 The suit was funded by grants from several conservative organizations, such as the Richard Mellon Scaife Foundation, the John M. Olin Foundation, and the Smith Richardson Foundation whose goals were to kill "CBS Reports" and turn back the 1964 "New York Times v. Sullivan" rule.CBS's defense was led by David Boies of the firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore.Westmoreland's case went to trial in October 1984.