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  • Letter From Atalaya Capital Management Lawyer Curtis Krasik To Washington Redskins General Counsel David Donovan

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    Washington City Paper
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    An attorney for Atalaya Capital Management, Curtis Krasik, sent this response to Washington Redskins general counsel David Donovan on Dec. 7, 2010.

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    Letter from Atalaya Capital Management Lawyer Curtis Krasik to Washington Redskins General Counsel David Donovan

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    An attorney for Atalaya Capital Management, Curtis Krasik, sent this response to Washington Redskins general counsel David Donovan on Dec. 7, 2010.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    10K views3 pages

    Letter From Atalaya Capital Management Lawyer Curtis Krasik To Washington Redskins General Counsel David Donovan

    Uploaded by

    Washington City Paper
    An attorney for Atalaya Capital Management, Curtis Krasik, sent this response to Washington Redskins general counsel David Donovan on Dec. 7, 2010.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
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    K&L|GATES atts 1 at ee 2M is Prag. a 65 9860 engine Curis B Kase _. December 7,2010 ‘BY FEDERAL EXPRESS and E-MAIL David P. Donovan ‘General Counsel ‘The Washington Redskins 21300 Redskin Park Drive ‘Ashburn, VA 20147 RE: Washington City Paper Dear Mr. Donovan: We have been retained as counsel to Atalaya Capital Management LP (“Atalaya”) and its afiiates in connection with the claims against the Washington City Paper that you asserted on behalf of Dan Snyder in your letter of November 24, 2010. ‘The Washington City Paper is a subsidiary company of Creative Loafing, Inc. Creative Loafing, Inc. isa portfolio company of funds managed by Atalaya, Atalaya has no direct involvement in the management ofthe Washington City Paper, let alone any ofits content, and until receiving your letter Atalaya had no direct or prior knowledge ofthe editorials whatsoever referenced in your letter. Despite these facs, we offer the following in response to your assertions and allegations on behalf of the Washington City Pape. ‘Your November 24 letters replete with baseless mischaracterizations ofthe ‘Washington Cty Paper column to which you principally refer "The Cranky Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder From A to 2 (or Zor, an encyclopedia of the owner's many filings” dated November 19, 2010 (the “Column’) ~as wel as demonstrably false statements of fact, and law. The purpose ofthis ltr is not to comect ech of your misstatements and mnscharaterizations but rater to assert the media's Fist Amendment ight to comment on public figuees (which your client undeniably is) and mates of pubic interest (nto which Your client voluntarily injected himself through his prominent ownership of the Washington Rodskins). ‘The Column plainly is a tongue-in-cheek opinion piece expressing fans’ frustration with your client's ownership ofthe Redskins. This is quintessential First Amendment- protccted speech. Indeed, te U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that “one ofthe prerogatives of American citizenship is the right to criticize public men and measures. Such K&L|GATES David P. Donovan December 7, 2010 Page? criticism, inevitably, will not always be reasoned or moderate; public figures as wel as public ‘officials will be subject to vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks,” Hustler Magazine v. Fabwell, 485 U'S. 46, $2 (1988) (intemal citations and quotations omitted). This fundamental right to eritcize public figures applies with particular force to the ‘media: “Constitutional protection of the press ‘reaches its apogee’ where the media reports ‘on important and controversial public issues." Philip Morris Cos, Inc. v. Am. Broad. Cos. ‘Inc., No, LX-816-3, 1994 WL 1031488, *7 (Va. Cit. Ct. Dec. 30, 1994), quoting Chapin v Knight Ridder, Inc, 93 F.2d 1087, 1092 (Ath Cit. 1993), In light ofthe broad Constitutional protection to which the Column is entitled, your claims are especially ill-advised and misguided. The apparent chief complains of your liter ate selfconcocted straw men based on material misrepresentations of the actual Column, Fist, there plainly was no anti-Semitic caricature of your client with horns. The caver illustration depicts a photograph of your client erudely defaced with devilish features ~ ‘complete with clearly-

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