Chalk it up as a win for Journalism.... 

A Tennesee District Attorney is suing  WTVF (Nashville) Reporter Phil Williams for $200 million bucks. 

District Attorney General Glenn Funk claims that Williams and the station acted with actual malice — a reckless disregard for the truth — in publishing stories about him. 

He demanded that Williams turn over his notes and documents used for the stories on Funk. 

But, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has reversed an order that would have required Williams to turn over the documents.

The Tennesseean reports that Williams via his lawyer, Ron Harris, argued that news gathering privileges for journalists prevented Funk from pushing for the release of reporting documents. Acree said those privileges did not apply, citing an exception in Tennessee's shield law in defamation cases.

Williams and the station's parent company, Scripps Media Inc., sought an appeal, which was granted in a decision released Thursday.

In an opinion written by Court of Appeals Judge Andy Bennett, the court found "Mr. Funk cannot defeat the (reporting) privilege by presenting evidence of actual malice, and the Defendants are not required to show an absence of actual malice in asserting the privilege."

The libel suit stems from two February 2016 reports from Williams about Funk's deal with prominent developer David Chase. The reports included documents in which Chase said he felt blackmailed. Funk sued that month.

Decisions from the Court of Appeals can be appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court. It was initially unclear if Funk's attorneys would move to do so.

H/T The Tennesseean