Rockets of Litigation Continue to Burst at Newsweek Despite CEO Dev Pragad's Desperate Declaration of Shareholder Independence

Rockets of Litigation Continue to Burst at Newsweek Despite CEO Dev Pragad's Desperate Declaration of Shareholder Independence Getty Images

On the eve of Independence Day, Newsweek trumpeted the end of its "long spell of turmoil." But what were meant to be victory fireworks from a press release declaring the resolution of all litigation turned out instead to be duds -- Newsweek continues to feel the heat from an existential court challenge that claims Newsweek rightfully belongs to the International Business Times.

OWNERSHIP OF NEWSWEEK DISPUTED IN COURT

What Newsweek characterizes as a resolution between the two shareholders of its holding company appears to be a purely pragmatic move to avoid escalating legal fees between them. In no way does it resolve the fact that International Business Times has made a credible claim of ownership over Newsweek, and that lawsuit continues.

This is borne out by the fact that an appeal was filed by International Business Times in the New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division on June 29, 2023 -- the same day that Newsweek's recent declaration was published.

If this legal challenge prevails in court, Newsweek would revert back to International Business Times' ownership, and the two current "shareholders" would be corporate owners of what amounts to an empty shell.

HOW THE DISPUTE BEGAN

The background of this matter was Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad's claim to be the owner and self-proclaimed "savior" of Newsweek, whereas International Business Times was the original parent company and owner of Newsweek.

According to court filings, Mr. Pragad has made representations that he purchased Newsweek from International Business Times. But the transaction's validity has been challenged by International Business Times, which argues that it is the rightful parent company of Newsweek, and therefore the ownership should be returned to its original state under International Business Times.

MR. PRAGAD'S THREATS AND LAWSUITS

During the past two years, to protect his self-interest in this shareholder conflict, Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad made threats against associates of his fellow shareholder, Johnathan Davis. The majority of these threats were carried out against Olivet University, an accredited Christian higher education institution, through a series of Newsweek articles attacking the school in what sources say are unethical ways. This was done because Mr. Davis was at that time associated with the university, where his wife formerly worked as the president.

Mr. Pragad further escalated this dispute by filing a $30 million lawsuit against International Business Times, naming Olivet University and the Olivet church as co-defendants, and peppering the filing with religious language having nothing to do with the dispute. The purpose for bringing religion into the dispute was to try to bias the court by introducing religiously discriminatory language against Christians.

However, Mr. Pragad's efforts to bias the court with religious language failed when his lawsuit against International Business Times was dismissed in New York Court on December 29, 2022. Mr. Pragad's lawsuit against Olivet University and the Olivet church was dismissed in New York Court on February 2, 2023. And Mr. Pragad's effort to appeal this ruling was rejected by the Appellate Court on June 15, 2023.

MR. PRAGAD'S LAWSUIT AGAINST MR. DAVIS FIZZLED

Mr. Pragad had named Mr. Davis as a co-defendant in his lawsuit. At the same time, a sudden barrage of attack articles from Newsweek against Olivet University and the Olivet church were written under the premise that religion underpinned this shareholder dispute.

These attack articles were written due to Mr. Pragad's false assertion that the university and the church controlled Mr. Davis. But the fact that Mr. Davis is not currently associated with Olivet University nor its associates in any way shows that this dispute had nothing to do with religion in the first place.

Mr. Pragad was completely wrong. Therefore, the entire logic of Mr. Pragad's lawsuit was broken, and he had no choice but to end the lawsuit between himself and Mr. Davis.

SHAREHOLDER "RESOLUTION" EXPOSES CONTRADICTIONS

The recent "resolution" at Newsweek also highlights the deep contradictions between Newsweek's articles and the real-life facts. In the past, the magazine has attempted to falsely portray Olivet University and its associates as coercive organizations. But its recent article states that its shareholder, Mr. Davis, has left the Olivet church by his own volition. How do these two facts square with each other? It appears that Newsweek has been lying about the Olivet church all along. As one alumnus of the university stated, contrary to Newsweek's mischaracterizations: "People may come and go at anytime freely."

Furthermore, it is quite odd that Newsweek did not respond to a request for comment from its own writers. Neither did Mr. Davis nor his wife respond to Newsweek, which implies something opposite from the harmony that Newsweek's writers are trying desperately to project. The shareholder "resolution" is short on details and raises more questions than answers. And as the legal counsel for International Business Times pointed out, any agreement would require court approval, which is far from certain.

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CHRISTIANS

Other than that, Newsweek's article contains the familiar slew of discriminatory and false statements. The article mischaracterizes a recent site visit by California state's education licensing agency to Olivet University as a "raid" (documents confirm that Newsweek writer Naveed Jamali was personally involved in instigating this visit). Newsweek also mischaracterizes Olivet University, a legitimate Christian organization, as a "sect."

Additionally, the writers falsely claim that Olivet University has been "closed or put under review" by six states, when in fact the university is in good standing. In a shocking breach of journalistic ethics, the writers of the article themselves incited state education agencies to shut down the university but ultimately failed, since the university withstood all these unwarranted challenges. None of this was disclosed by the article writers.

NEWSWEEK'S TURMOIL JUST BEGINNING

The fireworks Newsweek hoped would light up the sky have instead flown in their own faces. Newsweek's press release claimed independence from Olivet University litigation only one day before the university filed a defamation lawsuit against Newsweek and its Editor-at-Large Naveed Jamali on June 30, 2023. The lawsuit claims that Newsweek and its Pakistani-origin writer Jamali defamed Olivet University by writing that the school pleaded guilty to "money laundering," which the school did not do, according to public court filings reviewed by this journalist. The lawsuit claims Jamali knew or should have known the untruth of what he wrote, and recklessly disregarded reasonable journalistic standards in his malicious act of so-called reporting. The outcome of this lawsuit may be a revelation to the public about the journalistic ethics at Newsweek, or lack thereof.

As Newsweek faces ever more serious lawsuits and a challenge over the legitimacy of its ownership, it would do well to avoid actions that backfire into further liability upon itself. Far from a resolution and "end of turmoil," the troubles for Newsweek appear to be exploding into the open more furiously than the grand finale of a July 4th fireworks extravaganza.