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.. Accordingly, there is expert evidence supporting the Tatums' theory that Paul suffered a brain injury that made him suicidal. WebV. 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. Professional Malpractice & Ethics of Tex., Inc., 434 S.W.3d at 15657. The Tatums' live pleading asserted Libel as count 1 and Libel per se as count 2. 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.

Public Benefits 73.001. 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. We reject the Tatums' second appellate issue. ). See id. The court then vacated its judgment and stayed the case pending the resolution of a defamation case then pending in the Texas Supreme Court. WFAATV, Inc. v. McLemore, 978 S.W.2d 568, 571 (Tex.1998). (a publication qualified for the privilege only if it purported to be, and was, only a fair, true and impartial report of what was stated at a city council meeting). Backes, 486 S.W.3d at 2527, 2015 WL 1138258, at *14. 73.002(b)(1)(B). Rhetorical hyperbole is extravagant exaggeration employed for rhetorical effect. The elements of the Tatums' claims were thus (i) they were consumers, (ii) DMN used or employed the act or practice defined in 17.46(b)(24), (iii) the Tatums relied on DMN's act or practice to their detriment, and (iv) DMN's act or practice was a producing cause of economic or mental-anguish damages. In cases not covered by these mandates, Texas has generally made truth an affirmative defense to defamation.

Next, specifically as to Paul's death, Blow wrote that the paid obituary said Paul died as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident, but Paul's death turned out to have been a suicide. Blow continued, There was a car crash, all right, but death came from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a time of remorse afterward. In the third paragraph after that statement, Blow wrote, I'm troubled that we, as a society, allow suicide to remain cloaked in such secrecy, if not outright deception. 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). Similarly, Julie Hersh, who was mentioned in the column, testified by deposition that she knew that Blow was referring to Paul Tatum's death when she read the column. Civ. Am. 2695. 2014, pet.

As explained above, a false gist is substantially true and nonactionable if it is no more damaging to the plaintiff's reputation than a truthful publication would have been. Id. The court did not state the basis for any of its rulings. Prac. Webmemorialize Paul by writing an obituary, which they published by purchasing space in The Dallas Morning News. These affidavits create a reasonable inference that persons who knew the Tatums also knew that the column referred to them. The Dallas Morning News v. Tatum, No. The summary judgment evidence included a copy of the printed version of the newspaper column that prompted this suit. See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61.

Immigration Law at 2427, at *1314. 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. 1558, 89 L.Ed.2d 783 (1986). See Waste Mgmt. Two, John Tatum also testified that his minister called him about the column as well. 73.005(a) (truth is a defense to a libel action); see also Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 62 (mentioning the defense of truth and citing 73.005); Randall's Food Mkts., Inc. v. Johnson, 891 S.W.2d 640, 646 (Tex.1995) (In suits brought by private individuals, truth is an affirmative defense to slander.) (footnote omitted). 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. Antitrust & Trade Regulation The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the columns accusation of deception was reasonably capable of injuring the Tatums standing in the community but that Blows implicit statement that the Tatum acted deceptively was an opinion and thus not actionable. These cases are distinguishable because the case before us does not turn on the verifiability of the column's statement about the cause of Paul's suicide. 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: The Tatums sued Julie Hersh in a separate lawsuit. In this context, negligence has two prongs: (1) the publisher knew or should have known that the defamatory statement was false, and (2) the factual misstatement's content was such that it would warn a reasonably prudent editor or broadcaster of its defamatory potential. The Tatums argue that the following evidence raises a genuine fact issue as to the elements of negligence and actual malice: An expert witness testified by affidavit that appellees' failure to contact the Tatums for an explanation of the obituary before publishing the column fell short of journalistic standards promulgated by DMN and by the Society of Professional Journalism. Civ. Paul C. Watler, James C. McFall III, Shannon Zmud Teicher, Dallas, TX, for appellees. 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. Doubtless, the reader can appreciate the extreme grief that overcomes any parent who outlives his or her child. 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. Dallas Morning News. You're all set! We resolve this question in the Tatums' favor. Generally speaking, the column's italicized words quoted above reflect a theme of alleged dishonesty by people, including those who wrote Paul's obituary, who refuse to acknowledge that someone committed suicide. We employ a three-part test to assess whether a plaintiff is a limited-purpose public figure: We do not consider the defamatory statement itself in determining whether the plaintiff is a public figure. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61. 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. In adopting the verifiable as false test in Bentley and Neely, the Texas Supreme Court relied on the United States Supreme Court's decision in Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1, 110 S.Ct. In response to Johns's dismissal motion under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, Misko filed affidavits by five people who testified that they knew Misko and believed that the post was directed at her. On Monday, May 17, 2010, the Tatums were out of town at another son's graduation, and Paul was home alone. DMN asserted the following traditional summary judgment grounds against the Tatums' DTPA claims: DMN also asserted the following no-evidence grounds: 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.

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Joseph D. Sibley IV, Houston, TX, for appellants. Civil Procedure We agree with the Tatums. But recent Texas defamation cases may suggest that the plaintiff always has the burden of proving falsity. We have already concluded that a reasonable reader could conclude that the column presents a false gist about the Tatums. We review a summary judgment de novo. We also agree with the Tatums' second and third points that a person of ordinary intelligence could construe the column to suggest that Paul suffered from mental illness, and that the Tatums turned a blind eye to it and may have missed an opportunity to intervene and save his life. 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. Prac. WebThe Dallas Morning News, Inc., and Steve BlowAppeal from 68th Judic John Tatum and Mary Ann Tatum v. The Dallas Morning News, Inc., and Steve BlowAppeal from 68th Judicial District Court of Dallas County (memorandum opinion per curiam) Annotate this Case Download PDF On appeal, appellees argue only that the affidavits are too speculative. In that regard, the statement must point to the plaintiff and to no one else. We disagree and affirm the judgment as to those claims. WebBreaking news and the latest headlines from North Texas, including Dallas, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Arlington, Irving and beyond. Id. West sued for defamation, he lost the case on summary judgment, and the case came before the Utah Supreme Court. Appellees, however, cite several cases from other jurisdictions to support their argument that the column's gist is an unverifiable opinion. Education Law Karen Misko took the post to be directed at her and sued Johns for libel. 16m Man shot dead in east Oak Cliff, Dallas police say dallasnews.com Man shot dead in east Oak Cliff, Dallas police say One See id. Libel per quod is simply libel that is not actionable per se. The Tatums purchased a space in the Dallas Morning News to publish an obituary for their son. Limited-purpose public figures are generally people who have thrust themselves to the forefront of a particular public controversy to influence its resolution, or who have voluntarily injected themselves or been drawn into a public controversy. All service and technical issues must go through our Customer Service Center. The truth of the column's gist hinges on whether the Tatums intended to deceive when they wrote the obituary, not necessarily on the strength of the scientific evidence supporting their belief about the cause of Paul's suicide. 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. Appellees won a take-nothing summary judgment. 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. 2695, 111 L.Ed.2d 1 (1990) ; Phila. We review a summary judgment de novo. at 6768. Government Law Id. The Tatums also filed copies of a number of emails bearing on the subject. Sysco Food Servs., Inc. v. Trapnell, 890 S.W.2d 796, 800 (Tex.1994) A matter is conclusively established if ordinary minds could not differ as to the conclusion to be drawn from the evidence. In re Estate of Hendler, 316 S.W.3d 703, 707 (Tex.App.Dallas 2010, no pet.). The account about Pillsbury states that his company fabricated reports that Pillsbury had suffered a heart attack when actually he had shot himself to death. Id. at 14, at *4. See Hancock v. Variyam, 400 S.W.3d 59, 64 (Tex.2013) (Defamation per quod is defamation that is not actionable per se. John and Mary Tatum experienced the untimely death of their son. dallas morning news v tatum summary what colors do wasps like. 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. Argued This meaning is defamatory because it tends to injure the Tatums' reputations and to expose them to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. 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. 0. The Seventh Circuit said in dicta that these statements were probably nonactionable as obvious statements of opinion, but the court held that Haynes's claims failed because he alleged no pecuniary injury from these statements. The hypothetical person of ordinary intelligence is one who exercises care and prudence, but not omniscience, when evaluating an allegedly defamatory communication. Appellees' contrary argument fails on the first prong we referenced abovethe existence of a public controversy for the Tatums to participate in. Placing the burden of proving truth or falsity is a complex matter. A publication is substantially true if, in the average reader's mind, the allegedly defamatory statement is not more damaging to the plaintiff's reputation than a truthful statement would have been.

WebThe new Dallas Morning News app combines two apps into one.

We thus conclude that Denton Publishing Co. is still controlling law. You already receive all suggested Justia Opinion Summary Newsletters. denied) (mem.op.) They also produced evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that (i) Blow misrepresented his investigation and sources of information and (ii) Blow had some motive not to probe into the column's truth regarding the Tatums and the obituary.

160098 Supreme Court of Texas. Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875. Finally, appellees cite West v. Thomson Newspapers, 872 P.2d 999 (Utah 1994). Securities Law denied) (objection that opinions are speculative can be raised for the first time on appeal).

Accordingly, the court held that the columns were nonactionable opinions. Am. Whether a statement is a statement of fact or opinion is a question of law. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 70. No. Products Liability anita baker first husband; dallas morning news v tatum oyez. In that case, Milkovich sued Lorain for publishing an article that essentially accused him of perjury. (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.).

Appellants John and Mary Ann Tatum sued appellees Steve Blow and The Dallas Morning News (DMN) for libel regarding a column that Blow wrote and DMN

at 6667. We conclude otherwise. Appellees also argue on appeal that any libel per quod claim fails because the Tatums did not plead or prove special damages. PR-17-03954-1, pending in the Probate Court No. The trial court granted appellees' amended summary judgment motion, and the Tatums timely filed a notice of appeal. May 11, 2018) (Don't omit-in-the-obit defamation case). Id. 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. Landlord - Tenant If you have STRONG suspicions to whom do you turn them over? Id. Crediting the Tatums' evidence as we must, we conclude that a reasonable factfinder could find that the column's gist was false. Insurance Law DMN counterclaimed for its attorneys' fees under the DTPA. The ePaper is also available to members via The Dallas Morning News ePaper app: iOS | Android. The Tatums sued both appellees for libel and libel per se. By 1879 Alfred H. Belo, who had acquired control of the business, was investigating the possibility of establishing a sister paper in rapidly developing North Texas. WebA two-way dialogue is healthy for our community and we'd love to hear from you. And those who did know were already aware of the confusion caused by the obituary. Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps, 475 U.S. 767, 106 S.Ct. 2023-03-29. Labor & Employment Law The summary judgment evidence includes an excerpt from Blow's deposition in which he testified about another time when he wrote a column about two obituaries that had been published about the same decedent. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. 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. We agree with the Tatums' second argument and thus do not address their first. 1992, writ dism'd w.o.j.) 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. pending). 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.) We therefore decline to follow West. A reasonable juror could conclude that a hypothetically true column would have been less damaging to the Tatums' reputation because it would have mentioned that the Tatums claimed to have written the obituary in a good faith belief in its truth and without an intent to deceive. WebEnter your email address and we'll send you instructions on how to reset your password. As the Court notes, the obituary stated that their son died as a result Before Justices Lang, Fillmore, and Whitehill. Austin v. Inet Techs., Inc., 118 S.W.3d 491, 496 (Tex.App.Dallas 2003, no pet.). Id. We are unpersuaded. Sch.

They argue that the column is literally true because all its individual factual statements regarding the Tatums are true. Constr., L.P. v. Underwriters at Lloyd's London, 327 S.W.3d 118, 127 (Tex.2010) (citing dictionaries as aids to interpreting an insurance policy). Government & Administrative Law

There is also evidence from which a reasonable factfinder could conclude that Blow had a motive to avoid learning any additional facts about Paul's death. Injury Law Similarly, the evidence here supports a reasonable inference that some people who read the column knew that it was about the Tatums. 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. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 66 n. 12 (the distinctions among the varying burdens of proof as to truth or falsity are less material at summary judgment). filed). As the Tatums urge, the service they bought was Paul's obituary. The Tatums argue that appellees bear the burden of proof on truth or substantial truth, so the no-evidence ground is invalid. 7. Paul C. Watler, James C. McFall III, Shannon Zmud Teicher, Dallas, TX, for appellees. Health Law Entertainment & Sports Law & Rem.Code Ann. In short, there must first be a controversy before it can be a public one. 05-14-01017-CV, 2015 WL 9582903, at *5 (Tex. For the above reasons, we conclude that the summary judgment cannot be sustained on the grounds that the column stated only nonactionable opinions about the Tatums or that there was no evidence that appellees published any actionable statements of fact. 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. See Deception, Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged (1981) (the act of deceiving, cheating, hoodwinking, misleading, or deluding); see also Deceive, id. 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. Mack Trucks, Inc. v. Tamez, 206 S.W.3d 572, 582 (Tex.2006). Bentley, 94 S.W.3d at 591 ; see also N.Y. Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 27980, 84 S.Ct. Bankruptcy 1. 2695. Class Action And, for a matter to be a public controversy, its resolution must affect people beyond its immediate participants. at 100001. Agriculture Law Texas Supreme Court But John and Mary Ann Tatum testified by affidavit that they never told anyone that they did not want to speak with the media. We agree with the Tatums on all three points. 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. Civ. See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61. 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. On that occasion, he said, he attempted to contact the author of one of the obituaries. See id. Prac. Appellants John and Mary Ann Tatum sued appellees Steve Blow and The Dallas Morning News (DMN) for libel regarding a column that Blow wrote and DMN published one month after the Tatums' son Paul committed suicide. By every indication, he was a talented young man with a bright future. Accordingly, because there is no evidence of a public controversy that could make the Tatums limited-purpose public figures, we conclude that the Tatums are private figures for purposes of this summary judgment appeal. Tvitni na twitteru.

Believing that Paul's suicide was caused by a brain 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. 1207, 179 L.Ed.2d 172 (2011) (internal quotations and citations omitted). at 64. The Dallas Morning News developed from the Galveston News, which was founded in 1842 by Samuel Bangs. (2) Actual Malice.