Opinion ID: 487723
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: piro

Text: 123 On appeal, Tavoulareas asserts that Philip Piro 53 published the following statements with actual malice: (1) that Tavoulareas set Peter up in Atlas; (2) that Tavoulareas personally dispatched Harmon Hoffman to run Atlas after Comnas was fired; and (3) that Tavoulareas arranged for Peter's first job with the Lemos firm. 124 We have already discussed our finding that the set up statement is substantially true. We have also concluded that the allegation that Tavoulareas dispatched Hoffmann to Atlas is at worst an exaggeration of Tavoulareas' undisputed role, and adds no further defamatory implication to the substantially true charge that Tavoulareas set Peter up in business. Moreover, there is no evidence that Piro entertained serious doubt as to the truth of the dispatch statement. 54 125 As for Peter's initial job with Lemos, Piro told Tyler and Golden that he had no direct knowledge but knew that Lemos was a friend of the family and [was] sure that that assisted in obtaining a job for Peter. Tr. at 331; see also Tr. at 347. The District Court held that this statement was not defamatory. RE at 766 n. 1. Tavoulareas challenges that holding on appeal, arguing that Piro made the remark to the reporters in order to buttress his primary and clearly defamatory accusation that Tavoulareas set up Peter in Atlas. Brief for Appellant at 30. The set up allegation, however, was not false, and we thus conclude that Piro's allegation about Peter's employment with Lemos had no false, defamatory implication. 55