A federal judge in New Jersey has dismissed a defamation suit by members of the Ramapough Mountain Indians who claimed their tribe was falsely portrayed in a recent film as lawless, violent, impoverished and drug-addicted inbreeds.
The 17 plaintiffs were not specifically mentioned in the film, “Out of the Furnace,” and the tribe, based in New Jersey and New York, failed to show their case is entitled to an exception to the doctrine of group libel, U.S. District Judge William Walls ruled in DeGroat v. Cooper.
