MSNBC parent company, NBCUniversal, has settled its “uterus collector” lawsuit that saw Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, and Chris Hayes’ programs make “verifiably false” statements that a Georgia gynecologist Dr. Mahendra Amin performed unnecessary hysterectomies at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center.
The parties have agreed to, and signed, a term sheet to settle the lawsuit, according to a joint notice of settlement obtained by Fox News Digital. The parties are working to finalize the language of the settlement agreement and are expected to effectuate the settlement within the next several weeks.
Dr. Amin, an obstetrician gynecologist who provided medical care to women detained at the Irwin County Detention Center, was accused in 2020 of performing unnecessary hysterectomies by a nurse at the facility who made a whistleblower complaint.
NBC published an article and MSNBC quickly followed with a series of on-air reports in which the doctor was often referred to as the “uterus collector” on September 15, 2020. However, the whistleblower’s claims were never proven to be true.
Dr. Amin filed a lawsuit against parent company NBCUniversal, alleging he was falsely portrayed as “an abusive, unethical, and dishonest physician who treated and operated on immigrant women in an abusive fashion, without consent, and motivated by profit instead of quality healthcare.”
Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of the Southern District of Georgia previously ruled that a jury could reasonably find actual malice and the trial was set to begin April 22, in Waycross, Georgia. In light of the settlement agreement, the court has canceled the scheduled trial.
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“NBC investigated the whistleblower letter’s accusations; that investigation did not corroborate the accusations and even undermined some; NBC republished the letter’s accusations anyway,” Judge Wood wrote last year in a 108-page summary.
Amin believed “false and defamatory” statements published with actual malice that caused him significant damage were said six times on “Deadline: White House,” seven times on “All in with Chris Hayes” and 10 times on “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
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Maddow, Hayes and Wallace were among potential witnesses if it reached trial, along with NBC News reporters Jacob Soboroff and Julia Ainsley, MSNBC producer Denis Horgan, senior director of stands and practices Mary Lockhart, deputy head of standards Chris Scholl and others.
Judge Wood previously ruled that multiple statements were proven false, noting “undisputed evidence has established” that “there were no mass hysterectomies or high numbers of hysterectomies at the facility,” “Dr. Amin performed only two hysterectomies on female detainees from the ICDC,” and the doctor is not a “uterus collector.”
NBC News and MSNBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a developing story, more to come…
