Opinion ID: 1826657
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Williams's claim of defamation against Culpepper.

Text: Williams appears to inartfully challenge the trial court's rulings with regard to Culpepper's statements about him. Culpepper contends that the trial court properly entered a judgment as a matter of law for him with regard to Williams's claims of defamation because, he says, the trial court properly concluded that the statements were not actionable. The trial court held that the evidence did not establish that Culpepper's statements were slander per quod and Williams does not challenge this holding. Therefore, Williams had to establish that Culpepper's statement were slander per se. Neither the statement that Williams was a recruiting cheater nor the statement that he funneled money from Young to Means imputed a crime of infamy or moral turpitude. Therefore, these statements were not slander per se. Because Williams did not establish that Culpepper's statements were actionable; the trial court properly entered a judgment as a matter of law for Culpepper in this regard. II. Whether the trial court erred in its rulings involving the defamatory statements made by the NCAA in the penalty-summary report posted on the Web site, including the claim of invasion of privacy, which also stemmed from, the statements made in the penalty-summary report. In Butler, this Court defined the elements of the tort of invasion of privacy, stating: `This Court defines the tort of invasion of privacy as the intentional wrongful intrusion into one's private activities in such a manner as to outrage or cause mental suffering, shame, or humiliation to a person of ordinary sensibilities.' . . . . . . . . . . [T]his Court has adopted the following definition for `false light' invasion of privacy: `One who gives publicity to a matter concerning another that places the other before the public in a false light is subject to liability to the other for invasion of his privacy, if `(a) the false light in which the other was placed would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, and `(b) the actor had knowledge of or acted in reckless disregard as to the falsity of the publicized matter and the false light in which the other would be placed.'  Schifano v. Greene County Greyhound Park, Inc., 624 So.2d 178, 180 (Ala.1993)(emphasis omitted)(quoting Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652E (1977)). A false-light claim does not require that the information made public be private; instead, the information made public must be false. See Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652E cmt. A. (1977). 871 So.2d at 12. Cottrell and Williams contend that they presented clear and convincing evidence that the NCAA made the false statements in the penalty-summary report with actual malice, creating, they say, a question for the jury to resolve. Specifically, they argue that the evidence established that the NCAA knew that the statements made in the penalty-summary report were false and that the NCAA exhibited a reckless disregard for the veracity of the statements when they published the penalty-summary report without proofreading the report for accuracy. Therefore, with regard to this claim Cottrell argues that the trial court erred in entering a summary judgment for the NCAA, and Williams argues that the trial court erred in entering a judgment as a matter of law for the NCAA. `In a [defamation] action brought by a public figure, summary judgment for the defendant is appropriate unless the plaintiff produces the clear and convincing evidence that a reasonable jury would need in order to find that the defendant published the defamatory material with actual malice.' McFarlane v. Sheridan Square Press, Inc., 91 F.3d 1501, 1508 (C.A.D.C.1996); see Finebaum v. Coulter, 854 So.2d 1120, 1128-29 (Ala.2003). `[T]here is no genuine issue [of material fact] if the evidence presented in the opposing affidavits is of insufficient caliber or quantity to allow a rational finder of fact to find actual malice by clear and convincing evidence.' Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 254, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); see also Pemberton v. Birmingham News Co., 482 So.2d 257, 259-60 (Ala.1985). This standard is satisfied by proof that a false statement was made `with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.' Harte-Hanks Communications, Inc. v. Connaughton, 491 U.S. 657, 659, 109 S.Ct. 2678, 105 L.Ed.2d 562 (1989)(quoting New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. [254] at 279-80, 84 S.Ct. 710 [(1964)]). A defendant acts with `reckless disregard' if, at the time of publication, the defendant `entertained serious doubts as to the truth of [its] publication or acted with a high degree of awareness of . . . [its] probable falsity.' McFarlane, 91 F.3d at 1508 (quoting St. Amant [ v. Thompson ], 390 U.S. [727] at 731, 88 S.Ct. 1323 [(1968)])(emphasis added). `The actual malice standard is subjective; the plaintiff must prove that the defendant actually entertained a serious doubt.' Id. (emphasis added). See Sanders v. Smitherman, 776 So.2d 68, 71 (Ala.2000); Finebaum, 854 So.2d at 1124; see also Revell v. Hoffman, 309 F.3d 1228, 1233 (10th Cir. 2002); Flowers v. Carville, 310 F.3d 1118, 1131 (9th Cir.2002); Chafoulias v. Peterson, 668 N.W.2d 642, 654 (Minn. 2003). Malice can be shown by circumstantial evidence showing, for example, `that the story was (1) fabricated, (2) so inherently improbable that only a reckless man would have put [it] in circulation, or (3) based wholly on a source that the defendant had obvious reasons to doubt, such as an unverified anonymous telephone call.' McFarlane, 91 F.3d at 1512-13 (quoting St. Amant, 390 U.S. at 732, 88 S.Ct. 1323). However, malice cannot be `measured by whether a reasonably prudent man would have published, or would have investigated before publishing.' St. Amant, 390 U.S. at 731, 88 S.Ct. 1323 (emphasis added). Indeed, the failure to investigate does not constitute malice, unless the failure evidences `purposeful avoidance,' that is, `an intent to avoid the truth.' Sweeney v. Prisoners' Legal Servs., 84 N.Y.2d 786, 793, 647 N.E.2d 101, 104, 622 N.Y.S.2d 896, 899 (1995) (quoting Connaughton, 491 U.S. at 693, 109 S.Ct. 2678); see Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 332, 94 S.Ct. 2997, 41 L.Ed.2d 789 (1974). Smith v. Huntsville Times Co., 888 So.2d 492, 499-500 (Ala.2004). Viewed in a light most favorable to Cottrell and Williams, the evidence indicates that DeWees, the creator of the penalty-summary report, made a clerical error when she was posting the report on the NCAA's Web site and does not indicate actual malice. Her deposition testimony and her testimony at trial clearly indicates that she was unaware that the statements were false and that the error was at most negligence. A mistake is clearly insufficient to support a finding of actual malice. Medure v. Vindicator Printing Co., 273 F.Supp.2d 588, 598 (W.D.Pa.2002); Gulf Publ'g Co. v. Lee, 434 So.2d 687 (Miss.1983); Long v. Arcell, 618 F.2d 1145, 1148 (5th Cir.1980)(a defendant who merely is careless may not be held liable for defaming a public figure). Additionally, the evidence does not support a finding of highly unreasonable conduct constituting an extreme departure from the standards of investigation and reporting ordinarily adhered to by responsible publishers. Curtis Publishing, 388 U.S. at 158, 87 S.Ct. 1975 (holding that such evidence of extreme departure from reasonable publishing standards can indicate actual malice). The trial court properly entered a summary judgment for the NCAA on Cottrell's claims of defamation and invasion of privacy involving the posting of the false statements on the NCAA Web site. Likewise, the trial court properly entered a judgment as a matter of law for the NCAA with regard to Williams's claims involving the Web site. Williams contends that because the trial court changed his classification to a limited-purpose public figure at the close of his case-in-chief and thereby elevated his burden of proof to require that he present evidence of actual malice to establish a prima facie case of defamation, he was prejudiced and should be granted a new trial. When the trial court reevaluated Williams's classification at the close of his case-in-chief and determined that he was a limited-purpose public figure, the trial court permitted Williams to reopen his case to present evidence of actual malice with regard to the penalty-summary report. Williams presented DeWees's testimony. Williams did not argue that he had additional evidence of actual malice that he had been prevented from presenting. Additionally, he did not argue that the timing of the trial court's ruling impacted his trial strategy to his detriment or prevented him from presenting evidence. There is no evidence in the record that lends itself to a conclusion that Williams was prejudiced by the reclassification, and Williams did not, in his briefs to this Court or during oral argument, direct this Court to any evidence of prejudice. Therefore, any error in the trial court's changing Williams's burden of proof at the close of the evidence, in light of the trial court's allowing Williams to reopen his case and present additional evidence, was at most harmless. Rule 45, Ala. R.App. P. Cottrell further maintains that the trial court erred in entering a summary judgment for the NCAA on his claims of defamation and invasion of privacy with regard to the false statements in the penalty-summary report because, he says, the trial court erred in not considering the deposition of Shepard C. Cooper, the director for the COI, before making its determination. This issue, however, is not preserved for our review. The trial court conducted a hearing on the summary-judgment motions on June 23, 2005; the order was issued on July 7, 2005; Cottrell deposed Cooper on July 8, 2005, and the trial began on July 12, 2005. At the June 23 hearing, the trial court stated that Cottrell could supplement his motion in opposition to summary judgment with the deposition testimony of DeWees and Cooper. Cottrell, however, was unable to depose Cooper until July 8, 2005, the day after the trial court issued its order. This Court recognizes that the transcription of Cooper's deposition required time; however, the record does not contain any request by Cottrell after the trial court issued its order for leave to file Cooper's deposition or a request that the trial court reconsider its summary-judgment decision in light of Cooper's testimony. The purpose of requiring a specific objection to preserve an issue for appellate review is to put the trial judge on notice of the alleged error, giving an opportunity to correct it before the case is submitted to the jury. Ex parte Works, 640 So.2d 1056, 1058 (Ala.1994). Moreover, [t]his Court cannot consider arguments raised for the first time on appeal; rather, our review is restricted to the evidence and arguments considered by the trial court. Andrews v. Merritt Oil Co., 612 So.2d 409, 410 (Ala.1992); Shiver v. Butler County Bd. of Educ., 797 So.2d 1086, 1089 (Ala.Civ.App.2000)(holding that an appellate court will not consider an issue on which the trial court was not given the opportunity to rule).