Opinion ID: 416921
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: NFCR Is A Public Figure For Defamation Purposes

Text: 16 The district court ruled that the NFCR was a public figure for the purposes of its defamation action against the CBBB. Accordingly, the NFCR would be held to the strict standard of proof enunciated in New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 84 S.Ct. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964) in prosecuting its defamation action against the Council. The Foundation has appealed this ruling, contending that the district court's holding ignored controlling precedent and was erroneous as a matter of law. We affirm the district court. 17 The appellant asserts that the district court, in finding that it was a public figure for some purposes, misapplied the Supreme Court test enunciated in Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 94 S.Ct. 2997, 41 L.Ed.2d 789 (1974) for determining limited purpose public figures. The NFCR would restrict the scope of the Gertz holding to define public figures as those who have thrust themselves to the forefront of particular public controversies in order to influence the resolution of the issues involved. Id. at 345, 94 S.Ct. at 3009. The appellant then asserts that the only controversy is a private dispute regarding the application of the CBBB's reasonableness standard to the NFCR. Thus, there being no particular public controversy in which the appellant could have thrust itself to the forefront, there can be no correct finding that the NFCR was a public figure under Gertz. 18 We think it is the appellant who misapplies the Gertz test. Gertz recognizes that the key to determining whether a party is a public figure is the party's own conduct. 19 It is preferable to reduce the public-figure question to a more meaningful context by looking to the nature and extent of an individual's participation in the particular controversy giving rise to the defamation. 20 Id. at 352, 94 S.Ct. at 3013. On the basis of the NFCR's conduct, the district court had ample cause to rule the appellant a public figure for the purposes of the defamation action. Even though the public controversy which formed the basis of this lawsuit arose almost entirely from the Foundation's solicitation and use of funds for its cancer research, the mere fact that the NFCR generated the controversy does not preclude a finding that there was, in fact, a controversy. See Steaks Unlimited, Inc. v. Deaner, 623 F.2d 264, 273-74 (3rd Cir.1980). The evidence is uncontroverted that the Foundation had thrust itself into the public eye, not only through its massive solicitation efforts (almost 68 million pieces of direct mail solicitation in the past three years), but also through the claims and comments it made in many of these solicitations where it extolled its judicious use of donated funds in finding a cure for cancer, where it declared its objective to make NFCR a household word, and where it asserted the need to present [NFCR's] case to the jury of the American people. The Foundation vigorously sought the public's attention, and succeeded to a substantial degree, as is reflected by the approximately $25,000,000 it raised in the past three years and the numerous inquiries the CBBB had received from the public and the media regarding NFCR. It was these inquiries which in fact led the Council to undertake its evaluation. 21 The appellant would, by its reliance on such cases as Hutchinson v. Proxmire, 443 U.S. 111, 99 S.Ct. 2675, 61 L.Ed.2d 411 (1979), portray itself as one victimized by the Council's attempt to create a defense by making the plaintiff a public figure, thereby erecting the New York Times v. Sullivan, supra, obstacles to recovery. However, it is clear from the record that the NFCR did not unwittingly become the subject of publicity with respect to its approach to cancer research or its use of donated funds. Quite to the contrary, it attempted, through various means at its disposal, to put itself and its methods before the public. With respect to these issues, it became a public figure under Gertz. 22 AFFIRMED.