A no-evidence summary judgment should be reversed if the evidence is sufficient for reasonable and fair-minded jurors to differ in their conclusions. 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. Anderton v. Cawley, 378 S.W.3d 38, 46 (Tex.App.Dallas 2012, no pet.). We long ago stated that it is the settled law of Texas, that a false statement of fact concerning a public officer, even if made in a discussion of matters of public concern, is not privileged as fair comment.. We review a summary judgment de novo. Antitrust & Trade Regulation Criminal Law 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. All rights reserved. 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. The Tatums timely responded. The Tatums son shot himself hours after he was involved in a serious car crash in 2010, according to court records. Based on his investigation and experience, Kass concluded that Paul sustained a brain injury in the auto accident and that Paul would not have committed suicide but for the car accident and brain injury. On Appeal from the 68th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. I understand why people don't include it, she told me. Although the column did not mention the Tatums by name, it quoted from Paul's obituary and it described him and events surrounding his death. 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. Prac. For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that they did. 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 no evidence the complained of act was a producing cause of the Tatums' damages. Appellees further argue that the column does not omit or juxtapose facts in such a way as to make its gist false. Gaming Law court opinions. The Tatums wrote an obituary for Paul and paid DMN to publish the obituary in the Dallas Morning News newspaper. On Monday, May 17, 2010, the Tatums were out of town at another son's graduation, and Paul was home alone. Landfill, Inc., 434 S.W.3d 142, 15657 (Tex.2014) (citing Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 349 (1974)). John Tatum and Mary Ann Tatum, Appellants v. The Dallas Morning News, Inc. and Steve Blow, Appellees. Government Law 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. Two, John Tatum also testified that his minister called him about the column as well. Civil Procedure (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.). The Tatums' live pleading asserted Libel as count 1 and Libel per se as count 2. 73.002(b)(2). 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. DMN counterclaimed for its attorneys' fees under the DTPA. Prac. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 70. Sign up for our free summaries and get the latest delivered directly to you. Medical Malpractice Did appellees conclusively prove the official proceeding privilege? Find an Obituary. In Tatum v. The Dallas Morning News, Inc., No. But the standards governing the law of defamation are not among them. They also sued DMN for DTPA violations. They're frustrated when obits don't say. Corporate Compliance But the court went on to hold that "to the extent that the column states that the Tatums acted deceptively, it is true." And the secrecy surrounding suicide leaves us greatly underestimating the danger there. Although appellees contend that the column's gist does not include any comment on the Tatums' character or their actions, we disagree. 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. That lawsuit was dismissed, and the Tatums appealed. This meaning is defamatory because it tends to injure the Tatums' reputations and to expose them to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. Mar. Class Action Am. 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 (1990). See Waste Mgmt. Appellees also argue that there is no evidence to support the Tatums' theory that a brain injury made Paul suicidal. 6. denied). 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). Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875. Did the Tatums raise a genuine fact issue regarding whether the column was capable of defaming them? Appellees won a take-nothing summary judgment. Did the Tatums raise a genuine fact issue that DMN violated 17.46(b)(24)? Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875. The column was not capable of the defamatory meaning ascribed by the Tatums. 8. b. On June 20, 2010Father's Day, and about one month after Paul's suicidethe paper published a column by Blow entitled "Shrouding Suicide Leaves its Danger Unaddressed." You already receive all suggested Justia Opinion Summary Newsletters. In short, there must first be a controversy before it can be a public one. Agriculture Law Accordingly, the Tatums submitted enough evidence to raise a genuine fact issue regarding whether they believed what they said in the obituary was true, did not intend to mislead or deceive anyone, and did not believe Paul suffered from mental illness. On Petition for Review from the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas. Prac. We agree that the column's gist associates the obituary with deception, which denotes an intention to deceive, often for personal advantage. 219 0 obj <>stream Utilities Law ERISA The test here is whether the defamatory statement is verifiable as false. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. The official Dallas Morning News Twitter account. Arbitration & Mediation 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). Appellees argue that a public controversy existed over the official cause of Paul's death. There was also evidence that Blow did not adhere to his usual practice of investigation when he wrote the column. Turner, 38 S.W.3d at 114. 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. 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. c.Did the Tatums raise a genuine fact issue as to negligence and actual malice? Bentley, 94 S.W.3d at 591 (footnotes omitted). Nonetheless, the Tatums filed affidavits by two experts. Blow's controversial practice of attacking obituaries. In their affidavits, both Tatums said that they would not have published the obituary as worded if they had known that DMN had someone on staff who had a history of criticizing obituaries like Steve Blow.. THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. AND STEVE BLOW v. JOHN TATUM AND MARY ANN TATUM Oral argument was held on January 10, 2018. IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS No. View "Dallas Morning News, Inc. v. Tatum" on Justia Law. 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. You can explore additional available newsletters here. Labor & Employment Law Business Law 17.46(b)(24) (West 2011). Construction Law Moreover, a public figure must prove actual malice by clear and convincing evidence. at 6667. We therefore do not address whether those categories apply here. Heritage Capital, LP v. Gonzalez, 436 S.W.3d 865, 875 (Tex.App.Dallas 2014, no pet. We thus conclude that Denton Publishing Co. is still controlling law. We agree with the Tatums. See Hancock v. Variyam, 400 S.W.3d 59, 64 (Tex.2013) (Defamation per quod is defamation that is not actionable per se.). 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. Appellees also assert that the obituary's omission of Paul's suicide shows that it was in fact a deception. But as discussed above, deception implies intent to deceive, and the Tatums raised a genuine fact issue as to whether they had such an intent. Appellees also argue on appeal that any libel per quod claim fails because the Tatums did not plead or prove special damages. We are unpersuaded by appellees' contrary arguments. But appellees do not explain how the column amounts to rhetorical hyperbole. Id. Newspapers don't write about suicides unless they involve a public figure or happen in a very public way. It does not mention those proceedings, nor does it report any statements or findings made in the course of those proceedings. Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875. Civil Rights We held that these affidavits provided clear and specific evidence that the post was about Misko, even though Misko was not named in it. WFAATV, Inc.,978 S.W.2d at 572. Free Newsletters Based on his investigation, he concluded that the primary impact involved in the accident was moderate to severe, and that the accident was severe enough that it would have subjected a human occupant of the vehicle to, at a very minimum, the risk of a mild TBI [traumatic brain injury], such as a concussion.. Honesty is the first step. By juxtaposing Paul's story with this discussion, the column invites the reader to associate Paul's suicide with mental illness and the Tatums with those who do not engage in life saving frank discussion and timely intervention. The closing line, Honesty is the first step, also invites the reader to contrast honesty with a dishonest obituary published about Paul's death. Id. Based on the record before us, we conclude that the Tatums were not limited-purpose public figures. hV]o:+~lb;-E!^ C- New Times, Inc. v. Isaacks, 146 S.W.3d 144, 157 (Tex.2004). But, here he did not attempt to contact the Tatums before publishing the column at issue in this case. Environmental Law 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. 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. The Tatums sued both appellees for libel and libel per se. Prac. Id. To the extent a negligence standard applies, there was no evidence of negligence. App.Dallas Dec. 30, 2015, pet. at 10. 186 0 obj <> endobj Before Justices Lang, Fillmore, and Whitehill Opinion by Justice Whitehill The summary judgment evidence included a copy of the printed version of the newspaper column that prompted this suit. 5. 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. 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. 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. Texas Supreme Court Turning to the defamatory meaning question, the Tatums argue that the column is capable of defaming them because ordinary readers could perceive it to (i) accuse them of committing deception by fabricating a connection between Paul's car accident and his suicide to shroud his suicide in secrecy, (ii) suggest that Paul suffered from a mental illness and the Tatums turned a blind eye to it, and (iii) suggest that the Tatums prevented a timely intervention that might have saved Paul's life if only they had been honest. The column was privileged as a fair, true, and impartial account of official proceedings. dallas morning news v tatum oyezitalian catering delray beach. These affidavits create a reasonable inference that persons who knew the Tatums also knew that the column referred to them. Phila. Id. Did you know that almost twice as many people die each year from suicide as from homicide? Steve Blow is a columnist for The Dallas Morning News. To accuse someone of deception is to impeach his or her honesty and integrity. See id. 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. endstream endobj 187 0 obj <> endobj 188 0 obj <> endobj 189 0 obj <>stream 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. Grief Support. hb```f``ra`a``b`@ r`@([E,X42+r3gpxp~bgecfag^l|%Y>6ZQSkGX{3`e.eVdXVPx\f;nx2_WaL) CpUR L@E QF 8+PH\~9 SY/01.dep|CG}jn@ Lkc |F | Real Estate Law at 62; McIlvain v. Jacobs, 794 S.W.2d 14, 15 (Tex.1990). A. 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. 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. Insurance Law Landlord - Tenant Become a business insider with the latest news. We do not consider the defamatory statement itself in determining whether the plaintiff is a public figure. Issue Two: Did the trial court err by dismissing the Tatums' DTPA claims? Plaintiffs sued Defendant for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED), claiming that Defendant exploited the tragedy of their son's death by encouraging the criticism of their son's obituary. 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. 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. 051400951CV, 2015 WL 5156908, at *5, *8 (Tex.App.Dallas Aug. 28, 2015, pet. 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. The next question is whether the false gist of the column is nevertheless substantially true. In our view, this fact does not relate to the DMN's obituary services themselves, and thus it does not constitute information concerning those services, as is required by 17.46(b)(24). at *5. endstream endobj startxref The court agreed with West that the columns reasonably carried the defamatory implication that West had misrepresented his position on municipal power in order to win the election, but it held that this implication was not subject to objective verification. DC-11-07371 . Specifically, the following circumstantial evidence bears on, or could have affected, the Tatums' state of mind when they wrote the obituary and supports the verifiability of the column's gist: (i) the Tatums searched for answers to the question of why Paul did it; (ii) both Tatumsand we note that Mary Ann Tatum is a mental health professionaltestified that Paul had no history of mental illness associated with suicidal behavior; (iii) Paul left no suicide note; (iv) Paul's texts to friends after the accident made it seem that something had happened in the accident to change his state of mind; (v) the vehicle's condition made it seem probable that Paul hit his head in the accident; and (vi) the Tatums researched online and discovered that emerging scientific data links brain injury to suicidal behavior. Herald, Inc., No. 17.46(b)(24); see also Brennan v. Manning, No. Health Law Id. b. Thus, the column does not qualify for the official proceeding privilege. Am. Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among young people (ages 15 to 24) in this country. at 47. Personal Injury Appellees asserted several summary judgment grounds. There is thus some evidence from which a reasonable factfinder could find negligence's first prongthat appellees should have known of the defamatory statement's falsity, but failed to use reasonable care to ascertain the truth of the column's gist. In re Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d 579, 593 (Tex.2015) (orig.proceeding). That question remains to be decided by the factfinder. 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. Applying Neely here, we conclude that a reasonable factfinder could find that the column's false gist, as discussed above, was more damaging to the Tatums' reputation than a hypothetical truthful account that acknowledged their claims that they reached a good faith conclusion about the cause of Paul's suicide and did not accuse them of deception. 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. Prac. Animal / Dog Law 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. In that case, Milkovich sued Lorain for publishing an article that essentially accused him of perjury. THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. AND STEVE BLOW, PETITIONERS, v. JOHN TATUM AND MARY ANN TATUM, RESPONDENTS No. 73.001 (West 2011). The Dallas Morning News Homepage. Bankruptcy Contracts He was born on January 12, 1953 to Albert Tatum and . 051401318CV. Our work has been recognized with nine Pulitzer Priz Location & Hours 1954 Commerce St Dallas, TX 75201 We agree with the Tatums. Milkovich lost on summary judgment and appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. 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 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. Do you think that might be important for parents to understand? More than 1,000 people attended Paul's funeral. Morning News, Inc., 493 S.W.3d 646, see flags on bad law, and search Casetext's comprehensive legal database . Yet we're nearly blind to the greater threat of self-inflicted violence. dallas morning news v tatum oyezsims 4 university homework cheat. The trial court granted Defendant's motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' action under the Texas Citizens Participation Act. 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." Posted By : / seattle kraken hoodie mens /; Under :reflexive pronouns grade 2reflexive pronouns grade 2 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. DMN asserted the following traditional summary judgment grounds against the Tatums' DTPA claims: DMN did not commit a false, misleading, or deceptive act that the Tatums relied on. Turner v. KTRK Television, Inc., 38 S.W.3d 103, 119 (Tex.2000). Am. In the ePaper section, you'll find: A digital replica of the print edition to give you all the news you need each day Additional ePaper-only bonus content, including extra comics and puzzles B. We're open these days with just about every form of death except onesuicide. The Court issued an opinion resolving the case on May 11, 2018. We conclude that there was more than a scintilla of evidence showing more than a mere failure to conduct a reasonable investigation. 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. See id. We thus conclude that the Tatums pled claims for both libel per quod and libel per se. 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.). Id. 1. Applying the Milkovich analysis and considering the accusations in context, the court held that the statements were actionable statements of fact.