John Oliver, HBO lose court round to coal exec Bob Murray in defamation case

Appalachian coal magnate Bob Murray on Friday won a pair of legal victories in lawsuits against HBO comedian John Oliver and the New York Times over their portrayal of his coal business.

A federal district court judge in West Virginia denied the newspaper’s request to throw out Murray’s defamation lawsuit against it. The judge also agreed with Murray that the HBO case be sent to a lower state court for review after HBO successfully motioned that the litigation be heard in federal court.