A reasonable juror could conclude that Blow was not honest when he testified about the sources of his information about Paul's death. Am. More than 1,000 people attended Paul's funeral. Learn more about FindLaws newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. There was a page break in the middle of the column, and a slightly different headline appeared over the remainder of the column when it resumed on another page: Shrouding suicide in secrecy leaves its danger unaddressed. The column, with emphasis added, stated as follows: So I guess we're down to just one form of death still considered worthy of deception. The column's gist is not simply that the Tatums omitted the fact that Paul committed suicide from the obituary. 73.002(b)(1)(B), and (ii) a reasonable and fair comment on or criticism of a matter of public concern published for general information, id. Thus, they must prove only negligence to recover compensatory damages. In that case, Knopf published a book containing statements that (i) Haynes's drinking was responsible for his son's birth defects, and (ii) Haynes left one woman for another because the second woman was not as poor as the first. The Tatums wrote an obituary for Paul and paid DMN to publish the obituary in the Dallas Morning News newspaper. Civ. Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1, 16, 1920 & n.6 (1990); Phila. Applicable Law and Summary Judgment Grounds. There was a car crash, all right, but death came from a self-inflicted gunshot wound [page break] in a time of remorse afterward. Even assuming that investigations by the police and the medical examiner are official proceedings, the column does not purport to report about those proceedings. But recent Texas defamation cases may suggest that the plaintiff always has the burden of proving falsity. Argued January 10, 2018. 13, 2015, pet. 07060041CV, 2007 WL 1098476, at *4 (Tex.App.Amarillo Apr. Prac. Appellees asserted several summary judgment grounds. We agree with the Tatums' second argument and thus do not address their first. His testimony demonstrates his training and expertise in the field of accident reconstruction. Cf. 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. The Dallas Morning News Homepage. Injury Law ); see also Civ. To the contrary, the column's tone is generally sober, and it purports to be grounded in factual details such as the circumstances of Pillsbury's and Paul's deaths, data about the prevalence of suicide among young people, and Julie Hersh's public efforts to reduce the shame and stigma surrounding mental illness. It has received nine Pulitzer Prizes since 1986, as well. Supreme Court of Texas. 4. In the present case, the column's implicit assertion that the Tatums committed deception is similaran accusation that the Tatums willfully wrote a misleading obituary for the purpose of deceiving readers, possibly to protect themselves from suspicion of being negligent or inattentive parents. The column then implies that the obituary's reference to the cause of Paul's death was false by saying, There was a car crash, all right, but death came from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a time of remorse afterward. Almost immediately after describing Paul's suicide, the column states, I'm troubled that we, as a society, allow suicide to remain cloaked in such secrecy, if not outright deception. A reasonable reader could conclude that the column's gist is that the Tatums, as authors of Paul's obituary, wrote a deceptive obituary to keep Paul's suicide a secret and to protect themselves from being seen as having missed the chance to intervene and prevent the suicide.5. Appellees also argue that there is no evidence to support the Tatums' theory that a brain injury made Paul suicidal. Appellees, however, counter that no ordinary reader would think the column defames the Tatums. Medical Malpractice 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. Id. That is, as Neely illustrates, enough to raise a genuine fact issue on the fair comment privilege. This is some evidence of actual malice. Contracts Regardless, the statements involved in Haynes are not similar to the accusation of deception that we address here. Based on their view of the column's gist, appellees next argue that the cause of Paul's suicide and the Tatums' belief about that cause are irrelevant to the issue of truth. Appellees, however, cite several cases from other jurisdictions to support their argument that the column's gist is an unverifiable opinion. See Gilbert Tex. Similarly, although there is evidence that the Tatums disagreed with the manner of death finding of suicide on Paul's death certificate and tried to persuade the medical examiner to change it, there is no evidence that the outcome of this alleged controversy affected anyone except the Tatums. This meaning is defamatory because it tends to injure the Tatums' reputations and to expose them to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. See id. TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals. Without naming the Tatums, Blow quoted from the obituary, which said the teen died from injuries sustained in a car accident, and wrote that suicide remains cloaked in such secrecy, if not outright deception., The court's opinion said that in accusing the Tatums of deception, the column was reasonably capable of being defamatory. at 6768. If the plaintiff is a public official or a public figure, the required culpability is elevated from negligence to actual malice; that is, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant published the defamatory statement with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard as to whether it was true or false. 1. [1] The Dallas woman first went public with her story of depression and suicide attempts in my column three years ago. 051400566CV, 2015 WL 1138258 (Tex.App.Dallas Mar. But in late 2015, the 5th District Court of Appeals ruled that the lawsuit could go forward. Health Care Law But private figures suing a media defendant (as we have here) must prove only negligence to recover defamation damages. We construe an allegedly defamatory publication as a whole, in light of the surrounding circumstances, based on how a person of ordinary intelligence would perceive it. Trusts & Estates 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. THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. AND STEVE BLOW v. JOHN TATUM AND MARY ANN TATUM Oral argument was held on January 10, 2018. See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 62; Bentley, 94 S.W.3d at 57985. A statement does not have to refer to the plaintiff by name, however, if people who know and are acquainted with the plaintiff reasonably understand from reading the statement that it referred to the plaintiff. Main, 348 S.W.3d at 395; see also Houseman v. Publicaciones Paso del Norte, S.A., 242 S.W.3d 518, 525 (Tex.App.El Paso 2007, no pet.) Subscribe to Justia's But the standards governing the law of defamation are not among them. Finally, appellees cite West v. Thomson Newspapers, 872 P.2d 999 (Utah 1994). We have already concluded that a reasonable reader could conclude that the column presents a false gist about the Tatums. Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps, 475 U.S. 767 (1986). Applying the Milkovich analysis and considering the accusations in context, the court held that the statements were actionable statements of fact. at 58384. 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. In re Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d at 596. Id. On Appeal from the 68th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. Had he investigated further and learned facts suggesting that the Tatums had no intent to deceive, this would have undercut the whole thrust of the column, which began with a reference to deception and ended with a call for honesty. Am. We acknowledge that evidence of a negligent investigation, standing alone, does not raise a fact issue on actual malice: [T]he failure to investigate the facts before speaking as a reasonably prudent person would do is not, standing alone, evidence of a reckless disregard for the truth, but evidence that a failure to investigate was contrary to a speaker's usual practice and motivated by a desire to avoid the truth may demonstrate the reckless disregard required for actual malice. Juvenile Law Did appellees conclusively prove the official proceeding privilege? And the secrecy surrounding suicide leaves us greatly underestimating the danger there. 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. We determine substantial truth by assessing the publication's gist. See id. A three-judge district court agreed with the challengers that the map likely violated Section 2 of the VRA, granting a preliminary injunction that ordered the state to draw a new map. 0 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. 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. Id. But because the accusation was an opinion, the trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Petitioners.The Tatum filed suit alleging libel and libel per se against Petitioners alleging that the column at issue defamed them. No. Government & Administrative Law Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. Examples of defamation per se include (i) accusing someone of a crime, (ii) accusing someone of having a foul or loathsome disease, (iii) accusing someone of serious sexual misconduct, and (iv) disparaging another's fitness to conduct his or her business or trade. One expert explained the severity of Paul's auto accident, and the other opined that Paul committed suicide because of a brain injury sustained in that accident. "With its unanimous ruling, the court affirmed that Steve Blow's piece was clearly an opinion column protected by law.". Utilities Law Even if the statements in a publication are not defamatory when taken individually, a publication can be defamatory if it creates a defamatory impression by omitting material facts or juxtaposing facts in a misleading way. From the people we hire to the way we work, let them tell you how we are different. In his affidavit, Blow said that he wrote the column to express his opinion that it is troubling that society allows suicide to remain cloaked in secrecy and deception, and that secrecy about suicide leaves us greatly underestimating the danger of it. He also testified by deposition that if he discovered a deception, a misleading obituary, that's fair game for commentary. Additionally, Julie Hersh testified by deposition that she met with Blow before he published the column and that they were both outraged by the lack of discussion about suicide. The Dallas Morning News published the obituary on May 21, 2010. The official Dallas Morning News Twitter account. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. I think the need to know is wired deeply in us. 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. 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. As the Tatums urge, the service they bought was Paul's obituary. Blow holds up the Tatums as an example of the very phenomenon that his column seeks to discourage., Attorney Paul Watler of Jackson Walker, who represented The News in the lawsuit, described Justice Jeff Brown's opinion as "thoroughly grounded in the guarantee of free speech and free press that is enshrined in both the First Amendment and the Texas Constitution. The Tatums' first appellate issue argues that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment on their libel claims. 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. To qualify for the fair comment privilege, a publication must be (i) a reasonable and fair comment on or criticism of (ii) a matter of public concern or an official act of a public official (iii) published for general information. WFAATV, Inc. v. McLemore, 978 S.W.2d 568, 571 (Tex.1998). We held that these affidavits provided clear and specific evidence that the post was about Misko, even though Misko was not named in it. 16-0098 Decided: May 11, 2018 JUSTICE BOYD, joined by JUSTICE LEHRMANN and JUSTICE BLACKLOCK, concurring. They already face a grief more intense than most of us will ever know. 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