Media & Entertainment Law
Most of Roger Clemens Defamation Suit is Dismissed
Posted Feb 12, 2009, 04:04 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Finding that trainer Brian McNamee would have faced potential prosecution if he didn't cooperate with an investigation by Sen. George Mitchell on steroids use in Major League Baseball, a federal judge in Houston has dismissed most of the defamation suit filed against McNamee by star pitcher Roger Clemens.
Statements made by McNamee to Mitchell in the course of his investigation were privileged, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison decided today. And, because they were made in New York, by a New York resident (McNamee), they also eliminate Ellison's jurisdiction to hear much of the case, reports the Houston Chronicle.
A small portion of the lawsuit over the ex-trainer's claims that he injected Clemens with steroids and growth hormone remains alive, the newspaper notes. It concerns earlier statements that McNamee allegedly made outside of the Mitchell investigation, to pitcher Andy Pettitte.
However, in that portion of the complaint, Ellison ruled, more details are needed about what exactly was said and how Clemens was harmed.