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). I'm troubled that we, as a society, allow suicide to remain cloaked in such secrecy, if not outright deception. The trial court later lifted the stay and again rendered a take-nothing summary judgment against the Tatums. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 66 n.12 (the distinctions among the varying burdens of proof as to truth or falsity are less material at summary judgment). Waste Mgmt. (quoting Bell Publ'g Co. v. Garrett Eng'g Co., 170 S.W.2d 197, 204 (Tex.1943)). 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. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 63. We therefore do not address whether those categories apply here. We disagree. We do not address this question here, however, because we conclude that the Tatums raised a genuine fact issue regarding falsity even if they bore the burden. Our ePaper and live News feed are now together in one app. Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1, 16, 1920 & n.6 (1990); Phila. 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. 6. 3. Injury Law These matters create a genuine fact issue regarding whether the column's contents would have warned a reasonably prudent publisher of its defamatory potential. The test here is whether the defamatory statement is verifiable as false. On Appeal from the 68th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. court opinions. To support their premise, appellees point to evidence that some people in the community were discussing Paul's suicide before the column was published. hV]o:+~lb;-E!^ C- No. denied) (mem.op.) Slander is an oral defamation. Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 70. 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. 73.002(b)(2). But recent Texas defamation cases may suggest that the plaintiff always has the burden of proving falsity. We draw this factual recitation from the allegations in the Tatums' live petition: The Tatums were Paul Tatum's parents. The Tatums purchased a space in the Dallas Morning News to publish an obituary for their son. A reasonable juror could conclude that Blow was not honest when he testified about the sources of his information about Paul's death. A statement does not have to refer to the plaintiff by name, however, if people who know and are acquainted with the plaintiff reasonably understand from reading the statement that it referred to the plaintiff. Main, 348 S.W.3d at 395; see also Houseman v. Publicaciones Paso del Norte, S.A., 242 S.W.3d 518, 525 (Tex.App.El Paso 2007, no pet.) Prac. V. THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. AND STEVE BLOW, Appellees . 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. Based on the above, we conclude that the expert affidavits are not speculative and the trial court did not err by overruling appellees' objections. The column was not capable of the defamatory meaning ascribed by the Tatums. Appellees make a threshold argument that the Tatums must satisfy the standard for libel per se because they did not plead or prove libel per quod or special damages. The best local opportunities from The Dallas Morning News Browse Jobs By Category Accounting & Finance Call Center Customer Service Construction Education Hospitality Manufacturing & Trade. Appellees also direct us to Haynes v. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 8 F.3d 1222 (7th Cir.1993). 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. 0 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 | We determine substantial truth by assessing the publication's gist. See id. There was no evidence that appellees published a statement that was defamatory or that any defamatory statement was of and concerning the Tatums. He was an excellent and popular student, an outstanding athlete, and had no history of mental illness. Moved Permanently. 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. See Tex. 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.. Zoning, Planning & Land Use. But it's such a missed opportunity to educate.. Civ. Legal Ethics Appellees, however, cite several cases from other jurisdictions to support their argument that the column's gist is an unverifiable opinion. Applying the Milkovich analysis and considering the accusations in context, the court held that the statements were actionable statements of fact. Our supreme court, however, has embraced the Milkovich verifiability test. 7. 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. Trusts & Estates Mar. 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. Our work has been recognized with nine Pulitzer Priz Location & Hours 1954 Commerce St Dallas, TX 75201 Securities Law On appeal, appellees argue only that the affidavits are too speculative. About three months later, they filed an amended traditional and no-evidence summary judgment motion. Think of how much more attention we pay to the latter. Id. Turner, 38 S.W.3d at 115. Defamation has two forms: slander and libel. All rights reserved. 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. at *5. Supreme Court of Texas. Moreover, a witness named Jenyce Gush testified by deposition that she read Paul's obituary before Blow's column was published, and that when Blow's column was published she knew which obituary he was referring to. The official Dallas Morning News Twitter account. They're frustrated when obits don't say. & Rem.Code Ann. They argue that the column is literally true because all its individual factual statements regarding the Tatums are true. Steve Blow is a columnist for The Dallas Morning News. The Tatums argue that appellees bear the burden of proof on truth or substantial truth, so the no-evidence ground is invalid. 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." 12, 2007, pet. at 60. at 6364. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. At issue is. 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. 73.005(a) (truth is a defense to a libel action); see also Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 62 (mentioning the defense of truth and citing 73.005); Randall's Food Mkts., Inc. v. Johnson, 891 S.W.2d 640, 646 (Tex.1995) (In suits brought by private individuals, truth is an affirmative defense to slander.) (footnote omitted). THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. AND STEVE BLOW, PETITIONERS, v. JOHN TATUM AND MARY ANN TATUM, RESPONDENTS No. 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. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. filed), we noted that "[p]lacing the burden of proving truth or falsity is a complex . The column was privileged as a fair, true, and impartial account of official proceedings. Julie recently wrote a blog item titled Don't omit from the obit, urging more openness about suicide as a cause of death. See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61. Avila v. Larrea, 394 S.W.3d 646, 658 (Tex.App.Dallas 2012, pet. And the secrecy surrounding suicide leaves us greatly underestimating the danger there. We have already concluded that a reasonable reader could conclude that the column presents a false gist about the Tatums. See Gilbert Tex. This meaning is defamatory because it tends to injure the Tatums' reputations and to expose them to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. Did the Tatums raise a genuine fact issue regarding whether the column was capable of defaming them? Because we see no matching argument in appellees' amended motion for summary judgment, that argument is not properly before us. 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. filed). 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." Constitutional Law at 1001 & n.1. Finally, appellees cite West v. Thomson Newspapers, 872 P.2d 999 (Utah 1994). Learn more about FindLaws newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. There was a car crash, all right, but death came from a self-inflicted gunshot wound [page break] in a time of remorse afterward. 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. Government Law 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. 'S parents TATUM and MARY ANN TATUM, RESPONDENTS No PETITIONERS, v. JOHN TATUM and MARY ANN TATUM RESPONDENTS... Because we see No matching argument in appellees ' amended motion for summary judgment against Tatums! Cause No & quot ; [ p ] lacing the burden of proving falsity that... Not form the basis of a defamation claim argue that appellees bear the burden of proof on truth falsity... V. Larrea, 394 S.W.3d 646, 658 ( Tex.App.Dallas 2012, pet Cir.1993 ) S.W.3d 646 658... Honest when he testified about the sources of his information about Paul 's.. 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