Survival and Emergency Preparedness

Dual Survival Lawsuit Update: Defendants Discovery Channel, Brian Nashel, and Truly Original

Bad news. I lost my appeal. My lawsuit showed that Discovery executive Jennifer Williams repeatedly offered me more than $14,000 to falsely state that I quit Dual Survival. When I refused to lie to fans for Discovery Channel, they then created the defamatory episode to make me appear unstable. Why? Money. My lawsuit was written to show that they feared Dual Survival would be cancelled after they fired me.

When I filed my defamation and false light lawsuit, I assumed that the judicial system would hold both sides accountable to create a fair playing field and would value the facts. I was very wrong.

The 9th Circuit court of appeals and the Arizona district court showed me the following things regarding my case:
-Context does not matter (perhaps the most terrifying factor in this list).

-Evidence showing months of actual malice from the Defendants - some laced with profanity - of them plotting, editing and then celebrating their success in defaming me does not matter. (This evidence was so egregious that the Defendants’ attorneys threatened to sue me if I made it public.)
-The Defendants hiding more than 360 documents under the guise of “privilege” - evidence the judges never saw, yet dismissed anyway - does not matter.
-More than 110 fact disputes - most of which we disproved, and which are normally taken to trial to find the truth - does not matter.
-Discovery dubbing profanity into my mouth does not matter.
-Brian Nashel repeatedly lying under oath at his deposition does not matter.
-That the Defendants literally redacted parts of disclosed documents to hide their bad behavior - sometimes in the middle of a sentence - does not matter.

The 9th Circuits Order to dismiss my case was so short and vague that my attorneys wondered if they had even read the entire brief.
It gets worse. Fearing the facts, in August of 2018, the Defendants contacted us about a possible settlement. Both sides met in person to discuss settlement options on October 5, 2018. Incredibly, during this October 5 meeting, Discovery’s attorney suggested another option that they were considering. He said that in light of Discovery’s litigation costs, if they lost the summary judgment that they may just admit their liability and fight over damages! What would the judges who dismissed my case - judges Silver, Clifton, Owens, and Bennett - think, if they had known that the Defendants were considering admitting their guilt in defaming me? Embarrassment? Indifference?

This illustrates how absurd the legal system has become. As a friend later told me, it is a “legal system,” NOT a “justice system.”
Discovery’s actions are especially insulting as my lawsuit showed that they hired me to help clean up their mess caused by Man vs. Wild. In 2007 and 2008, Discovery received adverse publicity related to “survival expert” Bear Grylls and allegations of him faking his show. In 2009, Discovery executives told me that Dual Survival had to have “realism” and “competency” due to the fallout from the Man vs. Wild fiasco and the heavy damage it did to Discovery’s credibility in the survival show genre.

My lawsuit also showed that many people developed, edited, conspired, marketed and/or otherwise contributed to or supported my defamation. Un-honorable mentions to those most involved in creating the defamatory episode... Discovery executives Eileen O’Neill, Delores Gavin, Josh Berkley and, of course, Truly Original showrunner Brian Nashel.

It’s been a long road. Thank you all very much for your support. Here’s to better things in 2021 for all of us. Stay safe and true, Cody