Iowa subscriber seeks to revive fraud suit over 2024 poll miss
An Iowa man asked an appellate panel to revive his consumer-fraud class action against the Des Moines Register and pollster J. Ann Selzer over a 2024 poll that missed the election result by 16 points.
Dennis Donnelly, an Iowa subscriber, petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to overturn the dismissal of his consumer-fraud class action against the Des Moines Register and pollster J. Ann Selzer. The lawsuit contends the newspaper’s 2024 poll, which predicted Donald Trump would lose Iowa by three points, was off by 16 points after Trump won the state by more than 13. A district court had thrown out the case, invoking the actual-malice standard from New York Times v. Sullivan that shields press reporting.
During oral arguments in St. Louis, Center for American Rights attorney Daniel R. Suhr argued that publishing a poll with such a low probability of accuracy suggested reckless doubt, while Foundation for Individual Rights lawyer Robert Corn-Revere warned that accepting the claim would let any subscriber sue media for perceived bias. The panel, composed of Judges Steven Colloton, Lavenski R. Smith and Justin D. Smith, declined to set a decision date, leaving the legal question unresolved.
Why it matters
The case tests the limits of suing media for inaccurate polling under First Amendment protections.
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