Michael Moore Wins Another Lawsuit

If you're thinking of suing Michael Moore, don't bother. You will probably lose. Two months ago, the filmmaker won a legal battle with Sgt. Peter Damon, who sued over his appearance in Fahrenheit 9/11. Today Moore has won again, this time against James Nichols, who was similarly upset with his appearance in Bowling for Columbine. Nichols' claim is that he was libeled and defamed by the Oscar-winning documentary and its director. He says the film implies he was involved in the Oklahoma City bombing, that it invaded his privacy and that it caused him emotional distress.

Nichols, whose brother Terry was convicted of being involved in the bombing, already lost his case two years ago when a federal judge threw out the suit, but he filed an appeal. The appeals panel agreed with the previous decision, stating that Nichols, ""has not presented any evidence indicating that Michael Moore intended to falsely implicate James Nichols in the Oklahoma City bombing." Of course, this isn't the worst thing to happen to Nichols, who was actually held (along with his son) for 32 days on suspicion of being a co-conspirator after the bombing took place in 1995.