philip Ross.

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