Federal Judge Orinda Evans. (Zach Porter/Daily Report)

A libel case against CNN stemming from the cable network’s investigation of children’s deaths at a Florida hospital will go forward, after an Atlanta federal judge found that the hospital’s former CEO has presented enough evidence at this early stage of the case to suggest that CNN “was acting recklessly with regard to the accuracy of its reporting.”

In a one-two punch that marked a clear win for plaintiff Davide Carbone, the former CEO of St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, and his attorney, Atlanta lawyer L. Lin Wood, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Orinda Evans also rejected arguments by CNN and several Georgia media organizations that the libel suit violated the state’s anti-SLAPP statute and should be dismissed.