Opinion ID: 541964
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Grant of Summary Judgment to Group W

Text: 15 In granting summary judgment to Group W on the claims brought by ACT, the district court ruled that the inaccuracies in Group W's story of October 29 were immaterial and therefore not defamatory. 1 Group W incorrectly stated that ACT had closed its Cockeysville office, that it sold ID cards, and that the state's investigation of ACT was prompted by the opening of its Baltimore office. Applying the test articulated in Gomba v. McLaughlin, 180 Colo. 232, 504 P.2d 337, 338-39 (1972) (en banc), the district court held that these statements, although false, did not cause the story to produce a different effect on the audience than would have been produced had the truth of the matter been spoken. Since they were immaterial, the false statements were not defamatory. 16 This was certainly a proper application of the law of defamation. If the gist or sting of a statement is substantially true, minor inaccuracies will not give rise to a defamation claim. Liberty Lobby, Inc. v. Rees, 852 F.2d 595, 601 (D.C.Cir.1988), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 109 S.Ct. 1118, 103 L.Ed.2d 181 (1989). Here, the district court correctly found that Group W's false statements did not occur in connection with any portion of the broadcast that tended to injure ACT's reputation. There can be little doubt that, had Group W reported that ACT charged nothing for its ID cards and that the Cockeysville office remained open, the story would have affected ACT's reputation in the community in substantially the same manner. The damaging portions of the broadcast were those disclosing that ACT was under investigation by state authorities 2 and those discussing the existence of official concern about the use of ID cards showing test results. These statements were true and true statements, no matter how damaging to the plaintiff, may never provide the foundation for a defamation claim. Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64, 74, 85 S.Ct. 209, 215, 13 L.Ed.2d 125 (1964); New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 84 S.Ct. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964). Nor may the plaintiffs succeed in their attempt to combine the damaging nature of certain true statements with the falsity of other, immaterial statements in order to provide the basis for a defamation claim. The district court's grant of summary judgment to Group W based on the immateriality of the false statements was proper and we therefore affirm this aspect of the court's ruling. 3 17