Canada: Steelback Brewery president drops $2 mil libel lawsuit against blogger

The president of Steelback Brewery has dropped a $2-million lawsuit against an Ottawa-based blogger he claims libelled him on his sports website, Canadian Press reported July 3.

Neate Sager posted an apology last Friday on his website, Out of Left Field. Frank D'Angelo released a statement Tuesday saying he accepts Sager's apology, and as a result has stopped legal proceedings against him.

In the statement of claim, D'Angelo alleged Sager's comments posted on the blog - describing D' Angelo as a "huckster" and "two-bit shyster" - damaged his reputation and image.

The claim also said Sager called D'Angelo a "professional nuisance" and described his interest in acquiring the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins franchise as a "charade."

Sager, who also works as a copy editor at the Ottawa Sun, said in his apology that he realizes in hindsight that "some characterizations of Mr. D'Angelo crossed a line, although it was not intentional."

"No writer wants his or her name in the public spotlight for something of this nature," Sager wrote.

"A reasonable solution has been reached and we can get back to doing what we enjoy, which is talking about sports in a way that's potentially witty, sometimes irreverent and every so often, even grammatical."

04 July, 2007