dallas morning news v tatum summarydallas morning news v tatum summary

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. Whether a statement is a statement of fact or opinion is a question of 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. Am. Civ. 73.002(b)(2). That question remains to be decided by the factfinder. In May 2010, Paul was a seventeen-year-old high school student. featuring summaries of federal and state 2695. 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. This is some evidence of actual malice. 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. Herald, Inc., No. The Supreme Court reversed the summary judgment against Milkovich, explaining the verifiable-as-false test as follows: Phila. See Civ. Am. Casetext, Inc. and Casetext are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. of Tex., Inc. v. Tex. The Tatums wrote an obituary for Paul and paid DMN to publish the obituary in the Dallas Morning Newsnewspaper. We conclude that the evidence raised a genuine fact issue as to negligence. The column's headline was Shrouding suicide leaves its danger unaddressed. (Emphasis added). For the reasons discussed below, we accept the former and reject the latter. denied) (objection that opinions are speculative can be raised for the first time on appeal).

See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 62 ; Bentley, 94 S.W.3d at 57985. filed). Turner v. KTRK Television, Inc., 38 S.W.3d 103, 119 (Tex.2000). Health Law If a defamatory statement about a private figure involves a matter of public concern, however, and the defendant is a media defendant, the private figure plaintiff must prove actual malice to recover punitive damages. Family Law Additionally, the summary judgment evidence established that the Tatums were out of town the day the column was published. 73.001. Courthouse News brings us this lawsuit filed two days ago in Dallas County District Court: John Tatum and Mary Ann Tatum v. The Dallas Morning News, inc. and Steve Blow. at 62 (In this defamation suit involving two physicians, we clarify a longstanding distinction between defamation and defamation per se .). Id.

For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that they did. Although there is evidence that people in Paul's high school community were discussing his death generally, and that unspecified others in north Dallas were also discussing it before the column was published, there is no evidence that the cause or manner of Paul's death affected anyone other than the Tatums. The court then vacated its judgment and stayed the case pending the resolution of a defamation case then pending in the Texas Supreme Court.

padres scout team 2025; what did william engesser die of; assassin's creed odyssey entrance to Employment Law WebV. WebDallas Morning News, Inc. v. Tatum, a case involving a heart-wrenching death and a well-intentioned newspaper column. 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. 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. Id. Id. We are not necessarily convinced that Knopf's first statement about Haynes was an unverifiable opinion. 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. The Neely court explained the fair comment privilege as follows: Id. 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. We agree with the Tatums. 418 S.W.3d at 64. 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. We conclude that there was more than a scintilla of evidence showing more than a mere failure to conduct a reasonable investigation. The column's gist is not simply that the Tatums omitted the fact that Paul committed suicide from the obituary. West sued for defamation, he lost the case on summary judgment, and the case came before the Utah Supreme Court. Government Contracts 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. See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61. 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. Waste Mgmt. at 64. at 6667.

That night, Paul was involved in a one-car automobile accident. We reverse the trial court's summary judgment to the extent it orders the Tatums to take nothing on their libel and libel per se claims.

The column purported to support this gist with the factual assertion that Paul committed suicide out of remorse, implicitly calling the obituary's statement that Paul died as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident a lie. 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. West successfully ran for mayor of a Utah town. 475 S.W.3d at 481 n. 6, 2015 WL 5156908, at *6 n. 6. Viewed in the light most favorable to the Tatums, the evidence raised a genuine issue of material fact as to the actual malice element. 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. In two appellate issues, the Tatums urge that the trial court erred in granting the summary judgment dismissing their libel and DTPA claims. 051400566CV, 486 S.W.3d 7, 2015 WL 1138258 (Tex.App.Dallas Mar. 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. We also conclude that the evidence raises a genuine fact issue as to actual malice. Appellees argue that a public controversy existed over the official cause of Paul's death. STANDARD OF REVIEW. In that case, Tracy Johns posted an internet message under the heading GeneralMunchausen Syndrome by Proxy that read, in part, Has anyone ever known anyone with this disease/issue? Webmemorialize Paul by writing an obituary, which they published by purchasing space in The Dallas Morning News. at 1019. Please call 214-745-8383 or 1-800-925-1500. We conclude that the Tatums adduced no evidence of this requirement. Prac. We agree with the Tatums. Austin v. Inet Techs., Inc., 118 S.W.3d 491, 496 (Tex.App.Dallas 2003, no pet.). Business Law 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, 131 S.Ct. Accordingly, the court held that the columns were nonactionable opinions.

2023-03-29. We disagree and affirm the judgment as to those claims. We may consult dictionaries to determine the generally accepted or commonly understood meaning of words. Education Law Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875. at 21, 110 S.Ct. No. of Tex., Inc., 434 S.W.3d at 15657. The Tatum filed suit alleging libel and libel per se against Petitioners alleging that the column at issue defamed them. Free Newsletters 2695 (footnotes omitted). WebThe new Dallas Morning News app combines two apps into one. Insurance Law The ePaper is also available to members via The Dallas Morning News ePaper app: iOS | Android. Real Estate Law Tobacco Co. v. Grinnell, 951 S.W.2d 420, 425 (Tex.1997). 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. at 894. 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. 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. Civil Procedure Injury Law Rather, we conclude only that it is capable of having that meaning. 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. He made his way home from the accident scene and began drinking champagne.

Id. See Waste Mgmt.

We determine substantial truth by assessing the publication's gist. See id. Civil Rights By statute, a newspaper or other periodical enjoys a privilege against libel actions regarding the publication of certain matters, including (i) a fair, true, and impartial account of an official proceeding to administer the law, Civ. Animal / Dog Law 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. The trial court granted summary judgment for Petitioners. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google.

Regardless, the statements involved in Haynes are not similar to the accusation of deception that we address here. Communications Law Because we conclude that the evidence raised a genuine fact issue regarding whether the column was true or substantially true regarding the Tatums, we need not decide which side had the burden of proof. Accordingly, Gacek and Scholz are not on point. In short, there must first be a controversy before it can be a public one. The Tatums timely responded. 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. Haynes is distinguishable. when you walk away from a cancer man, dallas morning news v tatum summary, who are the wellington musicians accused of assault, white horse tavern rhode island, worcester man dies in motorcycle accident, current mlb players with criminal records, eyes blood bones stuck in your The Tatums timely responded.

In that case, Milkovich sued Lorain for publishing an article that essentially accused him of perjury. at 1001 & n. 1. Appellees further argue that the column does not omit or juxtapose facts in such a way as to make its gist false. The Tatums wrote an obituary for Paul and paid DMN to publish the obituary in the Dallas Morning News newspaper. Government & Administrative Law 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. Whether a publication is capable of a defamatory meaning is initially a question for the court. We agree with the Tatums. 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. We are unpersuaded. 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. Thus, there is evidence that Blow did not investigate this column with the same thoroughness that he did for a previous column and that his explanation for the difference was not true.

In light of Milkovich, Neely, and Bentley, we conclude that the column's gist that the Tatums were deceptive when they wrote Paul's obituary is sufficiently verifiable to be actionable in defamation. Contracts Backes, 486 S.W.3d at 2527, 2015 WL 1138258, at *14. 29, 2013), aff'd, 41 N.E.3d 38, 473 Mass. 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.

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. The summary judgment evidence included a copy of the printed version of the newspaper column that prompted this suit. The trial court later lifted the stay and again rendered a take-nothing summary judgment against the Tatums. Class Action Construction Law Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 63. 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. Based on the above, we conclude that the expert affidavits are not speculative and the trial court did not err by overruling appellees' objections. If a publication is of ambiguous or doubtful import, however, the jury must determine its meaning.

Antitrust But private figures suing a media defendant (as we have here) must prove only negligence to recover defamation damages. 2695. 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. pending). 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. port rowan funeral home 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. 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. The DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. and Steve Blow, Petitioners v. John TATUM and Mary Ann Tatum, Respondents No. 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. A publication's gist is its main point, material part, or essence, as perceived by a reasonable person. Civ. Appellees, however, do not contend that the Tatums are public officials or general-purpose public figures. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964). Our decision in Backes v. Misko, No. 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. The court did not state the basis for any of its rulings. We agree with the Tatums. 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. (quoting Bell Publ'g Co. v. Garrett Eng'g Co., 141 Tex. WebDallas morning news v. Tatum-the Tatum's son shot and killed himself after suffering serious injuries in a car crash -Moore moved for summary judgement, which was Id. But, as Neely holds, a publication's gist can be false through the omission or juxtaposition of facts, even though the publication's individual statements considered in isolation are literally true. Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875. 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. Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875 ; Main v. Royall, 348 S.W.3d 381, 389 (Tex.App.Dallas 2011, no pet.). In Tatum v. The Dallas Morning News, Inc., No. View "Dallas Morning News, Inc. v. Tatum" on Justia Law. These affidavits create a reasonable inference that persons who knew the Tatums also knew that the column referred to them. In order to make these conversations more worthwhile, please direct your call to the appropriate department noted below. Justia Opinion Summary. One month later, on Father's Day, June 20, 2010, DMN published a column written by Blow. 2695. The next question is whether the false gist of the column is nevertheless substantially true. See id. See Pickens v. Cordia, 433 S.W.3d 179, 185 (Tex.App.Dallas 2014, no pet.) Accordingly we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We thus conclude that Denton Publishing Co. is still controlling law. Blow explained that he acted differently in investigating this column because he had been told that Paul's family did not want to discuss the matter. anita baker first husband; dallas morning news v tatum oyez. Id. 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. Nonetheless, the Tatums filed affidavits by two experts. As the Tatums urge, the service they bought was Paul's obituary. 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. WebThe 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. 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 therefore do not address whether those categories apply here. Paul Tatum was the son of John and Mary Ann Tatum.At seventeen years old, Paul was a smart, popular, and athletic high-school student. WebA two-way dialogue is healthy for our community and we'd love to hear from you. WebOpinion for John Tatum and Mary Ann Tatum v. the Dallas Morning News, Inc. and Steve Blow Brought to you by Free Law Project, a non-profit dedicated to creating high quality open legal information. Defamation has two forms: slander and libel. We sustain the Tatums' first issue. 17.46(b)(24); see also Brennan v. Manning, No. The other affidavit is by Dr. Joseph Kass, a medical doctor and neurologist who possesses expertise in neurocognitive disorders such as traumatic brain injuries. 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. See McConnell v. Southside Indep. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61. 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.). Am. Mack Trucks, Inc. v. Tamez, 206 S.W.3d 572, 582 (Tex.2006). 497 U.S. at 1921, 110 S.Ct. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61 ; WFAATV, Inc. v. McLemore, 978 S.W.2d 568, 571 (Tex.1998).