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Extracted Text (OCR)
Case 18-2868, Document 276, 08/09/2019, 2628224, Page47 of 77
366 (S.D.N.Y.1998) (quoting Fleckenstein v. Friedman, 193 N.E. 537, 538 (1934)))). Indeed, it
is well settled in New York “that an alleged libel is not actionable if the published statement
could have produced no worse an effect on the mind of a reader than the truth pertinent to the
allegation.” /d. (internal quotations omitted). “When the truth is so near to the facts as published
that fine and shaded distinctions must be drawn and words pressed out of their ordinary usage to
sustain a charge of libel, no legal harm has been done.” Fleckenstein, 193 N.E. at 538.
For the reasons articulated in Argument VI, the January 2015 statement is substantially
true as matter of law.
VI. Plaintiff cannot establish actual malice by clear and convincing evidence.
A. Facts.
The following numbered facts are not in dispute and are sequentially numbered following
the undisputed facts cited earlier. See This Motion at {§ 1-36.
37. Plaintiff lived independently from her parents with her fiancé long before
meeting Epstein or Ms. Maxwell. After leaving the Growing Together drug rehabilitation
facility in 1999, plaintiff moved in with the family of a fellow patient. EXHIBIT L at 7-8, 12-14.
There she met, and became engaged to, her friend’s brother, James Michael Austrich. Jd. & at
19. She and Austrich thereafter rented an apartment in the Ft. Lauderdale area with another
friend and both worked at various jobs in that area. Jd. at 11, 13-17. Later, they stayed briefly
with plaintiff's parents in the Palm Beach/Loxahatchee, Florida area before Austrich rented an
apartment for the couple on Bent Oak Drive in Royal Palm Beach. /d. at 17, 19, 25-27; EXHIBIT
M. Although plaintiff agreed to marry Austrich, she never had any intention of doing so. EXHIBIT
N at 127-128.
38. Plaintiff re-enrolled in high school from June 21, 2000 until March 7, 2002.
After finishing the g” grade school year at Forest Hills High School on June 9, 1999, plaintiff re-
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Document Details
| Filename | DocumentCloud_Epstein_Docs_p00096.png |
| File Size | 295.1 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.2% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,024 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-04 12:22:31.375836 |