Katie Couric Faces 12 Million Lawsuit Over Misleading Scene In Gun Control Documentary

Daniel L. Hawes, Esq. and Patricia Webb are two members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League who appear in the scene in question, and are seeking $12 million in compensatory damages over the film, as well as $350,000 each in punitive damages. They also want an injunction against Kouric & co. that would prevent them “from disseminating, distributing or publishing any footage of the VCDL’s members, Hawes or Webb that is judicially determined to be false” by way of a jury trial. Director Soechtig released a statement to People magazine though a spokesperson that unsurprisingly casts the lawsuit in a different light, invoking the First Amendment and standing by Under the Gun: By filing a lawsuit, the VCDL has already accomplished much of its original goal, getting its dispute about how the exchange in the film actually transpired on the record, and putting a cloud over the entire documentary. Judge and possibly jury will decide if they get the nearly $13 million they’re asking for, too.