As the Court notes, the obituary stated that their son died "as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident." Their son had shot himself after he had been involved in a car accident. Id. The plaintiff must also prove damages unless the defamatory statements are defamatory per se. Although the West court acknowledged and purported to apply the Milkovich analysis, it disregarded Milkovich's conclusions that accusing a person of being a liar or committing perjury can be sufficiently verifiable to constitute an actionable statement of fact rather than a nonactionable opinion. We conclude otherwise. 1. P. 166a(i). The Tatums argue that appellees bear the burden of proof on truth or substantial truth, so the no-evidence ground is invalid. Medical Malpractice 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. b. Our work has been recognized with nine Pulitzer Priz Location & Hours 1954 Commerce St Dallas, TX 75201 Id. Alabama asked the U.S. Supreme Court to freeze the district court's injunction, which the Court did by a 5-4 decision pending a merits decision. (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.). OPINION . See Hancock v. Variyam, 400 S.W.3d 59, 64 (Tex.2013) (Defamation per quod is defamation that is not actionable per se.). I understand why people don't include it, she told me. When reviewing a no-evidence summary judgment, we determine whether the nonmovant adduced sufficient evidence to raise a genuine issue of fact on the challenged elements. 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. See Gilbert Tex. In re Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d at 596. We conclude that summary judgment was proper as to the Tatums' DTPA claims but not as to their libel claims. Believing that Paul's suicide was caused by a brain injury he sustained in the earlier automobile accident, the Tatums stated in the obituary that Paul died "as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident." Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. Government Law 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. Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1, 16, 1920 & n.6 (1990); Phila. Arbitration & Mediation 16-0098 THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. AND STEVE BLOW, PETITIONERS v. JOHN TATUM AND MARY ANN TATUM, RESPONDENTS ON PETITION FOR REVIEW FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS Argued January 10, 2018 JUSTICE BROWN delivered the unanimous opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, II, denied), further supports this conclusion. You can explore additional available newsletters here. 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. hbbd``b`@q?`]$^@' BD A:X %@b5$t.#'PFF 6 The Dallas Express a newspaper printed by and for the city's African American community ALSO essential sadly, only the years 1919-1924 have been scanned, here The Jewish Monitor published in Fort Worth, serving the DFW (and Texas) Jewish community, 1919-1921, here The Texas Jewish Post, 1950-2011, here Public Benefits A publication's gist is its main point, material part, or essence, as perceived by a reasonable person. He testified that he knew that Bruce Tomaso and Kevin Sherrington looked into Paul's death, and that he could not remember specifically which of them provided him with the information he used in the column. 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. Criminal Law 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. Become a business insider with the latest news. Appellees further argue that the column does not omit or juxtapose facts in such a way as to make its gist false. 5. The Court issued an opinion resolving the case on May 11, 2018. Although the column does not expressly make these assertions, roughly the last third of the column discusses the prevalence of suicide (specifically among young people), laments public silence about suicide's frequent cause (mental illness), and concludes, Awareness, frank discussion, timely intervention, treatmentthose are the things that save lives. 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. at *4. Argued January 10, 2018. 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. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 70. In the interest of judicial economy, we consider all grounds presented to the trial court and preserved on appeal. 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. There was no evidence the complained of act was committed in connection with the transaction.. Three, they did not intend to cover up Paul's suicide, and they knew that some of Paul's friends already knew he had committed suicide. Construction Law A no-evidence summary judgment should be reversed if the evidence is sufficient for reasonable and fair-minded jurors to differ in their conclusions. Family Law The Tatums' DTPA claims are based on 17.46(b)(24) of the DTPA, which provides that it is a false, misleading, or deceptive act or practice to fail [] to disclose information concerning goods or services which was known at the time of the transaction if such failure to disclose such information was intended to induce the consumer into a transaction into which the consumer would not have entered had the information been disclosed. Tex. The summary judgment evidence included a copy of the printed version of the newspaper column that prompted this suit. Professional Malpractice & Ethics of Tex., Inc., 434 S.W.3d at 15657. For example, the internal sources that Blow said he contacted before publishing the column denied having discussed the matter with him. The Tatums argue that an accusation of deception is verifiable and therefore actionable, while appellees argue that it is not. 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.) 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. Heritage Capital, LP v. Gonzalez, 436 S.W.3d 865, 875 (Tex.App.Dallas 2014, no pet. Herald, Inc., No. There was also evidence that Blow did not adhere to his usual practice of investigation when he wrote the column. Paul died from a gunshot wound to the head. at 1001 & n.1. 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. Daily resource for best restaurants in Dallas, recommendations for things to do, local news and commentary on life in Dallas. Government Contracts 73.001. The Dallas Morning News Access ePaper Optimized for your device. Id. This argument misses the point. Sympathy Ideas. 73.002(b)(1)(B). More specifically, the column's first four paragraphs state Blow's opinion that people generally consider a death by suicide worthy of deception and mention honesty and being open about other causes of death. Submit an Obituary. The Tatums son shot himself hours after he was involved in a serious car crash in 2010, according to court records. Get free summaries of new Supreme Court of Texas opinions delivered to your inbox! Id. 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. Am. at 1019. That question remains to be decided by the factfinder. Injury Law Real Estate & Property Law Thus, the column does not qualify for the official proceeding privilege. 13, 2015, pet. 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. Am. And for us, there the matter ended. Civ. We are not persuaded. The column's headline was Shrouding suicide leaves its danger unaddressed. (Emphasis added). 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 column was privileged as a fair, true, and impartial account of official proceedings. 2014, pet. Turner, 38 S.W.3d at 114. Bentley, 94 S.W.3d at 591 (footnotes omitted). Appellees won a take-nothing summary judgment. 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. Steve Blow is a columnist for The Dallas Morning News. 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. 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. It then denied rehearing on September 28, 2018 File Closed Opinions Issued Case Events Parties and Counsel Opinions May 11, 2018 Securities Law 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. 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.). 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. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61. 1, 16, 1920 & n.6 ( 1990 ) ; Phila therefore actionable, while appellees that... Thus, the internal sources dallas morning news v tatum oyez Blow did not adhere to his usual of. Privileged as a fair, true, and impartial account of official proceedings, local News and commentary life... To be decided by the factfinder its danger unaddressed but not as to the argue! 1920 & n.6 ( 1990 ) ; Phila evidence that Blow said he contacted before publishing column! Ethics of Tex., Inc., 434 S.W.3d at 591 ( footnotes )... 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