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Kolodziej v. Mason
Citation:
774 F.3d 736 (11th Cir. 2014)Facts
James Cheney Mason represented Nelson Serrano in a highly publicized capital murder trial. During an interview with NBC News, Mason challenged the prosecution’s timeline of events, which alleged that Serrano committed murders in Florida while supposedly being in Georgia. The prosecution claimed Serrano could travel from Atlanta’s airport to a La Quinta hotel in 28 minutes. In the interview, Mason stated, “I challenge anybody to show me, and guess what? Did they bring in any evidence to say that somebody made that route, did so? State’s burden of proof. If they can do it, I’ll challenge ’em. I’ll pay them a million dollars if they can do it.” NBC later aired an edited version on “Dateline” that removed much of the surrounding commentary, making Mason’s statement appear as: “I challenge anybody to show me — I’ll pay them a million dollars if they can do it.” Kolodziej, a law student who saw the broadcast, interpreted this as a serious offer to form a unilateral contract. He recorded himself completing what he believed was the challenged route within the 28-minute timeframe and demanded payment from Mason, who refused, stating he had not made a serious offer.
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