Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-95-05152/USCOURTS-ca10-95-05152-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
ABC News, Inc.
Appellee
American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Appellee
Capital Cities/ABC, INC.
Appellee
Robbie Gordon
Appellee
Diane Sawyer
Appellee
Kelly Sutherland
Appellee
Robert G. Tilton
Appellant

Document Text:

FILED . IJDI&ed States Court or Ap~1.:: 

Teatb Circuit 

PUBLISH AUG 2 7 1996 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS PATRICK FISHER 

Clerk 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

ROBERT G. TILTON, 

Plaintiff- Appellant, 

v. 

CAPITAL CITIES/ABC, INC., a New 

York corporation; AMERICAN 

BROADCASTING COMPANIES, 

INC., a Delaware corporation; ABC 

NEWS, INC., a Delaware corporation; 

DIANE SAWYER; ROBBIE 

GORDON; KELLY SUTHERLAND, 

Defendants - Appellees. 

No. 95-5152 

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

(D. Ct. No. 92-C-1032-BU) 

J.C. Joyce, Joyce and Pollard, Tulsa, Oklahoma, appearing for the Appellant. 

Floyd Abrams, Cahill, Gordon & Reindel, New York, New York (Susan Buckley 

and David G. Januszewski, Cahill, Gordon & Reindel, New York, New York, and 

Clyde A. Muchmore, Crowe & Dunlevy, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with him on 

the brief) appearing for the Appellees. 

Before T ACHA, BRISCOE, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges. 

Appellate Case: 95-5152 Document: 01019281036 Date Filed: 08/27/1996 Page: 1 
.a 

TACHA, Circuit Judge. 

Robert G. Tilton sued Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., American Broadcasting 

Companies, Inc., ABC News, Inc., and several employees of American Broadcasting 

Companies, Inc., for libel and false invasion of privacy arising out of the broadcast 

of two television programs in 1991 and 1992. All defendants moved for summary 

judgment on the merits of Tilton's claims, and corporate defendants Capital 

Cities/ ABC, Inc., and ABC News, Inc., separately moved for summary judgment on 

the additional ground that Tilton could not establish a basis for imputing liability to 

them. 

During the course of the proceedings, the district court denied Tilton's motion 

to compel defendants to disclose the identity of confidential sources. In addition, the 

court granted both the defendants' motion in limine concerning the news person's 

privilege and their motion to exclude the testimony of Tilton's expert linguist. On 

May 24, 1995, the district court granted the motion of defendants Capital 

Cities/ ABC, Inc., and ABC News, Inc., on the ground that neither entity had been 

involved in the preparation or broadcast of the programs. On June 19, 1995, the 

district court granted summary judgment to the remaining defendants. 

Tilton appeals, arguing that the district court erred by ( 1) granting summary 

judgment to defendants on the merits of his claims, (2) granting defendants' motion 

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Appellate Case: 95-5152 Document: 01019281036 Date Filed: 08/27/1996 Page: 2 
asserting the news person's privilege, and (3) excluding the testimony of his expert 

linguist. After careful review of the record, we adopt the analysis of the district 

court. Accordingly, we AFFIRM for substantially the reasons given by the district 

court and ORDER that the court's orders of June 19, 1995 (concerning the merits), 

May 24, 1995 (concerning defendants' motion in limine), and May 26, 1995 

(concerning the testimony of the expert linguist) be published. 

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Appellate Case: 95-5152 Document: 01019281036 Date Filed: 08/27/1996 Page: 3