Nebraska court upholds dismissal of tanning salons’ lawsuit

OMAHA - The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a group of tanning salon owners, who had claimed the Nebraska Cancer Coalition had defamed them and hurt their businesses with an anti-indoor tanning message.

The business owners, who operated some 30 tanning salons, sued in 2015 after the coalition launched its quote “The Bed is Dead” campaign, which includes a website and ads that link tanning bed use to skin cancer.

The lawsuit says the campaign not only defamed the salons, but violated a state deceptive trade practices law.

In the decision Friday, a Douglas County District Court judged noted that a defamation claim requires quote “more than general, industry-wide allegations.”