9/11 – An appeals court has revived a defamation lawsuit against CNN over reports about deaths of children at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Palm Beach County. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling that had granted summary judgment to CNN, allowing the case filed by pediatric heart surgeon Dr. Michael D. Black to proceed to trial.

The lawsuit stems from 2015 CNN reports claiming the hospital’s pediatric open-heart surgery program had a mortality rate more than three times the national average. Black, who led the program, argues the reports falsely implied his performance caused deaths and that CNN’s calculations were misleading because they weren’t risk-adjusted.

Chief Judge Jeffrey Kuntz, joined by Judge Spencer Levine, wrote that while the court offered no view on the merits, Black presented sufficient evidence for a jury to potentially rule in his favor. Judge Alan Forst filed a concurring opinion.