Opinion ID: 510022
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Opinions, Fraud, and the First Amendment

Text: 34 Defendants note that the First Amendment bars libel actions based solely on opinion statements and argue that the First Amendment similarly prevents opinion statements from forming the basis for a fraud action. True, the First Amendment has been found to protect opinion statements from attack as libel; because such statements are not facts, their truth or falsity cannot be established. Hustler Magazine v. Falwell, --- U.S. ----, 108 S.Ct. 876, 879, 99 L.Ed.2d 41 (1988). By contrast, the statements here at issue are alleged to have been based on facts. See Day, 548 F.2d at 1026-27. As it is the factual basis of the statements that is being challenged, the statements are not protected by the First Amendment.