Opinion ID: 2690702
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Internal Memorandum

Text: In Ohio, defamation occurs when a publication contains a false statement “made with some degree of fault, reflecting injuriously on a person's reputation, or exposing a person to public hatred, contempt, ridicule, shame or disgrace, or affecting a person adversely in his or her trade, business or profession.” Jackson v. Columbus, 117 Ohio St.3d 328, 2008-Ohio-1041, 883 N.E.2d 1060, ¶ 9 quoting A & B-Abell Elevator Co. v. Columbus/Cent. Ohio Bldg. & Const. Trades Council, 73 Ohio St.3d 1, 7, 651 N.E.2d 1283 (1995). 33 SUPREME COURT OF OHIO To establish defamation, the plaintiff must show (1) that a false statement of fact was made, (2) that the statement was defamatory, (3) that the statement was published, (4) that the plaintiff suffered injury as a proximate result of the publication, and (5) that the defendant acted with the requisite degree of fault in publishing the statement. Pollock v. Rashid, 117 Ohio App.3d 361, 368, 690 N.E.2d 903 (1996). {¶ 78} “[I]t is for the court to decide as a matter of law whether certain statements alleged to be defamatory are actionable or not.” Yeager v. Local Union 20, Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of Am., 6 Ohio St.3d 369, 372, 453 N.E.2d 666 (1983). {¶ 79} “In determining whether a statement is defamatory as a matter of law, a court must review    the totality of the circumstances” and by “read[ing] the statement[]    in the context of the entire [publication] to determine whether a [reasonable] reader would interpret [it] as defamatory.” Mann v. Cincinnati Enquirer, 1st Dist. No. C-09074, 2010-Ohio-3963, ¶ 12, citing Scott v. News-Herald, 25 Ohio St.3d 243, 253, 496 N.E.2d 699 (1986), and Mendise v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co., 69 Ohio App.3d 721, 726, 591 N.E.2d 789 (1990). [T]he words of the publication should not be considered in isolation, but rather within the context of the entire [publication] and the thoughts that the [publication] through its structural implications and connotations is calculated to convey to the reader to whom it is addressed. 34 January Term, 2012 Connaughton v. Harte Hanks Communications, Inc., 842 F.2d 825, 840 (6th Cir.1988), aff’d, 491 U.S. 657, 109 S.Ct. 2678, 105 L.Ed.2d 562 (1989). {¶ 80} Reading ACS’s statements made in the internal memorandum in context, we readily conclude that they are not defamatory as a matter of law. The internal memorandum was simply a directive to all employees from CAS’s legal administration manager not to speak about the litigation. It was understandable and reasonable for the legal administration manager to disseminate an internal memorandum regarding an important legal matter to employees. In order for the directive to be effective, the litigation had to be described in sufficient detail. Considering the memorandum as a whole and considering the fact that the statements in the memorandum were almost a verbatim recitation of the allegations in the complaint, we hold that the statements are not defamatory and are not actionable.