Sch. Civil Rights When reviewing a traditional summary judgment for a defendant, we determine whether the defendant conclusively disproved an element of the plaintiff's claim or conclusively proved every element of an affirmative defense. Injury Law The Dallas Morning News published the obituary on May 21, 2010. at 894. 0 We resolve this question in the Tatums' favor. We draw this factual recitation from the allegations in the Tatums' live petition: The Tatums were Paul Tatum's parents. Listen, the last thing I want to do is put guilt on the family of suicide victims. Id. 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. See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 71 ([T]he allegedly defamatory statement cannot be what brought the plaintiff into the public sphere; otherwise, there would be no private figures defamed by media defendants.). In addition to their libel claims, the Tatums also asserted DTPA claims against DMN. The trial court granted summary judgment for Petitioners. 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. 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. See id. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Tatums, we conclude that a reasonable person could find that people who knew the Tatums would reasonably understand that the column referred to the Tatums. Rather, this case turns on the verifiability of the column's accusation of deception against the Tatums. Again, a statement is defamatory if it tends to (i) injure the subject's reputation, (ii) expose him to public hatred, contempt, ridicule, or financial injury, or (iii) impeach his honesty, integrity, or virtue. 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. The obituary was published on May 21, 2010. More than 1,000 people attended Paul's funeral. 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. All rights reserved. Immigration Law Newspapers, Inc. v. Matthews, 339 S.W.2d 890, 893 (Tex.1960). b. The column was true or substantially true. Before Justices Lang, Fillmore, and Whitehill Opinion by Justice Whitehill Insurance Law We agree with the Tatums. Id. Milkovich lost on summary judgment and appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. 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. Our work has been recognized with nine Pulitzer Priz Location & Hours 1954 Commerce St Dallas, TX 75201 They argue that the column is literally true because all its individual factual statements regarding the Tatums are true. Daily resource for best restaurants in Dallas, recommendations for things to do, local news and commentary on life in Dallas. Real Estate Law 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) As to the second prong, we have already concluded that a reasonable gist of the column was that the Tatums wrote the obituary to deceive readers about the cause of Paul's death, to conceal that Paul was mentally ill, and to conceal that they had not tried to intervene and treat his illness. But because the accusation was an opinion, the trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Petitioners. Applicable Law and Summary Judgment Grounds. She has since written a book, Struck by Living. Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875. at 187. Sign up for our free summaries and get the latest delivered directly to you. Moreover, a public figure must prove actual malice by clear and convincing evidence. News | Dallas Morning News 7848 News In this Section: Public Safety Weather Politics Crime Transportation Man accused of stealing earthquake donations from Flower Mound mosque arrested. Banking Grief Support. Health Care Law We agree with the Tatums. We remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Are the Tatums limited-purpose public figures? Turner, 38 S.W.3d at 114. Appellees' contrary argument fails on the first prong we referenced abovethe existence of a public controversy for the Tatums to participate in. 2. (A publication is of and concerning the plaintiff if persons who knew and were acquainted with him understood from viewing the publication that the defamatory matter referred to him.). at 62; McIlvain v. Jacobs, 794 S.W.2d 14, 15 (Tex.1990). The state Supreme Court saw the column differently. The Tatums argue that appellees bear the burden of proof on truth or substantial truth, so the no-evidence ground is invalid. And the secrecy surrounding suicide leaves us greatly underestimating the danger there. 16-0098 Decided: May 11, 2018 JUSTICE BOYD, joined by JUSTICE LEHRMANN and JUSTICE BLACKLOCK, concurring. 17.50(a)(1)(A)(B). Public figure status is a question of law for the court. 73.001 (West 2011). 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. 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. 73.001; Am. I think the need to know is wired deeply in us. 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. 73.002(b)(1)(B). 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. DMN counterclaimed for its attorneys' fees under the DTPA. Id. Antitrust & Trade Regulation Appellees further argue that the column does not omit or juxtapose facts in such a way as to make its gist false. The gist is that they stated a false cause of death, shrouded Paul's suicide in secrecy, intended to mislead and deceive the readers, and may have wanted to conceal Paul's mental illness and their own failure to intervene. walkers gluten free shortbread / April 12, 2022 . Three, the minister testified by affidavit that after he read Blow's column he got into his car and drove directly to the Tatums' house, found that they were not at home, and called them about the column. denied) (objection that opinions are speculative can be raised for the first time on appeal). But a statement couched as an opinion may be actionable if it expressly or implicitly asserts facts that can be objectively verified. Laird v. Tatum | Oyez Laird v. Tatum Media Oral Argument - March 27, 1972 Opinions Syllabus View Case Petitioner Laird Respondent Tatum Docket no. Landfill, Inc., 434 S.W.3d 142, 15657 (Tex.2014) (citing Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 349 (1974)). 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. The column describes Paul's obituary and death immediately after it describes the fabricated cause of death that was advanced after Ted Pillsbury's suicide. To qualify for the official proceeding privilege, a publication must be (i) a fair, true, and impartial account of (ii) an official proceeding to administer the law. at 64. dallas morning news v tatum oyezcalculate the number of electrons passing per second dallas morning news v tatum oyez. Are the column's statements about the Tatums nonactionable opinions? We conclude that the evidence raised a genuine fact issue as to negligence. If a defamatory statement is true or substantially true, it is not actionable. The Tatums sued Julie Hersh in a separate lawsuit. This case involves libel, which is a defamation expressed in written or other graphic form. We resolved that case, however, without deciding the issue because the placement of the burden there would not have affected the outcome.Although Turner contains a passing remark in dicta that a defamation plaintiff must prove that the publication is not privileged, 38 S.W.3d at 115, it does not cite Denton Publishing Co. or hint that it overrules that case's holding that privilege is an affirmative defense, 460 S.W.2d at 885. 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. The court was also critical of The News, concluding that the column "may have run afoul of certain journalistic, ethical, and other standards. 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 Tatums argue that [t]he false gist of the Column is that [they] dishonestly characterized their son's death in the Obituary as a means to shroud his suicide in secrecy. The first question is whether an ordinarily intelligent person could construe the column as conveying that gist. O. In that case, Milkovich sued Lorain for publishing an article that essentially accused him of perjury. But the standards governing the law of defamation are not among them. 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. Viewed in the light most favorable to the Tatums, the evidence raised a genuine issue of material fact as to the actual malice element. Appellees also direct us to Haynes v. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 8 F.3d 1222 (7th Cir.1993). Through honesty, she's trying to erase some of the shame and stigma that compounds and prolongs mental illness. Id. The Tatums wrote an obituary for Paul and paid DMN to publish the obituary in the Dallas Morning News newspaper. See Civ. Civ. The Court issued an opinion resolving the case on May 11, 2018. 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. 7. The Tatums' attorney, Joe Sibley, said he could not comment since The News was a party to the lawsuit. Our decision in Backes v. Misko, No. Redirecting to https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/news/dallas-cowboys-cut-move-dallas-cowboys-reveal-tyron-smith-contract-plan-change Two, they did not mention suicide in the obituary because (i) they believed it would give a false impression that Paul committed suicide as a result of depression or other mental illness and (ii) they did not feel it would honor Paul's memory to include morbid details about his death or to include overly scientific information. Civ. We sustain the Tatums' first issue. For the reasons discussed below, we accept the former and reject the latter. 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). See id. 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. I'm told there was a time when the word cancer was never mentioned. But the Tatums adduced evidence of more than a mere negligent investigation. 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. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 70. Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875. Texas Supreme Court 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. Later in the opinion, the Court held that the defendant's statement that Milkovich committed perjury was sufficiently factual to be susceptible of being proved true or false. Id. See id. The Dallas Morning News Access ePaper Optimized for your device. 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. On Petition for Review from the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas. You can explore additional available newsletters here. 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. Am. Backes, 2015 WL 1138258, at *14. Posted By : / seattle kraken hoodie mens /; Under :reflexive pronouns grade 2reflexive pronouns grade 2 Accordingly, there is expert evidence supporting the Tatums' theory that Paul suffered a brain injury that made him suicidal. Corporate Compliance 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. That lawsuit was dismissed, and the Tatums appealed. Mar. When one of my colleagues began to inquire, thinking the death deserved news coverage, it turned out to have been a suicide. Please try again. 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. endstream endobj startxref Labor & Employment Law If you have STRONG suspicions to whom do you turn them over? Id. 4. 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.). 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. Unlike the current trend of local news being acquired by private equity firms and national chains, we have been a family-controlled company for over 135 years. WFAATV, Inc.,978 S.W.2d at 572. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 70. Neely's substantial truth analysis is instructive. at 122627. What is the column's gist regarding the Tatums? 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