There has been no shortage of controversies and rumors this election season, but the issues surrounding one particular allegation about President-Elect Donald Trump that was recently circulated on BuzzFeed drag out an old Parkesburg court case.

Depending on the situation, news organizations aren’t always protected from reporting on rumors that turn out to be false.

That’s the lesson learned from an April 20, 1995 article in the Daily Local News that republished false allegations made by Parkesburg Borough Councilman William T. Glenn Sr. against Council President James B. Norton III and Parkesburg Mayor Alan M. Wolfe, according to a report in The Washington Post by Eugene Volokh.

At issue then was whether the press enjoyed a First Amendment-related protection, called the neutral reportage privilege, in cases where serious charges are brought by a responsible, prominent source. The lower courts thought so, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed and allowed the Norton v. Glenn lawsuit in 2004; the parties ultimately settled privately.

Read more about the Parkesburg case and how it might apply to the rumors against Trump in The Washington Post here.