Amann v. Clear Channel Communications, 2006-Ohio-713 – Broadcaster generally not responsible for veracity of advertisements due to protections afforded commercial speech
Defendant, owner of a large number of radio stations in the Cincinnati area, ran advertisements voiced by one of its local personalities which offered a “guaranteed 100% income plus plan.” The plan was later discovered to be a fraudulent investment scheme. Plaintiff lost his investment in the plan and sued Defendant, arguing that Defendant negligently breached its duty to investigate the veracity and authenticity of the advertisement.
Appellate court affirmed the summary judgment in favor of Defendant, holding that broadcast media firms have substantial protection for commercial speech under the First Amendment, and that they have no duty to investigate the veracity of claims in the advertisements they air. Broadcasters may be liable, however, for the tort of negligent misrepresentation when an advertisement is intended for a specific person or limited group of people, and other civil liability may attach when broadcasters air an advertisement which they know to be false, or which is so improbable on its face that they must know that it is probably false.
This post was written by FSSP.
I got taken by an ad from WLW. They had a company run an ad and it sounded good. I made the mistake and called. Once they got my card number they started charging my account 69.00 bucks a month. I called to stop the bleeding and they cused me out and told me I could not get out of the deal. I had to get with my card company and go thru hell for a few weeks. Finnaly had to close my account. I found out that the company Speedway had 367 complaints at the BBB. I never received anything from this company. I wish these places would do some research on these company, before allowing them to advertise.