And, for a matter to be a public controversy, its resolution must affect people beyond its immediate participants. Government Contracts Established in 1885, The Dallas Morning News is Texas' leading newspaper and the flagship newspaper subsidiary of DallasNews Corporation. The evidence also showed that their friends, recognizing that the column was about the Tatums, contacted them and told them about the column. 13, 2015, pet. Think of how much more attention we pay to the latter. We must take evidence favorable to the nonmovant as true, and we must indulge every reasonable inference and resolve every doubt in the nonmovant's favor. Appellees' contrary argument fails on the first prong we referenced abovethe existence of a public controversy for the Tatums to participate in. Although appellees contend that the column's gist does not include any comment on the Tatums' character or their actions, we disagree. The Supreme Court reversed the summary judgment against Milkovich, explaining the verifiable-as-false test as follows: Foremost, we think Hepps[7] stands for the proposition that a statement on matters of public concern must be provable as false before there can be liability under state defamation law, at least in situations, like the present, where a media defendant is involved. Texas Supreme Court What is the column's gist regarding the Tatums? In this libel-by-implication case, a column written by Steve Blow and published by The Dallas Morning News (collectively, Petitioners) was reasonably capable of meaning that John and Mary Ann Tatum acted deceptively and that the accusation of deception was reasonably capable of defaming the Tatums. As to the Tatums' first point, we agree that the column is capable of a defamatory meaning about them because a person of ordinary intelligence could read the column to accuse the Tatums of deception about the cause of Paul's death and a statement is defamatory if it impeaches a person's honesty or integrity. 12, 2007, pet. Id. To accuse someone of deception is to impeach his or her honesty and integrity. 73.001. Id. Immigration Law This is some evidence of actual malice. The email address cannot be subscribed. Obituaries Section. The 2010 column, Shrouding suicide leaves its danger unaddressed, urged the public to talk more openly about suicide. See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 63. Backes, 2015 WL 1138258, at *14. The Tatums' friend Lee Simpson testified by affidavit that he was contacted by Tomaso about Paul's death and that Tomaso did not ask him whether the Tatum family wanted to be contacted. at 1019. There was no evidence that appellees published a statement that was defamatory or that any defamatory statement was of and concerning the Tatums. The trial court granted appellees' amended summary judgment motion, and the Tatums timely filed a notice of appeal. Disposal Sys. Do you think that might be important for parents to understand? I think it's part of our survival mechanism. See id. A. Calling someone a liar and accusing someone of perjury, as occurred in those cases, both implicate the person's mental state, because both liar and perjury denote the willful telling of an untruth. The court also dismissed DMN's counterclaim with prejudice. at 122627. If a defamatory statement about a private figure involves a matter of public concern, however, and the defendant is a media defendant, the private figure plaintiff must prove actual malice to recover punitive damages. Fifth District of Texas at Dallas . The evidence shows that DMN published Paul's obituary, and the Tatums do not allege that the obituary itself did not conform to their order. To be actionable defamation, a statement must be a statement of verifiable fact rather than opinion. O. dallas morning news v tatum oyezsims 4 university homework cheat. No. Bentley, 94 S.W.3d at 591. Blow, who did not contact the Tatums before writing his column, called for the public to more openly discuss mental illness, which is often a factor in suicides. Commercial Law Employment Law Austin v. Inet Techs., Inc., 118 S.W.3d 491, 496 (Tex.App.Dallas 2003, no pet.). denied) (objection that opinions are speculative can be raised for the first time on appeal). Because the evidence in Neely raised a genuine fact issue as to whether a news broadcast was substantially true, the court held that the defendants were not entitled to summary judgment based on the fair comment privilege. (A public controversy is not simply a matter of interest to the public; it must be a real dispute, the outcome of which affects the general public or some segment of it in an appreciable way.). court opinions. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 70. The trial court later lifted the stay and again rendered a take-nothing summary judgment against the Tatums. Hepps ensures that a statement of opinion relating to matters of public concern which does not contain a provably false factual connotation will receive full constitutional protection. Antitrust & Trade Regulation In re Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d at 596. We have already concluded that a reasonable reader could conclude that the column presents a false gist about the Tatums. c.Did the Tatums raise a genuine fact issue as to negligence and actual malice? %PDF-1.5 % We conclude only that a reasonable factfinder could conclude that this is the column's gist, and this opinion should not be construed to hold that this is necessarily the column's gist. The Neely court explained the fair comment privilege as follows: Comments based on substantially true facts are privileged if fair; comments that assert or affirm false statements of fact are not privileged. 1. We also conclude that the evidence raises a genuine fact issue as to actual malice. The Tatums argue that an accusation of deception is verifiable and therefore actionable, while appellees argue that it is not. Specifically, the Tatums produced evidence that Blow did not contact them to determine the basis for their choice of words in Paul's obituary, and that this failure to contact them was a breach of journalistic standards and the newspaper's own policies. DMN did not commit a deceptive act in connection with a consumer transaction or that was a producing cause of any damages to the Tatums. We are not persuaded by appellees' characterization of the column as nonactionable rhetorical hyperbole. New Times, Inc. v. Isaacks, 146 S.W.3d 144, 157 (Tex.2004). We remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. The Tatums timely responded. Appellees also argue that there is no evidence to support the Tatums' theory that a brain injury made Paul suicidal. We perceive no extravagant exaggeration in the column. Bankruptcy Juvenile Law a. Admiralty & Maritime Law We determine substantial truth by assessing the publication's gist. See id. Blow testified that he did not review any documents regarding Paul's death or the car accident earlier that night, did not interview anyone with the Dallas Police Department or the medical examiner's office, and did not attempt to contact the Tatums before drafting the column. Our work has been recognized with nine Pulitzer Priz Location & Hours 1954 Commerce St Dallas, TX 75201 One was an email to Blow in which the author wrote, He [Paul] was a popular and accomplished young man and many people understood to whom you referred.. The Tatums' attorney, Joe Sibley, said he could not comment since The News was a party to the lawsuit. See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 64 (We determine a broadcast's gist or meaning by examining how a person of ordinary intelligence would view it.) (footnote omitted). 17.50(a)(1)(A)(B). More than 1,000 people attended Paul's funeral. Julie recently wrote a blog item titled Don't omit from the obit, urging more openness about suicide as a cause of death. Appellees argue that a public controversy existed over the official cause of Paul's death. 1992, writ dism'd w.o.j.) Court. [1] The Dallas woman first went public with her story of depression and suicide attempts in my column three years ago. The column's gist is not simply that the Tatums omitted the fact that Paul committed suicide from the obituary. Are the Tatums limited-purpose public figures? Moreover, a public figure must prove actual malice by clear and convincing evidence. This case involves libel, which is a defamation expressed in written or other graphic form. Newspapers, Inc. v. Matthews, 339 S.W.2d 890, 893 (Tex.1960). Communications Law We conclude that the evidence raised a genuine fact issue as to negligence. Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps, 475 U.S. 767 (1986). In short, there must first be a controversy before it can be a public one. 73.001. In this libel-by-implication case, a column written by Steve Blow and published by The Dallas Morning News (collectively, Petitioners) was reasonably capable of meaning that John and Mary Ann Tatum ac. A reasonable juror could conclude that Blow was not honest when he testified about the sources of his information about Paul's death. Appellees also direct us to Haynes v. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 8 F.3d 1222 (7th Cir.1993). Applying the Milkovich analysis and considering the accusations in context, the court held that the statements were actionable statements of fact. Appellees also assert that the obituary's omission of Paul's suicide shows that it was in fact a deception. But as discussed above, deception implies intent to deceive, and the Tatums raised a genuine fact issue as to whether they had such an intent. And for us, there the matter ended. Legal Ethics Bus. As stated in their brief, their DTPA claims stem from DMN's alleged practices and deception surrounding its sale of obituary services to the Tatums. They argue that the information DMN failed to disclose was Mr. To the extent a negligence standard applies, there was no evidence of negligence. And the gist includes an implication that the Tatums' motive for deceiving readers was to conceal that Paul had suffered from a mental illness that the Tatums failed to confront. See McConnell v. Southside Indep. Id. Under Supreme Court precedents, a defamation plaintiff must prove that the defendant acted with actual malice if the plaintiff is a public official, a public figure, or a limited-purpose public figure. 73.002(b)(2). Education Law Energy, Oil & Gas Law We are unpersuaded. At FindLaw.com, we pride ourselves on being the number one source of free legal information and resources on the web. Am. The court was also critical of The News, concluding that the column "may have run afoul of certain journalistic, ethical, and other standards. See Zerangue v. TSP Newspapers, Inc., 814 F.2d 1066, 107071 (5th Cir.1987) (courts have upheld actual malice findings when the supposed source of the story disclaimed giving the information); see also Celle v. Filipino Reporter Enter., Inc., 209 F.3d 163, 190 (2d Cir.2000) (defendant's self-contradictory testimony about the source of his information supported actual malice finding). The next question is whether the false gist of the column is nevertheless substantially true. If, as concerns the present case, the plaintiff is a private individual rather than a public official or public figure, the elements of defamation are: (1) the defendant published a statement, (2) the statement was defamatory concerning the plaintiff, and (3) the defendant acted with negligence regarding the statement's truth.2 Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61; WFAATV, Inc. v. McLemore, 978 S.W.2d 568, 571 (Tex.1998). The above parts alone could cause a person of ordinary intelligence to read the column as accusing the Tatums of deceit by writing an obituary that stated a false cause of Paul's death and concealed the true cause of his death (for their own self-benefit and to the detriment of society as a whole). That appeal is also being decided today, John Tatum and Mary Ann Tatum v. Julie Hersh, No. The distance between the column's discussion of Paul's case and its discussion of mental illness is not so great that a reader of ordinary intelligence could not connect the two, and the closing exhortation for frank discussion, timely intervention, and honesty tends to tie the end of the column back to the two specific illustrations of deception. Saying someone is popular is not inconsistent with the premise that he is mentally ill, nor is asserting that someone committed suicide out of remorse over a car crash inconsistent with the premise that he was mentally ill. Because we conclude that the column is capable of a defamatory meaning, there is at least a fact issue regarding this element, and appellees' traditional and no-evidence grounds attacking that element cannot support the trial court's judgment.4. 4. Injury Law Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. Did appellees conclusively prove the fair comment privilege? 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