Opinion ID: 1616152
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Was Peterson the source of this public controversy?

Text: Chafoulias has presented considerable evidence to support his claim that Peterson was the source of any public controversy. 1. There is evidence that Peterson's customary practice is to use the media as a litigation tool. Her reputation in the legal profession, her familiarity with the media and her own yellow-page ad suggest a history of significant media coverage of sexual harassment cases where she represented the claimants. The report of the Radisson's law firm stated: Lori Peterson, the attorney whose firm is representing the women, has a notorious reputation in the legal community for using the media as a way of forcing defendants to settle through payments of large sums of money at an early stage. She is very capable of making this matter highly public and will portray it in the most damaging light possible for the hotel. The report of the Radisson's public relations firm stated: Finally, because Lori Peterson, who is representing the plaintiffs, has a propensity to utilize the media to garner attention and influence the outcome of her cases, there is a strong likelihood that the media will become aware of this issue as soon as a complaint is filed. [6] 2. Peterson caused the distribution of Wanted posters in Rochester on April 20, 1996. The most intense period of media attention occurred shortly after the Wanted posters were distributed. This proximity in time is strong evidence of Peterson's involvement. 3. Peterson does not deny initiating contact with the Rochester Post-Bulletin but only claims not to remember. The April 30, 1996, article that announces the claims of the clients represented by Peterson supports the inference that she did initiate that contact. The article provides an announcement of the claims of Peterson's clients and she is quoted liberally. The same reporter who wrote that article also wrote the other two articles appearing in the Post-Bulletin on April 30, 1996, one discussing Peterson's reputation for the handling of sexual-harassment claims and the other providing a broader discussion of the issue of sexual harassment by Arab guests at the Mayo Clinic. Thus, all three articles are linked to Peterson. 4. Peterson acknowledged that she might have initiated contact with KSTP-TV before its broadcast and later that she probably called KSTP-TV to encourage its interest in the harassment claims. 5. Peterson also encouraged the interest of ABC. The ABC producer testified that when he called Peterson on an unrelated subject, she stated that she did in fact have another case that I might want to take a look at. [7] The only publicity not directly traced to Peterson is the Rochester Post-Bulletin article of April 24, 1996, entitled Most Arab patients find Rochester friendly. Chafoulias' argument is that one could infer that the Rochester Post-Bulletin decided to publish this article because of contacts with Peterson concerning the Wanted posters or from other contacts with Peterson, given its close proximity to the three articles published on April 30, 1996. Further, Chafoulias argues that even if the April 24, 1996, article was not linked to Peterson, that article did not evince or create a public controversy. The article does not discuss any particular public dispute or debate. It focuses on the public's interest in several general aspects of the Arab culture. It discusses the positive actions that the Mayo Clinic had taken to train its volunteers to help Arab patients feel at case: greeting them in their own language; not interrupting them in prayer; knowing their customs for shaking hands in greeting; not asking direct or personal questions; not referring to them as foreigners; and not using American colloquialisms. Only the last two paragraphs of a lengthy article discuss the issue of sexual harassment by Arab men of American women. It explains some of the cultural reasons why this might occur and describes the firm and appropriate response by Mayo officials when it does. There is nothing in the article to suggest that sexual harassment is a widespread problem, that officials condone it or that employers or law enforcement are not appropriately responding to it. We conclude that this evidence presents a genuine issue of material fact on the question of whether Peterson caused the public controversy and, if viewed in the light most favorable to Chafoulias, would disqualify her from asserting the limited purpose public figure privilege.