Opinion ID: 532640
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Libel and Slander

Text: 37 The district court held that there was no genuine issue of material fact on the libel and slander claims because the only people with whom ACT communicated concerning the investigation were officials at Gardendale High School, all of whom either had a qualified privilege to the information or first learned of the investigation from the plaintiff. Plaintiff argues that while ACT had a qualified privilege to communicate the scores, it had no privilege to communicate concerning an investigation. 12 38 In Montgomery v. Big B, Inc., 460 So.2d 1286, 1287-88 (Ala.1984), the Alabama Supreme Court held that a statement is privileged and cannot be the subject of a defamation action where a party makes the statement pursuant to a duty owed either to the public or to a third party, or where the statement is one in which the speaker and the third party have corresponding interests. Only if there is malice can the plaintiff recover. Id. at 1287-88 (citing Berry v. City of New York Ins. Co., 210 Ala. 369, 371, 98 So. 290 (1923)); Reynolds Metals Co. v. Mays, 547 So.2d 518, 524 (Ala.1989). Whether the speaker is privileged is a question of law for the trial judge to resolve. Montgomery, 460 So.2d at 1288; Reynolds Metals, 547 So.2d 524. 39 In this case, there is no evidence that ACT wrote to anyone outside of plaintiff, plaintiff's guidance counselor, and plaintiff's attorney regarding the investigation. The guidance counselor was responsible for posting ACT test scores on student's transcripts and forwarding them to colleges. Thus, she falls within the privilege. The principal and other teachers that wrote on plaintiff's behalf were attempting to validate plaintiff's score and, therefore, they fit within the privilege. Thus, ACT is entitled to summary judgment on plaintiff's libel and slander claims.