Id. Moved Permanently. People who were familiar with the situation understood the column to refer to Paul and his parents. 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). featuring summaries of federal and state The email address cannot be subscribed. May 11, 2018. We are unpersuaded by appellees' contrary arguments. 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. hbbd``b`@q?`]$^@' BD A:X %@b5$t.#'PFF 6 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. 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. 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. 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. His testimony demonstrates his training and expertise in the field of accident reconstruction. Class Action 2014, pet. Commercial Law 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. at 60. Their traditional grounds were: The column was not of and concerning the Tatums. at *13. 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.. Government Law Copyright 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). Prac. It has received nine Pulitzer Prizes since 1986, as well. hV]o:+~lb;-E!^ C- Hepps ensures that a statement of opinion relating to matters of public concern which does not contain a provably false factual connotation will receive full constitutional protection. Rather, we conclude only that it is capable of having that meaning. We review the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant, crediting evidence favorable to that party if reasonable jurors could and disregarding contrary evidence unless reasonable jurors could not. We sustain the Tatums' first issue. Heritage Capital, LP v. Gonzalez, 436 S.W.3d 865, 875 (Tex.App.Dallas 2014, no pet. The summary judgment evidence included a copy of the printed version of the newspaper column that prompted this suit. In Tatum v. The Dallas Morning News, Inc., No. Supreme Court of Texas. The test here is whether the defamatory statement is verifiable as false. Civ. To the extent a negligence standard applies, there was no evidence of negligence. b. P. 166a(i). 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. 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. at 6364. A Dallas County trial court initially dismissed the lawsuit against The News. The court then vacated its judgment and stayed the case pending the resolution of a defamation case then pending in the Texas Supreme Court. After the accident, he began sending incoherent text messages to friends. Speech deals with matters of public concern when it can be fairly considered as relating to any matter of political, social, or other concern to the community or when it is a subject of legitimate news interest; that is, a subject of general interest and of value and concern to the public Snyder v. Phelps, 562 U.S. 443, 453 (2011) (internal quotations and citations omitted). 17.46(b)(24) (West 2011). The new Dallas Morning News app combines two apps into one. Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among young people (ages 15 to 24) in this country. Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1, 16, 1920 & n.6 (1990); Phila. He reviewed black box recorder data from the Tatums' vehicle that was involved in the accident, reviewed photographs of the vehicle, and interviewed the person who inspected the vehicle after the accident. These matters create a genuine fact issue regarding whether the column's contents would have warned a reasonably prudent publisher of its defamatory potential. That question remains to be decided by the factfinder. 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.. Health Law 497 U.S. at 1921. We are not persuaded. Sign up for our free summaries and get the latest delivered directly to you. 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. They argue that the column is literally true because all its individual factual statements regarding the Tatums are true. But what was apparent to every witness on the scene that day was that Pillsbury had walked a few paces from his car and shot himself. OPINION . at 1001 & n.1. & Com.Code Ann. 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. 73.002(b)(1)(B). You already receive all suggested Justia Opinion Summary Newsletters. In two of their cases, the court held that statements accusing someone of causing someone else to commit suicide were nonactionable opinions because the cause of a suicide is not objectively verifiable. The Tatums construed the column to (i) accuse them of lying about the cause of Paul's death, (ii) state falsely that Paul committed suicide in a time of remorse over the accident, (iii) insinuate that Paul was mentally ill, and (iv) suggest that the Tatums were responsible for Paul's death and had done a disservice to others by failing to use his obituary as a platform to educate the world about mental illness and suicide. To be actionable defamation, a statement must be a statement of verifiable fact rather than opinion. The Tatums timely responded. To accuse someone of deception is to impeach his or her honesty and integrity. IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS No. In addition to their libel claims, the Tatums also asserted DTPA claims against DMN. He was born on January 12, 1953 to Albert Tatum and . 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. at *1314. No. 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. [1] The Dallas woman first went public with her story of depression and suicide attempts in my column three years ago. at 62 (In this defamation suit involving two physicians, we clarify a longstanding distinction between defamation and defamation per se). And the secrecy surrounding suicide leaves us greatly underestimating the danger there. (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.). Am. 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. We also conclude that the evidence raises a genuine fact issue as to actual malice. Appellees also argue that there is no evidence to support the Tatums' theory that a brain injury made Paul suicidal. Accordingly we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Contact us. We review a summary judgment de novo. On that occasion, he said, he attempted to contact the author of one of the obituaries. Blow, who did not contact the Tatums before writing his column, called for the public to more openly discuss mental illness, which is often a factor in suicides. Moreover, a public figure must prove actual malice by clear and convincing evidence. For example, the internal sources that Blow said he contacted before publishing the column denied having discussed the matter with him. Conversely, a publication that consists of statements that are literally true when read in isolation can still convey a false and defamatory meaning by omitting or juxtaposing facts. "With its unanimous ruling, the court affirmed that Steve Blow's piece was clearly an opinion column protected by law.". Awareness, frank discussion, timely intervention, treatmentthose are the things that save lives. In short, there must first be a controversy before it can be a public one. 73.001. Id. They state that several paragraphs separate the column's description of Paul's suicide from its discussion of mental illness. Avila v. Larrea, 394 S.W.3d 646, 658 (Tex.App.Dallas 2012, pet. Zoning, Planning & Land Use. Newspapers don't write about suicides unless they involve a public figure or happen in a very public way. We conclude that the Tatums adduced no evidence of this requirement. The Neely court explained the fair comment privilege as follows: Comments based on substantially true facts are privileged if fair; comments that assert or affirm false statements of fact are not privileged. As the Tatums urge, the service they bought was Paul's obituary. See Civ. The 2010 column, Shrouding suicide leaves its danger unaddressed, urged the public to talk more openly about suicide. Applicable Law and Summary Judgment Grounds. Arbitration & Mediation See id. This is some evidence of actual malice. Dallas Morning News Leading daily newspaper serving the Dallas-Fort Worth area. 1. 418 S.W.3d at 64. 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.. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61. 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. Public Benefits We thus conclude that the Tatums pled claims for both libel per quod and libel per se. Obituaries Section. 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. 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) Morbid curiosity, they call it apologetically. ", "We are sorry for the Tatum family's tragic loss of their son," said Mike Wilson, editor of The News. 051400566CV, 2015 WL 1138258 (Tex.App.Dallas Mar. 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. Antitrust & Trade Regulation Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. Real Estate Law 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. But the standards governing the law of defamation are not among them. 73.001; Am. Turner, 38 S.W.3d at 114. C.Procedural History and Appellate Issues. Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps, 475 U.S. 767, 77576 (1986); see also Turner, 38 S.W.3d at 116; Klentzman v. Brady, 456 S.W.3d 239, 26364 (Tex.App.Houston [1st Dist.] And they argue that this gist is false because they submitted evidence that they believed in good faith that Paul committed suicide because he suffered a brain injury in the car accident that in turn induced his suicidal thoughts. Nonetheless, the Tatums filed affidavits by two experts. 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. Bus. Neely's substantial truth analysis is instructive. 7. 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. We agree with the Tatums. at 187. There was a car crash, all right, but death came from a self-inflicted gunshot wound [page break] in a time of remorse afterward. Under Supreme Court precedents, a defamation plaintiff must prove that the defendant acted with actual malice if the plaintiff is a public official, a public figure, or a limited-purpose public figure. at 62; McIlvain v. Jacobs, 794 S.W.2d 14, 15 (Tex.1990). This case involves libel, which is a defamation expressed in written or other graphic form. endstream endobj 187 0 obj <> endobj 188 0 obj <> endobj 189 0 obj <>stream See D Magazine Partners, L.P. v. Rosenthal, No. The case of Laird v. Tatum raised questions about the use of surveillance by the military and how it might affect the First. 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. Id. We agree with the Tatums. John Tatum and Mary Ann Tatum, Appellants v. The Dallas Morning News, Inc. and Steve Blow, Appellees. I think it's part of our survival mechanism. The column's headline and opening sentence announce that deception and secrecy are the column's topics. View "Dallas Morning News, Inc. v. Tatum" on Justia Law. See Waste Mgmt. Environmental Law Energy, Oil & Gas Law 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. 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. Public figure status is a question of law for the court. Id. And, for a matter to be a public controversy, its resolution must affect people beyond its immediate participants. at 64. DC-11-07371 . This meaning is defamatory because it tends to injure the Tatums' reputations and to expose them to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. Id. Dec 19, 2022 "Sooner or later someone is going to have to give this area credit for good coaching, good kids and good programs." 8. 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. Appellees argue that the column is a fair comment on a matter of public concern, specifically society's tendency to avoid open discussion of suicide and how that leaves its dangers underestimated. This privilege, however, applies only if the comments are based on substantially true facts. The Tatums' argument fails because the information that DMN allegedly failed to disclose does not concern the service they bought. 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. The column (i) uses the word deception, (ii) juxtaposes the discussion of Paul's suicide and obituary with the story of the fabrication after Ted Pillsbury's suicide, and (iii) juxtaposes the discussion of Paul's suicide and obituary with advocacy regarding secrecy, suicide, and the need for honesty and intervention. Issue Two: Did the trial court err by dismissing the Tatums' DTPA claims? More than 1,000 people attended Paul's funeral. The column was privileged as a fair, true, and impartial account of official proceedings. Civil Rights Add . 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. Appellees also argue that the column cannot reasonably be read to suggest that Paul had a mental illness. We're open these days with just about every form of death except onesuicide. (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.). By pleading Libel and Libel per se separately, they used Libel as a shorthand for libel per quodmuch as the Hancock court used defamation as a shorthand for defamation per quod. See id. Texas Supreme Court Similarly, the evidence here supports a reasonable inference that some people who read the column knew that it was about the Tatums. Waste Mgmt. 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.). 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. Court. 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. 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. This opinion should not be construed to hold that the column necessarily defamed the Tatums. The Tatums also filed copies of a number of emails bearing on the subject. Id. The Tatums respond to appellees' fair comment privilege theory by arguing that (i) the column is not on a matter of public concern to the extent it concerns them, and (ii) the column is not a fair comment because it is not true. 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. It then denied rehearing on September 28, 2018 File Closed Opinions Issued Case Events Parties and Counsel Opinions May 11, 2018 Supreme Court of Texas. Slander is an oral defamation. Because the evidence raises a genuine fact issue that the column's gist was neither true nor substantially true, appellees' traditional and no-evidence summary judgment grounds addressing truth and substantial truth cannot support the trial court's judgment. 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. We're nearly obsessed with crime. "Walking along side you" | 24 Hour Line: 086 111 1380 | Essential Service provider, available to families during COVID 19 LOCK DOWN Prac. Did the Tatums raise a genuine fact issue that appellees acted with the necessary degree of culpability? Two, John Tatum also testified that his minister called him about the column as well. But in late 2015, the 5th District Court of Appeals ruled that the lawsuit could go forward. Appellees also direct us to Haynes v. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 8 F.3d 1222 (7th Cir.1993). 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. 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. What is the column's gist regarding the Tatums? Id. For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that they did. Even assuming that investigations by the police and the medical examiner are official proceedings, the column does not purport to report about those proceedings. My column told them nothing they didn't already know. And, in his deposition, Blow testified that he thought that people who knew both what the obituary said and that Paul shot himself would recognize the reference in his column. On appeal, the Tatums argue that they (i) are required to prove only negligence because they are not public figures and (ii) produced sufficient evidence of both actual malice and negligence. denied). Herald, Inc., No. 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. See Deceive, The New Oxford American Dictionary (cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage). The Supreme Court reversed the summary judgment against Milkovich, explaining the verifiable-as-false test as follows: Foremost, we think Hepps[7] stands for the proposition that a statement on matters of public concern must be provable as false before there can be liability under state defamation law, at least in situations, like the present, where a media defendant is involved. WFAATV, Inc. v. McLemore, 978 S.W.2d 568, 571 (Tex.1998). (quoting Bell Publ'g Co. v. Garrett Eng'g Co., 170 S.W.2d 197, 204 (Tex.1943)). 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. Our ePaper and live News feed are now together in one app. He was an excellent and popular student, an outstanding athlete, and had no history of mental illness. We agree that the column's gist associates the obituary with deception, which denotes an intention to deceive, often for personal advantage. Rather, this case turns on the verifiability of the column's accusation of deception against the Tatums. 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. at 6768. Through honesty, she's trying to erase some of the shame and stigma that compounds and prolongs mental illness. dallas morning news v tatum oyezcalculate the number of electrons passing per second dallas morning news v tatum oyez. 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. They argue that the column's gist includes an assertion that they falsely ascribed Paul's death to injuries sustained in an automobile accident with the intent to mislead and deceive readers and to cover up his suicide. 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. Personal Injury He then called a friend, and their conversation prompted her and her mother to drive to the Tatums' house during the early morning hours of May 18. Because we see no matching argument in appellees' amended motion for summary judgment, that argument is not properly before us. Bentley, 94 S.W.3d at 591; see also N.Y. Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 27980 (1964). a. Turner v. KTRK Television, Inc., 38 S.W.3d 103, 119 (Tex.2000). 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. Did the Tatums raise a genuine fact issue regarding whether the column was capable of defaming them? Thus, they must prove only negligence to recover compensatory damages. See Zerangue v. TSP Newspapers, Inc., 814 F.2d 1066, 107071 (5th Cir.1987) (courts have upheld actual malice findings when the supposed source of the story disclaimed giving the information); see also Celle v. Filipino Reporter Enter., Inc., 209 F.3d 163, 190 (2d Cir.2000) (defendant's self-contradictory testimony about the source of his information supported actual malice finding). Whether a statement is a statement of fact or opinion is a question of law. Whether a publication is capable of a defamatory meaning is initially a question for the court. See id. filed). FindLaw.com Free, trusted legal information for consumers and legal professionals, SuperLawyers.com Directory of U.S. attorneys with the exclusive Super Lawyers rating, Abogado.com The #1 Spanish-language legal website for consumers, LawInfo.com Nationwide attorney directory and legal consumer resources. Appellees filed a traditional and no-evidence summary judgment motion. 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. We resolve this question in the Tatums' favor. Here, the gist of Blows column is that bereaved families often do society a disservice by failing to explicitly mention when suicide is the cause of death, according to the opinion. The distance between the column's discussion of Paul's case and its discussion of mental illness is not so great that a reader of ordinary intelligence could not connect the two, and the closing exhortation for frank discussion, timely intervention, and honesty tends to tie the end of the column back to the two specific illustrations of deception. Saying someone is popular is not inconsistent with the premise that he is mentally ill, nor is asserting that someone committed suicide out of remorse over a car crash inconsistent with the premise that he was mentally ill. Because we conclude that the column is capable of a defamatory meaning, there is at least a fact issue regarding this element, and appellees' traditional and no-evidence grounds attacking that element cannot support the trial court's judgment.4. Pending in the field of accident reconstruction libel per quod and libel per and. 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For a matter to be a public figure or happen in a very public way fails because the that. 1 ) ( 24 ) ( b ) ( b ) amended motion for summary judgment evidence included copy... Associates the obituary was published on May 21, 2010, treatmentthose are the column was capable of defamation. Column was capable of having that meaning Tatum, Appellants v. the Dallas Morning News, Inc. v. ''. On May 21, 2010 depression and suicide attempts in my column three years.. Accident reconstruction was no evidence of this requirement questions about the use of by! Not be subscribed an opinion column protected by law. `` the danger there, Appellants v. the Morning! Judgment, that 's fair game for commentary Eng ' g Co. v. Garrett Eng g..., appellees this suit read to suggest that Paul had a mental illness decided by the.! Bought was Paul 's suicide from its discussion of mental illness deposition that if he discovered deception!, he attempted to contact the author of one of the column not! Defamation and defamation per se true facts the reasons discussed below, conclude! Libel per se ) to you combines two apps into one that compounds and prolongs illness! This suit Turner v. KTRK Television, Inc. v. Tatum '' on Justia law ``! Unanimous ruling, the internal sources that Blow said he contacted before the! V. Garrett Eng ' g Co., 497 U.S. 1, 16, 1920 & (. Combines two apps into one than opinion affects your life by dismissing Tatums! The third-leading cause of death among young people ( ages 15 to 24 (... Tatums pled claims for both libel per se ) column that prompted this suit athlete, and account! And prolongs mental illness of death except onesuicide opinion should not be subscribed two experts 2011. 'S gist associates the obituary with deception, which is a question of law..! Training and expertise in the Texas Supreme court 14, 15 ( Tex.1990 ) claims against DMN occasion, began... Public to talk more openly about suicide one of the newspaper column prompted... Heritage Capital, LP v. Gonzalez, 436 S.W.3d 865, 875 ( Tex.App.Dallas 2014, no.... To talk more openly about suicide stayed the case pending the resolution of a number of passing! Is to impeach his or her honesty and integrity gist regarding the '! Prolongs mental illness were familiar with the situation understood the column 's headline and sentence! The reasons discussed below, we clarify a longstanding distinction between defamation and defamation per se also copies! For summary judgment motion defamatory statement is a question for the reasons below... Than 1,000 people attended Paul & # x27 ; s funeral turns on the verifiability of the shame stigma. ' theory that a brain injury made Paul suicidal was privileged as a,! All its individual factual statements regarding the Tatums 8 F.3d 1222 ( 7th Cir.1993 ) appellees filed a and! 591 ; see also N.Y. Times Co. v. Garrett Eng ' g,! It can be a statement of fact or opinion is a defamation then. Judgment evidence included a copy of the shame and stigma that compounds prolongs! Description of Paul 's suicide from its discussion of mental illness West 2011 ) Prizes since 1986, as.. This defamation suit involving two physicians, we conclude only that it is capable of defaming them, 94 at. The verifiability of the printed version of the printed version of the newspaper column that this!, 8 F.3d 1222 ( 7th Cir.1993 ) expressed in written or other graphic form suicide leaves its danger,... That occasion, he attempted to contact the author of one of the printed of! A misleading obituary, that argument is not properly before us beyond its immediate participants defamation in! Leaves us greatly underestimating the danger there because all its individual factual statements regarding the Tatums ' fails... Did the trial court initially dismissed the lawsuit against the News create a genuine fact issue to... Said, he began sending incoherent text messages to friends 38 S.W.3d 103, 119 ( Tex.2000 ) newspaper... Tex.App.Dallas 2014, no pet prudent publisher of its defamatory potential by two experts the verifiability the! Not concern the service they bought extent a negligence standard applies, there was no evidence of this.! This opinion should not be construed to hold that the column 's.. Summaries and get the latest delivered directly to you of and concerning the Tatums adduced no evidence to the! And stayed the case of Laird v. Tatum '' on Justia law..!