Opinion ID: 1758546
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Federal Case Law in Minnesota

Text: The Times cites to federal court decisions to support its claim that Minnesota law recognizes the fair and accurate reporting privilege as articulated in section 611. While a federal court's interpretation of a lacuna in Minnesota law may be persuasive, we are not bound to follow it. See Northpointe Plaza v. City of Rochester, 457 N.W.2d 398, 403 (Minn.App.1990), aff'd, 465 N.W.2d 686 (Minn.1991). The Times refers us to Schuster v. U.S. News & World Report, Inc ., where the U.S. District Court for Minnesota granted summary judgment for the defendant news agencies that had reported that the plaintiffs had been indicted on charges of smuggling laetrile into the United States. 459 F.Supp. 973, 974 (D.Minn.1978), aff'd, 602 F.2d 850 (8th Cir.1979). The district court, applying Minnesota law, held that the reports were privileged as fair and accurate reports on official actions or judicial proceedings, citing to section 611 and Nixon as authority. See 459 F.Supp. at 978. In reaching its conclusion, the Schuster court cited Minn.Stat. § 609.765, subd. 3(4) dealing with criminal defamation. See Schuster, 459 F.Supp. at 978. That statute provides several privileges, specifically: that a violation of subdivision 2 is justified if:    (4) The communication consists of a fair and true report or a fair summary of any judicial, legislative or other public or official proceedings   . Minn.Stat. § 609.765, subd. 3(4) (1998) (emphasis added). In reviewing this statute, the federal district court relied on the 1963 advisory committee comment to section 609.765 that stated: Subd. 3, 4: This will supercede Minn. St. § 619.55 which, however, is directed toward newspapers and seems to imply liability in the case of a true and fair report if actual malice is present. Under the recommended section, if the report is fair and true, malice is immaterial and no criminal liability arises. The public interest in publication of the proceedings referred to would seem to call for this position. It was not intended to change the holding in Nixon v. Dispatch Printing Co., 1907, 101 Minn. 309, 112 N.W. 258, to the effect that Minn.St. § 619.55 did not warrant a newspaper copying portions of a complaint on file with the clerk of court. Minn.Stat.Ann. § 609.765, advisory committee cmt. (West 1964) (emphasis added). While section 609.765 is limited in direct application to the criminal context, the Schuster court appears to have found this section persuasive in the civil context as well. See Schuster, 459 F.Supp. at 978. It is worth noting that in Nixon we similarly turned to the predecessor of section 609.765, Rev. Laws 1905, § 4920, for guidance in our discussion of the privilege. See Nixon, 101 Minn. at 311, 112 N.W. at 258. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Schuster, agreeing with the district court that these reports were privileged under Minnesota law as fair and accurate reports of public proceedings, citing Nixon and Minn.Stat. § 609.765, subd. 3(4). See Schuster v. U.S. News & World Report, Inc., 602 F.2d 850, 854, 854 n. 8 (8th Cir.1979). However, the Eighth Circuit did not cite section 611 to support its conclusions on the fair and accurate reporting privilege in Minnesota. Recently, the federal district court for Minnesota, again citing to section 611 as the law in Minnesota, followed the Schuster rule in Conroy v. Kilzer, 789 F.Supp. 1457, 1463 (D.Minn.1992).