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.). "Walking along side you" | 24 Hour Line: 086 111 1380 | Essential Service provider, available to families during COVID 19 LOCK DOWN News: 1 day ago Tatum recorded 14 points (6-18 FG, 1-9 3Pt, 1-1 FT), nine assists, seven rebounds and one steal in 37 minutes before he was ejected from Monday's 109-94 loss to the Knicks. 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. The Tatum filed suit alleging libel and libel per se against Petitioners alleging that the column at issue defamed them. The Tatums' response relied on the following evidence: One, John Tatum testified by affidavit that his friend Lee Simpson called to inform him about the column the day it was published. Morbid curiosity, they call it apologetically. 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. Posted By : / seattle kraken hoodie mens /; Under :reflexive pronouns grade 2reflexive pronouns grade 2 Specifically, the first affidavit is by Dr. Robert Cargill, who possesses a Ph.D. in bioengineering. 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. at 47. But it's such a missed opportunity to educate.. But because the accusation was an opinion, the trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Petitioners.The Tatum filed suit alleging libel and libel per se against Petitioners alleging that the column at issue defamed them. Id. See McConnell v. Southside Indep. This is some evidence of actual malice. It then denied rehearing on September 28, 2018 File Closed Opinions Issued Case Events Parties and Counsel Opinions May 11, 2018 Government & Administrative Law Become a business insider with the latest news. 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. at 60. at 6364. 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. 4. This opinion should not be construed to hold that the column necessarily defamed the Tatums. This case involves libel, which is a defamation expressed in written or other graphic form. That question remains to be decided by the factfinder. Posted By : / chsaa basketball rule book /; Under :international cultureinternational culture That night, Paul was involved in a one-car automobile accident. 5. More than 1,000 people attended Paul's funeral. at 894. Id. at 62 ([S]tatements that are not verifiable as false cannot form the basis of a defamation claim.); see also Bentley v. Bunton, 94 S.W.3d 561, 57985 (Tex.2002) (accusations that a judge was corrupt were sufficiently verifiable to constitute actionable statements of fact). The column's gist is not simply that the Tatums omitted the fact that Paul committed suicide from the obituary. In re Lipsky, 460 S.W.3d 579, 593 (Tex.2015) (orig.proceeding). Appellees' contrary argument fails on the first prong we referenced abovethe existence of a public controversy for the Tatums to participate in. 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). Rather, this case turns on the verifiability of the column's accusation of deception against the Tatums. The column was not capable of the defamatory meaning ascribed by the Tatums. 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. There was also evidence that Blow did not adhere to his usual practice of investigation when he wrote the column. 2. 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. Id. DMN did not commit a deceptive act in connection with a consumer transaction or that was a producing cause of any damages to the Tatums. Two, John Tatum also testified that his minister called him about the column as well. We agree with the Tatums on all three points. 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. Government 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. 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. Dallas Morning News Leading daily newspaper serving the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Prac. The Tatums' argument fails because the information that DMN allegedly failed to disclose does not concern the service they bought. See Tex.R. Construction Law Although the column does not expressly make these assertions, roughly the last third of the column discusses the prevalence of suicide (specifically among young people), laments public silence about suicide's frequent cause (mental illness), and concludes, Awareness, frank discussion, timely intervention, treatmentthose are the things that save lives. 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. (the undisclosed information must be about the goods or services being rendered). (a publication qualified for the privilege only if it purported to be, and was, only a fair, true and impartial report of what was stated at a city council meeting). 186 0 obj
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Neely v. Wilson, 418 S.W.3d 52, 59 (Tex.2013). 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 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. Did the Tatums raise a genuine fact issue regarding whether the column was capable of defaming them? The Tatums also filed copies of a number of emails bearing on the subject. Appellees won a take-nothing summary judgment. 0
Through honesty, she's trying to erase some of the shame and stigma that compounds and prolongs mental illness. See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 72. 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. Agriculture Law Our work has been recognized with nine Pulitzer Priz Location & Hours 1954 Commerce St Dallas, TX 75201 These affidavits create a reasonable inference that persons who knew the Tatums also knew that the column referred to them. 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. Cf. See Tex. New York Times v. Sullivan-Alabama city commissioner sued NY Times -said an ad they published describing mistreatment of African American students had defamed him by implication-some of the statements in the ad were false or exaggerated, but those were small details The elements of the Tatums' claims were thus (i) they were consumers, (ii) DMN used or employed the act or practice defined in 17.46(b)(24), (iii) the Tatums relied on DMN's act or practice to their detriment, and (iv) DMN's act or practice was a producing cause of economic or mental-anguish damages. Our ePaper and live News feed are now together in one app. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. The Tatums' first appellate issue argues that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment on their libel claims. Animal / Dog Law For the reasons discussed below, we accept the former and reject the latter. But private figures suing a media defendant (as we have here) must prove only negligence to recover defamation damages. 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