Opinion ID: 2631227
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Assertions of fact or opinion

Text: Stuart and Barricade contend that the statement at issue constituted non-actionable opinion. As a general rule, only assertions of fact, not opinion, can be defamatory. However, expressions of opinion may suggest that the speaker knows certain facts to be true or may imply that facts exist which will be sufficient to render the message defamatory if false. K-Mart Corporation v. Washington, 109 Nev. 1180, 1192, 866 P.2d 274, 281 (1993) (citing Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1, 13, 110 S.Ct. 2695, 111 L.Ed.2d 1 (1990)) (citation omitted). The rule for distinguishing an opinion from an assertion of fact is whether a reasonable person would be likely to understand the remark as an expression of the source's opinion or as a statement of existing fact. See Allen, 99 Nev. at 410, 664 P.2d at 342. Although ordinarily the fact-versus-opinion issue is a question of law for the court, where the statement is ambiguous, the issue must be left to the jury's determination. Id. Here, the statement at issue in the advertisement is: [the book] details why a confidential Scotland Yard report called Wynn a front man for the Genovese family. Barricade contends that the use of the term why in this representation, as a matter of law, constitutes a statement of opinion, not fact. We disagree. The statement in question is ambiguous on this point and, therefore, on remand, the question of whether it is an assertion of fact or opinion should be submitted for determination by the jury.