Tim Deegan DUI arrest

[fsquid]

Usually the rule is that if one person is a direct report of the other one you have to tell HR.  No one usually tells unless someone gets engaged.  In that case, someone usually resigns before announcing that engagement anyways, so no paper work to be done.

[coredumped]

Well, adultery IS ILLEGAL in the state of Florida. However, if everyone is consenting it's a stupid law to enforce. There are many laws in many states which are old and out of date.^[1]

Back on topic - my only complaint is that is that it (the DUI) does not convey the brand that FCN/Gannett wants to put out. With that, they should have every right to fire him and it's up to them if they think he's valuable enough to do so. Like I said earlier, I never watch FCN, before or after this arrest - I think a refresh is in order.


^{[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adultery#United_States}

[Demosthenes]

Well, adultery IS ILLEGAL in the state of Florida. However, if everyone is consenting it's a stupid law to enforce. There are many laws in many states which are old and out of date.^[1]

Back on topic - my only complaint is that is that it (the DUI) does not convey the brand that FCN/Gannett wants to put out. With that, they should have every right to fire him and it's up to them if they think he's valuable enough to do so. Like I said earlier, I never watch FCN, before or after this arrest - I think a refresh is in order.


^{[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adultery#United_States}

I believe a settlement of no contest is not an admission if guilt. My suspicion is, with the settlement, thye no longer have grounds out right dismissal. I would say look for a demotion and a strong encourament by station management for him to resign.

Its all very unfortunate. I have met Tim a number of times. He is a good dude and really loves covering weather, but I guess decisions can have consequences.

[coredumped]

I believe a settlement of no contest is not an admission if guilt.

I'm no lawyer, but he was penalized, so he's guilty of something. Again, not a lawyer, but he broke some law in order for the court to issue a punishment.

Its all very unfortunate. I have met Tim a number of times. He is a good dude and really loves covering weather, but I guess decisions can have consequences.

I don't know if he's a good guy or not, everyone screws up, but from the article, he was more than just "buzzed" driving, he had open beers in his car. Everyone, sober or drunk, knows that's wrong. He's fortunate that it didn't turn out much worse. Losing your job isn't as bad as losing your life/freedom or someone elses life.

Again, everyone screws up, he made a bad choice and has to pay.

[AmyLynne]

If he admits to his employers that he has a problem and seeks treatment, would they look like total smucks for firing him?

[coredumped]

If he admits to his employers that he has a problem and seeks treatment, would they look like total smucks for firing him?

Hmm, good question. I had 1 employer that if you admitted you had a substance abuse problem and came to them they would pay for the treatment. However, if they caught you at work under the influence you would get canned.

[BridgeTroll]

Report from the Times Union:

First Coast News chief meteorologist Tim Deegan has resolved his driving-under-the-influence case by accepting 12 months' probation and agreeing to have his license suspended six months.
Attorney David Robbins, who represents Deegan, said the case was settled to everyone's satisfaction. Deegan pleaded no contest to the charge this week and will also have to perform 50 hours of community service, pay court costs of $1,031 and attend a DUI class.
"Throughout this ordeal Tim has been grateful for the outpouring of support from his family, friends and the viewing public," Robbins said.
Deegan was arrested last month in Jacksonville Beach. He has not been on the air since and it is unclear when, or if, he will return.
Eric Land, First Coast News president and general manager, declined to comment on Deegan's status Wednesday.
Robbins also declined to comment on Deegan's future.
During the Nov. 2 arrest, Deegan had three empty beer cans, an unopened beer and a half-full Budweiser under a ball cap in the console of his Jeep when he was pulled over about 7:15 p.m., according to his arrest report. He was stopped after passing through a four-way stop at Beach Boulevard and driving north on First Street,
His blood-alcohol level was .181 and .179, a police spokesman previously told the Times-Union. It's illegal to drive at .08.

Love the "declined to comment on Deegan's status Wednesday. Robbins also declined to comment on Deegan's future." Is it better to get a no comment or a "We are behind Tim 100%, he's our guy comment"?

Time will tell. FCN has had a lot of issues of late, Hicken, Deegan, maybe they should clean house and start over?

Tim and Donna should have been gone years ago after Donna and Tim got caught doing the horizontal mambo while they were both still married.

the horizontal mambo?

You do know that they are presently married to each other today, right?

Do you also think women should be kept indoors during their 'time'?

Or are you auditioning for the part of Mrs. Kravitz in a period remake of Bewitched?

They were caught having sex while they were still married to their former spouses.  If that isn't behavior that is unprofessional enough to get you fired I don't know what is.  The reason I would consider it unprofessional is because Dan, Donna's husband at the time was working at the station on the same newscast that both Donna and Tim were on.  Had Dan not been working for the station, I really wouldn't care what they did. 
All of my information is second hand so I won't go into details,  but I would consider the person who shared it with me to be credible.

Well I would consider the person to be a gossip. which many people consider as bad as adultery.

Sooo, if you repeat a unfavorable story that you heard about someone, that makes you a gossip, is that what you are saying?

Thats what it sounds like... but I'm sure we are mistaken... as that sort of thing is frowned upon here... as indicated above

[mtraininjax]

Scandal and juicy news on the pages of MetroJacksonville.....

[Dog Walker]

I think the point is, that there are all kind of faults and moral failings,  One person thinks that 'adultery' is scandalous, and another finds a gossip just as bad.

We are all fundamentally flawed creatures.  All of us.  It is hard enough to navigate our lives, and get through them with some sense of having had any meaning or happiness in our lives, without having to have a panel discussion about our relationships or the course of our love lives.

None of us know the dynamics of the relationships or emotions of these three people.  No one.  At best, you know part of the story, and are probably wrong about that.  Nothing good comes from this kind of speculation or loose gossip.  People's personal lives are really none of (y)our business and they are entitled to conduct and resolve them as they see fit.

Donna, Tim and Dan worked this out amongst themselves, and have made their own way without either your approval or your disapproval.

And I can't say that Im surprised that the same people who think we shouldn't concern ourselves about other people's poverty or health are some of the first to jump in on other people's personal love lives.

But then again, we are all fundamentally flawed creatures.  All of us.

Some obscure guy a long time ago said, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

[I-10east]

Tim Deegan files defamation suit against Action News Jax. Boy, if it aint one thing, it's another...

Jacksonville meteorologist Tim Deegan has filed suit against a local media network, citing defamation of character, after a story that featured his mugshot next to the headline, "Florida man kept three women as sex slaves, police say," ran on the organization's website.

Deegan, a meteorologist for First Coast News, is seeking damages in excess of $75,000. Although the story was accurate, the photo of the alleged offender was a different Timothy Deegan, a certified public accountant who lives in Gainesville.

The lawsuit filed, filed on Nov. 19, names Nexstar Broadcasting Inc, the parent company of Action News Jacksonville, as the defendant. The suit claims that Action News falsely identified Deegan as the person who had been "arrested and charged with some of the most despicable crimes and immoral conduct imaginable."

Deegan claims the publications have and continue to cause pecuniary damages, as well as mental suffering, including mental anguish, personal humiliation and injury to reputation.

In a response to the suit, the defandant says the story was published by Inergize Digital, a division of Nexstar that provides out-of-state content, and therefore was published on websites in other markets containing the same content.

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2014/12/04/tv-weatherman-tim-deegan-files-defamation-suit.html

[pierre]

I wonder if Dan Hicken could sue Deegan for "mental anguish and personal humiliation"?

[mtraininjax]

Well I would consider the person to be a gossip

Isn't that what MetroJacksonville consist of for the most part? 99% gossip and innuendos, with 1% cold hard journalism.

[exnewsman]

I really don't think that the Tim, Donna and Dan saga was/is anyone's business but theirs and their families. Speculating on what did or didn't happen is useless since nobody on MJ was actually there, nor does it serve any purpose. Like Stephen said, the three of them worked it out and are civil (as is the case with many families with kids involved).

Dan certainly didn't leave FCN because of Donna/Tim. It was purely business.

As for the lawsuit, how would you feel if your phone was attached to the name to the person who did those crimes. It was careless and lazy on the part of the online company. This was especially difficult coming off the embarrassing DUI mistake Tim had just dealt with. And it was wrong.

[Ocklawaha]

My car came equiped with 'auto-pilot.'

[KenFSU]

Jacksonville meteorologist Tim Deegan has filed suit against a local media network, citing defamation of character, after a story that featured his mugshot next to the headline, "Florida man kept three women as sex slaves, police say," ran on the organization's website.

Deegan, a meteorologist for First Coast News, is seeking damages in excess of $75,000. Although the story was accurate, the photo of the alleged offender was a different Timothy Deegan, a certified public accountant who lives in Gainesville.

The lawsuit filed, filed on Nov. 19, names Nexstar Broadcasting Inc, the parent company of Action News Jacksonville, as the defendant. The suit claims that Action News falsely identified Deegan as the person who had been "arrested and charged with some of the most despicable crimes and immoral conduct imaginable."

Deegan claims the publications have and continue to cause pecuniary damages, as well as mental suffering, including mental anguish, personal humiliation and injury to reputation.

In a response to the suit, the defandant says the story was published by Inergize Digital, a division of Nexstar that provides out-of-state content, and therefore was published on websites in other markets containing the same content.

Relevant:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2oxb7GoIdM

Poor guy probably couldn't show his face in public for years.