Health Care Law Prac. 6. Crediting the Tatums' evidence as we must, we conclude that a reasonable factfinder could find that the column's gist was false. In our analysis of this question, we focus on DMN's second no-evidence ground and particularly the first requirement of 17.46(b)(24)that the defendant fail[ed] to disclose information concerning goods or services. Id. And those who did know were already aware of the confusion caused by the obituary. In the case at bar, appellees argue that the column was a fair report of findings by the Dallas Police Department and the medical examiner that Paul had committed suicide. This opinion should not be construed to hold that the column necessarily defamed the Tatums. The Tatums sued Julie Hersh in a separate lawsuit. Labor & Employment Law You can explore additional available newsletters here. See Civ. News: 1 day ago Tatum recorded 14 points (6-18 FG, 1-9 3Pt, 1-1 FT), nine assists, seven rebounds and one steal in 37 minutes before he was ejected from Monday's 109-94 loss to the Knicks. But the standards governing the law of defamation are not among them. 3. at 47. But in late 2015, the 5th District Court of Appeals ruled that the lawsuit could go forward. Civil Procedure at 10. But Tomaso and Sherrington were also deposed, and they both testified that they did not remember having a conversation with Blow about Paul's death. The court also dismissed DMN's counterclaim with prejudice. hbbd``b`@q?`]$^@' BD A:X %@b5$t.#'PFF 6 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. The column was privileged as a fair, true, and impartial account of official proceedings. I'm told there was a time when the word cancer was never mentioned. DMN counterclaimed for its attorneys' fees under the DTPA. Environmental Law Construction Law Id. We are not necessarily convinced that Knopf's first statement about Haynes was an unverifiable opinion. The Tatums construed the column to (i) accuse them of lying about the cause of Paul's death, (ii) state falsely that Paul committed suicide in a time of remorse over the accident, (iii) insinuate that Paul was mentally ill, and (iv) suggest that the Tatums were responsible for Paul's death and had done a disservice to others by failing to use his obituary as a platform to educate the world about mental illness and suicide. 5. After West's election, Thomson ran columns asserting that before the election West had opposed a proposal that the town should purchase a municipal power system, but that he changed his position after he was elected. Am. Id. That lawsuit was dismissed, and the Tatums appealed. Did the Tatums raise a genuine fact issue that DMN violated 17.46(b)(24)? There was also evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that a proper investigation would have revealed that the Tatums had a good faith belief that Paul's death was in fact caused by injuries sustained in a car accident. People who were familiar with the situation understood the column to refer to Paul and his parents. It has received nine Pulitzer Prizes since 1986, as well. Nonetheless, a journalist may not omit and juxtapose facts in such a way as to make the facts reported convey a false gist or meaning. There was a car crash, all right, but death came from a self-inflicted gunshot wound [page break] in a time of remorse afterward. WFAATV, Inc. v. McLemore, 978 S.W.2d 568, 571 (Tex.1998). THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. AND STEVE BLOW v. JOHN TATUM AND MARY ANN TATUM; from Dallas County; 5th Court of Appeals District (05-14-01017-CV, 493 SW3d 646, 12-30-15) V. THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. AND STEVE BLOW, Appellees . 219 0 obj <>stream See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61. The Dallas Morning News published the obituary on May 21, 2010. Texas Supreme Court dismisses defamation lawsuit against The Dallas Morning News John and Mary Ann Tatum, whose 17-year-old son shot himself, sued The News in 2011 alleging that a. Id. In that case, Milkovich sued Lorain for publishing an article that essentially accused him of perjury. Like a cat putting its nose to the wind, that curiosity is part of how we gauge the danger out there for ourselves and our loved ones. Rather, this case turns on the verifiability of the column's accusation of deception against the Tatums. Id. Appellees' summary judgment motion argued that they conclusively negated the element of actual malice, that the Tatums could produce no evidence of actual malice, and that the Tatums could produce no evidence of negligence if that standard applied. New York Times v. Sullivan-Alabama city commissioner sued NY Times -said an ad they published describing mistreatment of African American students had defamed him by implication-some of the statements in the ad were false or exaggerated, but those were small details Appellees made objections to the affidavits in the trial court, which the trial court overruled. For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that they did. In two of their cases, the court held that statements accusing someone of causing someone else to commit suicide were nonactionable opinions because the cause of a suicide is not objectively verifiable. Heritage Capital, LP v. Gonzalez, 436 S.W.3d 865, 875 (Tex.App.Dallas 2014, no pet. Consumer Law This case involves libel, which is a defamation expressed in written or other graphic form. There was no evidence the complained of act was committed in connection with the transaction.. By statute, a newspaper or other periodical enjoys a privilege against libel actions regarding the publication of certain matters, including (i) a fair, true, and impartial account of an official proceeding to administer the law, Civ. Find an Obituary. Antitrust 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). There was no evidence of actual malice. In this context, actual malice means knowledge of, or reckless disregard for, the falsity of a statement. All rights reserved. Appellees also direct us to Haynes v. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 8 F.3d 1222 (7th Cir.1993). Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among young people (ages 15 to 24) in this country. Id. West sued for defamation, he lost the case on summary judgment, and the case came before the Utah Supreme Court. dallas morning news v tatum oyezcash cars for sale memphis. We assume without deciding that the defamatory publication in this case generally involved a matter of public concern (preventing suicides), and the Tatums do not dispute that appellees are media defendants. Based on the record before us, we conclude that the Tatums were not limited-purpose public figures. We are unpersuaded by appellees' contrary arguments. Applying the Milkovich analysis and considering the accusations in context, the court held that the statements were actionable statements of fact. The case of Laird v. Tatum raised questions about the use of surveillance by the military and how it might affect the First. We may consult dictionaries to determine the generally accepted or commonly understood meaning of words. Listen, the last thing I want to do is put guilt on the family of suicide victims. The Tatums timely responded. Texas Supreme Court We have already concluded that a reasonable reader could conclude that the column presents a false gist about the Tatums. at *5. He was an excellent and popular student, an outstanding athlete, and had no history of mental illness. In cases not covered by these mandates, Texas has generally made truth an affirmative defense to defamation. Immigration Law For the above reasons, we conclude that a person of ordinary intelligence could construe the column to suggest that Paul suffered from mental illness and his parents failed to confront it honestly and timely, perhaps missing a chance to save his life. The column's headline was Shrouding suicide leaves its danger unaddressed. (Emphasis added). You're all set! We employ a three-part test to assess whether a plaintiff is a limited-purpose public figure: (1)the controversy at issue must be public both in the sense that people are discussing it and people other than the immediate participants in the controversy are likely to feel the impact of its resolution; (2)the plaintiff must have more than a trivial or tangential role in the controversy; and. The court can see if the press was covering the debate, reporting what people were saying and uncovering facts and theories to help the public formulate some judgment. They argue that the column is literally true because all its individual factual statements regarding the Tatums are true. The hypothetical person of ordinary intelligence is one who exercises care and prudence, but not omniscience, when evaluating an allegedly defamatory communication. b. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 70. Prac. (quoting Bell Publ'g Co. v. Garrett Eng'g Co., 170 S.W.2d 197, 204 (Tex.1943)). 2014, pet. In the interest of judicial economy, we consider all grounds presented to the trial court and preserved on appeal. See Gilbert Tex. But averting our eyes from the reality of suicide only puts more lives at risk. Specifically, the first affidavit is by Dr. Robert Cargill, who possesses a Ph.D. in bioengineering. Steve Blow is a columnist for The Dallas Morning News. More than 1,000 people attended Paul's funeral. Specifically, the following circumstantial evidence bears on, or could have affected, the Tatums' state of mind when they wrote the obituary and supports the verifiability of the column's gist: (i) the Tatums searched for answers to the question of why Paul did it; (ii) both Tatumsand we note that Mary Ann Tatum is a mental health professionaltestified that Paul had no history of mental illness associated with suicidal behavior; (iii) Paul left no suicide note; (iv) Paul's texts to friends after the accident made it seem that something had happened in the accident to change his state of mind; (v) the vehicle's condition made it seem probable that Paul hit his head in the accident; and (vi) the Tatums researched online and discovered that emerging scientific data links brain injury to suicidal behavior. Election Law Health Law Regardless, the statements involved in Haynes are not similar to the accusation of deception that we address here. Accordingly, neither a traditional nor a no-evidence summary judgment could properly be granted against the Tatums on the theory that the column was not about them. On that occasion, he said, he attempted to contact the author of one of the obituaries. Rhetorical hyperbole is extravagant exaggeration employed for rhetorical effect. IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS No. 051400951CV, 2015 WL 5156908, at *5, *8 (Tex.App.Dallas Aug. 28, 2015, pet. Neely v. Wilson, 418 S.W.3d 52, 59 (Tex.2013). Their traditional grounds were: The column was not of and concerning the Tatums. But the court went on to hold that "to the extent that the column states that the Tatums acted deceptively, it is true." A statement is defamatory if it tends to (i) injure a person's reputation, (ii) expose him to public hatred, contempt, ridicule, or financial injury, or (iii) impeach his honesty, integrity, or virtue. Landlord - Tenant hb```f``ra`a``b`@ r`@([E,X42+r3gpxp~bgecfag^l|%Y>6ZQSkGX{3`e.eVdXVPx\f;nx2_WaL) CpUR L@E QF 8+PH\~9 SY/01.dep|CG}jn@ Lkc |F | But the Tatums must prove actual malice to recover exemplary damages if the defamatory statement involved a matter of public concern (as opposed to a public controversy) and appellees are media defendants. We agree with the Tatums' second argument and thus do not address their first. We construe an allegedly defamatory publication as a whole in light of the surrounding circumstances and based on how a person of ordinary intelligence would perceive it. 051401318CV. The evidence also showed that their friends, recognizing that the column was about the Tatums, contacted them and told them about the column. at 72. But I don't think we should feel embarrassment at all. We do not consider the defamatory statement itself in determining whether the plaintiff is a public figure. The next seven paragraphs describe two recent occurrences meant to illustrate Blow's pointthe events surrounding the deaths of Ted Pillsbury and Paul Tatum. Blow's controversial practice of attacking obituaries. In their affidavits, both Tatums said that they would not have published the obituary as worded if they had known that DMN had someone on staff who had a history of criticizing obituaries like Steve Blow.. denied), further supports this conclusion. 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. Did appellees conclusively prove the official proceeding privilege? Real Estate Law It then denied rehearing on September 28, 2018 File Closed Opinions Issued Case Events Parties and Counsel Opinions May 11, 2018 Zoning, Planning & Land Use. Our decision in Backes v. Misko, No. The Tatums timely filed a second notice of appeal. C.Procedural History and Appellate Issues. 29, 2013), aff'd, 41 N.E.3d 38 (Mass.2015). View "Dallas Morning News, Inc. v. Tatum" on Justia Law. 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. To support their premise, appellees point to evidence that some people in the community were discussing Paul's suicide before the column was published. 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. Rather, we conclude only that it is capable of having that meaning. The evidence also included emails by Blow in which he said things like this: Please understand that the vast, vast majority of my readers had no inkling to the identity of the family. We long ago stated that it is the settled law of Texas, that a false statement of fact concerning a public officer, even if made in a discussion of matters of public concern, is not privileged as fair comment.. The column, captioned Shrouding suicide leaves its danger unaddressed, criticized people who are dishonest about loved ones' suicides. The Tatums sued both appellees for libel and libel per se. Applying Neely here, we conclude that a reasonable factfinder could find that the column's false gist, as discussed above, was more damaging to the Tatums' reputation than a hypothetical truthful account that acknowledged their claims that they reached a good faith conclusion about the cause of Paul's suicide and did not accuse them of deception. Prac. We therefore do not address whether those categories apply here. That is, as Neely illustrates, enough to raise a genuine fact issue on the fair comment privilege. In their second appellate issue, the Tatums contend that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment on their DTPA claims against DMN. For this privilege to apply, however, the law requires that the comment at issue purported to be, and was, only a fair, true and impartial report of what was stated at the meeting, regardless of whether the facts under discussion at such meeting were in fact true, unless the report was made with malice. Denton Publ'g Co., 460 S.W.2d at 883. Reckless disregard means that the publisher entertained serious doubts about the publication's truth or had a high degree of awareness of the publication's probable falsity. Did appellees establish as a matter of law that the column is privileged as a fair account of official proceedings or as a fair comment on a matter of public concern? Some obituary readers tell me they feel guilty for having such curiosity about how people died. They also argue that the description of Paul as popular is inconsistent with an imputation of mental illness, as is the assertion that he committed suicide in a time of remorse after a car crash. Mack Trucks, Inc. v. Tamez, 206 S.W.3d 572, 582 (Tex.2006). Speech deals with matters of public concern when it can be fairly considered as relating to any matter of political, social, or other concern to the community or when it is a subject of legitimate news interest; that is, a subject of general interest and of value and concern to the public Snyder v. Phelps, 562 U.S. 443, 453 (2011) (internal quotations and citations omitted). Similarly, the evidence here supports a reasonable inference that some people who read the column knew that it was about the Tatums. In two appellate issues, the Tatums urge that the trial court erred in granting the summary judgment dismissing their libel and DTPA claims. 5. c.Was the column's gist substantially true? Contracts Because the evidence raises a genuine fact issue that the column's gist was neither true nor substantially true, appellees' traditional and no-evidence summary judgment grounds addressing truth and substantial truth cannot support the trial court's judgment. As the Tatums urge, the service they bought was Paul's obituary. Supreme Court of Texas. See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61. The summary judgment evidence conflicts on certain points regarding the newspaper's investigation into Paul's death and the manner in which Blow learned about the immediate cause of Paul's death. Education Law Appellees make a threshold argument that the Tatums must satisfy the standard for libel per se because they did not plead or prove libel per quod or special damages. That night, Paul was involved in a one-car automobile accident. Phila. pending). 13, 2015, pet. The Tatums, however, present several responsive arguments, including that the column is not an account of official proceedings at all. Rather, the Tatums contend that DMN should have disclosed that its columnist, Blow, had previously written columns critical of obituaries that had appeared in the newspaper. Learn more about FindLaws newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. Appellees asserted several summary judgment grounds. Mack Trucks, Inc., 8 F.3d 1222 ( 7th Cir.1993 ) v. Alfred A. Knopf, v.... Readers tell me they feel guilty for having such curiosity about how people died dismissed! Did know were already aware of the column necessarily defamed the Tatums of.... Care and prudence, but not omniscience, when evaluating an allegedly defamatory communication Utah Supreme court n't! We do not address whether those categories apply here all its individual statements... 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