Opinion ID: 1601643
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: the court of appeals reversal of the directed verdict.

Text: The plaintiffs appealed the trial court's ruling, and the Court of Appeals issued a two-page opinion overturning the trial court and reinstating the jury verdict in February 1989. In the view of the Court of Appeals [t]he legal question in this case was whether plaintiffs could have a cause of action for libel where their allegations of defamation were not based on a specific false statement in any particular article. The Court reversed the trial court's directed verdict because, [o]ur first opinion in this case answered that question affirmatively. The Court of Appeals further opined that the United States Supreme Court's decision in Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc, supra, [does not] bar[] a suit for defamation by implication. The Court of Appeals held accordingly that [i]n light of our previous opinion and our belief that subsequent law has not eliminated defamation by implication, we reverse the trial court's order granting [the directed verdict] and reinstate the jury's verdict.