Add . Juvenile Law The column's gist is not simply that the Tatums omitted the fact that Paul committed suicide from the obituary. Appellees, however, counter that no ordinary reader would think the column defames the Tatums. We sustain the Tatums' first issue. See Waste Mgmt. The Tatums assert two appellate issues: (1) The trial court erred by granting summary judgment on their libel claims; and (2) the trial court erred by granting summary judgment on their DTPA claims. Environmental Law Did appellees conclusively prove the official proceeding privilege? He made his way home from the accident scene and began drinking champagne. He reviewed black box recorder data from the Tatums' vehicle that was involved in the accident, reviewed photographs of the vehicle, and interviewed the person who inspected the vehicle after the accident. In that case, Dr. Neely was disciplined for self-prescribing medications, but a news broadcast about him could reasonably have been understood to report that he was actually disciplined for operating on patients while using dangerous drugs or controlled substances. But the Tatums adduced evidence of more than a mere negligent investigation. (to cause to believe the false); Deceive, Garner's Dictionary of Legal Usage (3d ed.2011) (to induce someone to believe in a falsehood); Deceive, The New Oxford American Dictionary (2001) (cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage).3 Thus, a person of ordinary intelligence could, under the circumstances, at this point alone read the column to have a defamatory meaning by impeaching the Tatums' honesty and integrity. Are the Tatums limited-purpose public figures? Thus, there is evidence that Blow did not investigate this column with the same thoroughness that he did for a previous column and that his explanation for the difference was not true. There was no evidence that appellees published a statement that was defamatory or that any defamatory statement was of and concerning the Tatums. 3. 6. 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. The Dallas Morning News published the obituary on May 21, 2010. When one of my colleagues began to inquire, thinking the death deserved news coverage, it turned out to have been a suicide. Anderton v. Cawley, 378 S.W.3d 38, 46 (Tex.App.Dallas 2012, no pet.). Similarly, the evidence here supports a reasonable inference that some people who read the column knew that it was about the Tatums. These affidavits create a reasonable inference that persons who knew the Tatums also knew that the column referred to them. The Dallas Morning News is an independent paper positioned for growth. Products Liability Arbitration & Mediation Herald, Inc., No. The Tatums argue that the service at issue is publishing the obituary. The column was privileged as a fair, true, and impartial account of official proceedings. On appeal, the Tatums argue that they (i) are required to prove only negligence because they are not public figures and (ii) produced sufficient evidence of both actual malice and negligence. Prac. Benjamin has a Bachelors in philosophy and a Master's in humanities. As to whether Blow misrepresented his investigation and the sources of his information, Blow testified by deposition that he learned the information about Paul's death that he used in his column from one of his colleagues at DMN. Appellees argue that the column is a fair comment on a matter of public concern, specifically society's tendency to avoid open discussion of suicide and how that leaves its dangers underestimated. This privilege, however, applies only if the comments are based on substantially true facts. Appellees' contrary argument fails on the first prong we referenced abovethe existence of a public controversy for the Tatums to participate in. Prac. Civil Rights More than 1,000 people attended Paul's funeral. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. But, here he did not attempt to contact the Tatums before publishing the column at issue in this case. Sympathy Ideas. Additionally, the summary judgment evidence established that the Tatums were out of town the day the column was published. I think it's part of our survival mechanism. Finally, the Tatums point to their minister's testimony that he called Blow to express his concerns about the column and that Blow's first response was, Did I get my facts right?. Do you think that might be important for parents to understand? A publication's gist is its main point, material part, or essence, as perceived by a reasonable person. ERISA Tatum, Terry Wayne Terry Wayne Tatum, 61, of Terrell, celebrated his birthday into heaven on April 21, 2014, after a tragic accident while at work. 4. 1. 051401318CV. Whether a publication is capable of a defamatory meaning is initially a question for the court. See Civ. The column purported to support this gist with the factual assertion that Paul committed suicide out of remorse, implicitly calling the obituary's statement that Paul died as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident a lie. On Appeal from the 68th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. See Hancock v. Variyam, 400 S.W.3d 59, 64 (Tex.2013) (Defamation per quod is defamation that is not actionable per se.). 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. Paul's friend went in the house and found Paul dazed, confused, irrational, incoherent, and apparently in physical anguish and holding one of the family's firearms. Paul's friend left him alone to tell her mother the situation, and as she left she heard a gunshot. The Supreme Court has held that a defamation plaintiff must prove falsity if (i) the plaintiff is a public figure, or (ii) the defendant is a media defendant and the statement involves a matter of public concern. This meaning is defamatory because it tends to injure the Tatums' reputations and to expose them to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. 17.46(b)(24) (West 2011). dallas morning news v tatum oyezsims 4 university homework cheat. Antitrust & Trade Regulation Based on that evidence, the court concluded that a factfinder could find that the false gistthat Neely was disciplined for operating while using drugswas more damaging to Neely's reputation than the truththat Neely was disciplined for self-prescribing medications. Landlord - Tenant For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that their cases are distinguishable or otherwise unpersuasive. John Tatum and Mary Ann Tatum, Appellants v. The Dallas Morning News, Inc. and Steve Blow, Appellees. 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. There was no evidence of actual malice. DC-11-07371 . 700 the dvd+ dvd+ monkey monkey the yellow yellow 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 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. I'm a big admirer of Julie Hersh. He was an excellent and popular student, an outstanding athlete, and had no history of mental illness. pending). More than 1,000 people attended Paul's funeral. You're all set! John and Mary Ann Tatum, whose 17-year-old son shot himself, sued The News and now-retired Metro columnist Steve Blow in 2011 over allegations that the column accused the couple of lying about their son's death. See Gilbert Tex. We conclude otherwise. We conclude that the Tatums adduced no evidence of this requirement. But the standards governing the law of defamation are not among them. Corporate Compliance The Tatums wrote an obituary for Paul and paid DMN to publish the obituary in the Dallas Morning News newspaper. Haynes is distinguishable. The gist also implies that the explanation the Tatums gave for the cause of Paul's death was false and that Paul committed suicide because of remorse rather than because of injuries suffered in the auto accident. 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. 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. Karen Misko took the post to be directed at her and sued Johns for libel. 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. Consumer Law 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. The Tatums purchased a space in the Dallas Morning News to publish an obituary for their son. Commercial Record Daily Business newspaper published in Dallas, Texas. The court of appeals reversed, holding that the column was reasonably capable of defamatory meaning and that the column was not a non-actionable opinion. This argument misses the point. In D Magazine Partners we said that the supreme court's 2000 Turner opinion suggests that lack of privilege might be an element of a defamation plaintiff's case, while its 2013 Neely opinion indicates that privilege is a defense. In re Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d 579, 593 (Tex.2015) (orig.proceeding). Prac. The trial court granted summary judgment for Petitioners. at 1001 & n.1. 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. Id. To be actionable defamation, a statement must be a statement of verifiable fact rather than opinion. Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875. Before Justices Lang, Fillmore, and Whitehill Opinion by Justice Whitehill Mack Trucks, Inc. v. Tamez, 206 S.W.3d 572, 582 (Tex.2006). Id. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 63. Daily resource for best restaurants in Dallas, recommendations for things to do, local news and commentary on life in Dallas. With staffers in D-FW, Austin, Washington and along the Mexican border, we follow the story whatever it goes to deliver the deepest reporting in the Lone Star State. Am. We next consider appellees' summary judgment ground that the column contains only nonactionable opinions. Antitrust Zoning, Planning & Land Use. We agree with the Tatums. We therefore do not address whether those categories apply here. DMN also asserted the following no-evidence grounds: There was no evidence that the Tatums were consumers. We agree with the Tatums. at 62 (In this defamation suit involving two physicians, we clarify a longstanding distinction between defamation and defamation per se). The next question is whether the false gist of the column is nevertheless substantially true. The court noted that the defendant had repeatedly stated that his accusations of corruption were based on objective, provable facts and on evidence that he had seen. 29, 2013), aff'd, 41 N.E.3d 38 (Mass.2015). Dist., 858 S.W.2d 337, 341 (Tex.1993) (A motion [for summary judgment] must stand or fall on the grounds expressly presented in the motion.). 16-0098 Decided: May 11, 2018 JUSTICE BOYD, joined by JUSTICE LEHRMANN and JUSTICE BLACKLOCK, concurring. We agree that the column's gist associates the obituary with deception, which denotes an intention to deceive, often for personal advantage. Health Care Law The column (i) uses the word deception, (ii) juxtaposes the discussion of Paul's suicide and obituary with the story of the fabrication after Ted Pillsbury's suicide, and (iii) juxtaposes the discussion of Paul's suicide and obituary with advocacy regarding secrecy, suicide, and the need for honesty and intervention. Id. Did you know that almost twice as many people die each year from suicide as from homicide? 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. Appellees also argue that the column cannot reasonably be read to suggest that Paul had a mental illness. 5. The Dallas Morning News Homepage. Did the Tatums raise a genuine fact issue regarding whether the column was about them? Because these privileges are affirmative defenses, see Denton Publ'g Co. v. Boyd, 460 S.W.2d 881, 882, 885 (Tex.1970) (interpreting predecessor statute to 73.002), appellees' summary judgment motion had to conclusively prove their elements to prevail.6. We clarify a longstanding distinction between defamation and defamation per se ) ( Tex.App.Dallas 2012, no.! 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