Civ. The state Supreme Court saw the column differently. Heritage Capital, 436 S.W.3d at 875. Find an Obituary. See id. Here, the column did not mention Paul or the Tatums by name. 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. This is some evidence of actual malice. Two, John Tatum also testified that his minister called him about the column as well. That lawsuit was dismissed, and the Tatums appealed. pending). Phila. Newspapers don't write about suicides unless they involve a public figure or happen in a very public way. We next ask whether there was evidence that the column's gist was false. Bentley, 94 S.W.3d at 591. Constitutional Law 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. They also sued DMN for DTPA violations. See Hancock v. Variyam, 400 S.W.3d 59, 64 (Tex.2013) (Defamation per quod is defamation that is not actionable per se.). We therefore decline to follow West. Consumer Law 497 U.S. at 1921. b. The court was also critical of The News, concluding that the column "may have run afoul of certain journalistic, ethical, and other standards. Libel per quod is simply libel that is not actionable per se. Although the Tatums' mental states when they wrote the obituary may not be susceptible of direct proof, we conclude that they are sufficiently verifiable through circumstantial evidence, such as the investigation into the possible causes for Paul's suicide that the Tatums undertook, to make the column's defamatory gist about them verifiable under Milkovich and Neely. Court. Before Justices Lang, Fillmore, and Whitehill Opinion by Justice Whitehill Yet we're nearly blind to the greater threat of self-inflicted violence. Based on their view of the column's gist, appellees next argue that the cause of Paul's suicide and the Tatums' belief about that cause are irrelevant to the issue of truth. 27.001.011. 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. Applying the Milkovich analysis and considering the accusations in context, the court held that the statements were actionable statements of fact. Appellees also argue on appeal that any libel per quod claim fails because the Tatums did not plead or prove special damages. But it's such a missed opportunity to educate.. We agree that the column's gist associates the obituary with deception, which denotes an intention to deceive, often for personal advantage. at 1020. See id. THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. AND STEVE BLOW, PETITIONERS, v. JOHN TATUM AND MARY ANN TATUM, RESPONDENTS No. WFAATV, Inc. v. McLemore, 978 S.W.2d 568, 571 (Tex.1998). Id. In two appellate issues, the Tatums urge that the trial court erred in granting the summary judgment dismissing their libel and DTPA claims. That question remains to be decided by the factfinder. Civil Procedure On Petition for Review from the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas. 186 0 obj <> endobj foley and lardner profits per partner; what is tiger woods favorite food; neuralink mark of the beast; dallas morning news v tatum oyez. 2. B. (3)the alleged defamation must be germane to the plaintiff's participation in the controversy. 051400566CV, 2015 WL 1138258 (Tex.App.Dallas Mar. 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 Accordingly, the court held that the columns were nonactionable opinions. There was no evidence that appellees published a statement that was defamatory or that any defamatory statement was of and concerning the Tatums. The Tatums wrote an obituary for Paul and paid DMN to publish the obituary in the Dallas Morning News newspaper. Benjamin has a Bachelors in philosophy and a Master's in humanities. More than 1,000 people attended Paul's funeral. John Tatum and Mary Ann Tatum, Appellants v. The Dallas Morning News, Inc. and Steve Blow, Appellees. When art expert Ted Pillsbury died in March, his company said he suffered an apparent heart attack on a country road in Kaufman County. 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). See id. We are not persuaded by appellees' characterization of the column as nonactionable rhetorical hyperbole. 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. Appellees further argue that the column does not omit or juxtapose facts in such a way as to make its gist false. %%EOF Utilities Law [1] The Dallas woman first went public with her story of depression and suicide attempts in my column three years ago. West successfully ran for mayor of a Utah town. See Neely, 418 S.W.3d at 61. Thus, if the column's false gistthat the Tatums wrote Paul's obituary with the intent to deceiveis more damaging to the Tatums' reputations than a true statement would have been, then the gist is not substantially true. It then denied rehearing on September 28, 2018 File Closed Opinions Issued Case Events Parties and Counsel Opinions May 11, 2018 Even if the statements in a publication are not defamatory when taken individually, a publication can be defamatory if it creates a defamatory impression by omitting material facts or juxtaposing facts in a misleading way. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. 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. V. THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, INC. AND STEVE BLOW, Appellees . Contact us. Regardless, the statements involved in Haynes are not similar to the accusation of deception that we address here. The other affidavit is by Dr. Joseph Kass, a medical doctor and neurologist who possesses expertise in neurocognitive disorders such as traumatic brain injuries. Karen Misko took the post to be directed at her and sued Johns for libel. 73.001. That night, Paul was involved in a one-car automobile accident. 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. We sustain the Tatums' first issue. A publication's gist is its main point, material part, or essence, as perceived by a reasonable person. Id. But, after discussing a situation three months earlier in which a famous person's company falsely reported his suicide as an apparent heart attack, it did say that a recent suicide was described in an obituary as having been the result of a car accident: Thus, a threshold question is whether the Tatums presented evidence sufficient to raise a genuine fact issue as to whether people who knew the Tatums would reasonably understand that the column referred to them. Transportation Law at 62 (In this defamation suit involving two physicians, we clarify a longstanding distinction between defamation and defamation per se). hV]o:+~lb;-E!^ C- Turner v. KTRK Television, Inc., 38 S.W.3d 103, 119 (Tex.2000). 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. 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. Similarly, although there is evidence that the Tatums disagreed with the manner of death finding of suicide on Paul's death certificate and tried to persuade the medical examiner to change it, there is no evidence that the outcome of this alleged controversy affected anyone except the Tatums. Contracts See id. In part, we don't talk about suicide because we don't talk about the illness that often underlies itmental illness. Austin v. Inet Techs., Inc., 118 S.W.3d 491, 496 (Tex.App.Dallas 2003, no pet.). App.Dallas Dec. 30, 2015, pet. Dec 19, 2022 "Sooner or later someone is going to have to give this area credit for good coaching, good kids and good programs." 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. 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. In their second appellate issue, the Tatums contend that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment on their DTPA claims against DMN. 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. 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. Issue Two: Did the trial court err by dismissing the Tatums' DTPA claims? Appellees also argue that the column cannot reasonably be read to suggest that Paul had a mental illness. The Tatums' DTPA claims are based on 17.46(b)(24) of the DTPA, which provides that it is a false, misleading, or deceptive act or practice to fail [] to disclose information concerning goods or services which was known at the time of the transaction if such failure to disclose such information was intended to induce the consumer into a transaction into which the consumer would not have entered had the information been disclosed. Tex. 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 next seven paragraphs describe two recent occurrences meant to illustrate Blow's pointthe events surrounding the deaths of Ted Pillsbury and Paul Tatum. And the gist includes an implication that the Tatums' motive for deceiving readers was to conceal that Paul had suffered from a mental illness that the Tatums failed to confront. The Tatums wrote an obituary for Paul and paid DMN to publish the obituary in the Dallas Morning News newspaper. 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. After the accident, he began sending incoherent text messages to friends. Public Benefits In the interest of judicial economy, we consider all grounds presented to the trial court and preserved on appeal. 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. 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. Libel that is not actionable per se or happen in a one-car automobile accident DMN to the. Appeal that any defamatory statement was of and concerning the Tatums contend that the court... 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