Opinion ID: 2709717
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Defamation and Defamation by Implication 4

Text: Hogan first contends the district court erred in dismissing his defamation and defamation by implication claims. The torts of defamation and defamation by implication are more or less different sides of the same coin. To establish defamation under Utah law, a plaintiff must prove four elements: (1) that the defendants “published the 3 The defendants argue that Utah applies a higher standard of review for defamation claims. In defamation cases,“the First Amendment’s presence merits altering our customary rules of review by denying a nonmoving party the benefit of a favorable interpretation of factual inferences.” Jacob v. Bezzant, 212 P.3d 535, 543 (Utah 2009). We need not decide whether to apply the state law standard of review because the defendants prevail under either standard. 4 Defendants contend we should not consider Hogan’s direct defamation claim because, on appeal, he has argued only a defamation by implication claim. But his brief can be fairly read to encompass a claim that statements about his job performance and behavior are directly defamatory. -9- statements”; (2) that the “statements were false, defamatory, and not subject to any privilege”; (3) “that the statements were published with the requisite degree of fault”; and (4) that “their publication resulted in damage” to the plaintiff. 5 West v. Thomson Newspapers, 872 P.2d 999, 1007S08 (Utah 1994) (citations omitted). Truth ordinarily is a complete defense against a direct defamation suit. See Brehany v. Nordstrom, Inc., 812 P.2d 49, 57 (Utah 1991) (“In this state, truth is an absolute defense to an action for defamation.”); see also Gomba v. McLaughlin, 504 P.2d 337, 339 (Colo. 1972) (“A defendant asserting truth as a defense in a libel action is not required to justify every word of the alleged defamatory matter; it is sufficient if the substance, the gist, the sting, of the matter is true.”). But even if a statement is not directly defamatory because it is true, it can be defamatory by implication. West, 872 P.2d at 1011. In a defamation by implication action, “it is the implication arising from the statement and the 5 Because Hogan fails to satisfactorily plead that the articles were false and defamatory, we need not reach the question of whether he successfully pleaded the other required elements of a defamation claim, including fault and whether the articles discuss matters of public concern. The Supreme Court has determined that “speech on matters of public concern [] is at the heart of the First Amendment’s protection” and therefore the plaintiff must plead malice rather than negligence. Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc., 472 U.S. 749, 758-59 (1985). But there is some disagreement about what a defamation plaintiff must do to plead that the defendants acted with malice. See J.H. Cooper, Sufficiency of Plaintiff’s Allegations in Defamation Action as to Defendant’s Malice, 76 A.L.R.2d 696 (1961) (listing jurisdictions in which a general allegation of malice is sufficient and other jurisdictions in which the plaintiff must plead specific facts supporting that allegation). -10- context in which it was made, not the statement itself, which forms the basis of [the] claim.” West, 872 P.2d at 1011. As the Utah Supreme Court explained, Words that appear at first blush to convey a defamatory meaning may be explained away as innocuous when their context is made clear. Conversely, words innocent on their face may, when explained in context, convey a defamatory meaning. Id. at 1011 n.18 (citations omitted) (quoting Rodney A. Smolla, Law of Defamation § 4.05[1] at 4-18 (2d ed. 1999)). The court offered this example of defamation by implication: The classic example is the statement that John Smith was seen walking into a hotel room with Mary. On its face, the statement does not communicate anything intending to injure reputation. If, however, there is added to the statement the fact that John Smith is married to someone other than Mary, the inference that the ordinary reasonable recipient may draw—that John is involved in an adulterous relationship with Mary—becomes defamatory. Id. Thus, to prevail in a defamation by implication action, the plaintiff must show that the gist of the defendant’s statement, rather than its literal meaning is “false, defamatory, and not subject to any privilege.” Id. at 1007. What is defamatory? A statement can sustain a defamatory meaning if it “impeaches an individual’s honesty, integrity, virtue, or reputation and thereby exposes the individual to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule.” Id. at 1008. In the common law, defamatory categories included statements imputing to the plaintiff (1) “a serious crime involving moral turpitude or a felony”; (2) a -11- character trait showing unfitness for one’s “business, trade, or profession”; (3) acts or views contrary to a “deeply held moral standard of the community”; and (4) physical or other traits that would cause others to shun the plaintiff. Dan B. Dobbs, Paul T. Hayden and Ellen M. Bublick, The Law of Torts § 525 (2d ed. 2014). But defamatory meaning is a matter of context. “[A] reviewing court can, and must, conduct a context-driven assessment of the alleged defamatory statement and reach an independent conclusion about the statement’s susceptibility to a defamatory interpretation.” O’Connor v. Burningham, 165 P.3d 1214, 1222 (Utah 2007). If the context makes clear a reasonable reader would not accept the statements at face value, the statements do not cause damage to the plaintiff’s reputation and are therefore not defamatory. See Mast v. Overson, 971 P.2d 928, 933 (Utah Ct. App. 1998). On the other hand, a publisher may be liable “when it takes words out of context and uses them to convey a false representation of fact.” Dixson v. Newsweek, Inc., 562 F.2d 626, 631 (10th Cir. 1977) (citing Greenbelt Coop. Pub. Ass’n v. Bresler, 398 U.S. 6, 13 (1970) (“If the reports had been truncated or distorted in such a way as to extract the word ‘blackmail’ from the context in which it was used at the public meetings, this would be a different case.”)). In this evaluation of context, we should examine (1) the words themselves and their implications; (2) the entire article or message; (3) the events or disputes -12- that gave rise to the article; and (4) the likely effect on the reasonable reader. See Dobbs at § 526. “Trying to focus on the defamatory words alone wold be like trying to appreciate a pointillist painting by Seurat with a magnifying glass—the telling pattern would be lost in a maze of dots.” Id. Finally, it is especially important that “[w]hether a statement is capable of sustaining a defamatory meaning is a question of law.” West, 872 P.2d at 1008. And “[o]nly if a court first determines that a publication might be considered defamatory by a reasonable person is there a fact issue for the trier of fact.” Cox v. Hatch, 761 P.2d 556, 561 (Utah 1988). When the “underlying facts as to the gist or sting are undisputed, substantial truth may be determined as a matter of law.” Brokers’ Choice of America, Inc. v. NBC Universal, Inc., No. 11-1042, 2014 WL 3307834, at  (10th Cir. July 9, 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted) (citing Lundell Mfg. Co. v. Am. Broad. Cos., 98 F.3d 351, 360 (8th Cir. 1996)). With this legal framework in mind, we consider the two challenged articles. For analytical convenience, we have identified two categories of allegedly defamatory statements in the KSL and FierceTelecom articles: statements about Hogan’s job performance and statements characterizing Hogan’s actions as extortion and blackmail. We examine and reject each in turn. -13-
Both the KSL and FierceTelecom articles reported UTOPIA’s spokesman’s statement that Hogan’s contract was not renewed for “performance issues.” In the KSL article, Winder reported: “Hogan’s contract was not renewed last month by UTOPIA due to ‘performance issues,’ according to UTOPIA board chairman and Midvale City Manager Kane Loader.” App. 132. The FierceTelecom article included a shortened version of that same statement: “UTOPIA decided not to renew Hogan’s contract due to ‘performance issues.’” App. 135. Additionally, the KSL article went on to report a quote from another source: “‘It is a very sad situation,’ noted one UTOPIA vendor. ‘Chris Hogan was a great talent, but in recent months exhibited erratic behavior that ultimately brought him down.’” App. 132. In context, the statements about Hogan’s job performance are not defamatory. First, the vague reference to “performance issues” was raised in a story about the ongoing conflict between UTOPIA and Hogan that led to his termination and the filing of a lawsuit. UTOPIA attributes its decision to terminate Hogan to dissatisfaction with his job performance, while Hogan argues that the real reason he was fired was because he blew the whistle on favoritism and corruption. But, even if UTOPIA had been hiding its true motives, no reasonable reader would take the statement that Hogan was fired for “performance issues” at face value because the context makes clear that the reason for Hogan’s -14- termination is the subject of an ongoing, obviously nasty, employment dispute. And the characterization, moreover, is simply too nonspecific to sustain a defamatory meaning. See, e.g., Einhorn v. LaChance, 823 S.W.2d 405, 411 (Tex. Ct. App. 1992) (holding that saying an employee was fired for reasons relating “solely to work performance” was too nonspecific to be defamatory); see also Burch v. Coca-Cola Co., 119 F.3d 305, 325 (5th Cir. 1997) (citing Einhorn for this proposition); Westfall v. GTE N. Inc., 956 F. Supp. 707, 713 (N.D. Tex. 1996) (same); cf. DeAngelis v. Hill, 847 A.2d 1261, 1269 (N.J. 2004) (“Only if the statement suggested specific factual assertions that could be proven true or false could the statement qualify as actionable defamation.” (internal quotation marks omitted)). We reach the same conclusion about the descriptions of “erratic behavior” in the KSL article. It is obvious from the context of the articles that UTOPIA is defending its decision to terminate Hogan because of his job performance; the vague and subjective references are part of the back-and-forth of a contentious dispute that no reasonable reader would take at face value. Because the challenged statements would not convey a defamatory meaning to a reasonable reader, we agree with the district court that the articles’ statements about Hogan’s job performance are not defamatory as a matter of law. 6 6 The defendants contend that the fair report privilege protects the articles’ statements about Hogan’s job performance. See Utah Code § 45-2-3(4). But, (continued...) -15-
Hogan also argues he was defamed by three statements suggesting his actions amounted to extortion and blackmail. In particular, he argues the articles’ reports that he was “accused of extortion” falsely suggest that he was accused of a crime and are therefore either directly defamatory or defamatory by implication. False accusations of criminal conduct can be defamatory, of course, and the crime of extortion is on the books in most jurisdictions. For instance, Utah’s criminal code defines extortion as obtaining or exercising control over the property of another by making one of a list of specified threats, including threatening to “reveal any information sought to be concealed by the person threatened.” Utah Code. Ann. § 76-6-406. But accusations of extortion are a familiar rhetorical device. We all know of colloquial or hyperbolic uses of the term. Although the term has a derogatory meaning when used either way, we cannot assume that the term always refers to a crime or similarly heinous conduct. Like with other words, context matters. In this case, no reasonable reader would interpret the articles’ statement that Hogan was accused of extortion to mean that Hogan was being accused of a crime or even especially sharp behavior. Both articles accurately report that the 6 (...continued) because we have concluded that these statements cannot sustain defamatory meanings, we need not reach the issue of whether the statements are subject to the fair report privilege. -16- accusation was made by UTOPIA’s lawyer in a letter discussing the parties’ employment dispute. In the letter, UTOPIA objected to Hogan’s plans to go public with his allegations of favoritism, and that strategy “at least as he frames the matter and perceives UTOPIA’s interests and vulnerabilities, go[es] by the names of ‘blackmail’ and ‘extortion.’” App. 316. No objective reader would believe, after reading the word “extortion” in context, that Hogan had committed a crime. Instead, the reasonable reader would realize not only that the accusation was made in the heat of a nasty employment dispute but also that the objectionable terms were merely hyperbole and rhetorical flourish. “[E]ven the most careless reader must have perceived that the word [extortion] was no more than rhetorical hyperbole, a vigorous epithet used by those who considered [the plaintiff’s] negotiating position extremely unreasonable.” Greenbelt, 398 U.S. at 14 (discussing a similar use of the word “blackmail”). Hogan also argues the FierceTelecom article’s headline, “UTOPIA contractor faces extortion charges,” can be read to report that Hogan has been accused of committing a crime. Hogan further claims that, even if the body of the article clears up the matter, the headline is still defamatory. The Utah courts have not addressed whether a headline alone can be considered defamatory. The majority of jurisdictions hold that a headline cannot be severed from the body of the article when undertaking defamation analysis; the entire body of the article serves as the context for the headline and must be -17- considered in determining whether a headline has a defamatory meaning. See Salzano v. N. Jersey Media Grp., 993 A.2d 778, 793 (N.J. 2010)) (“[T]he headline is not to be considered in a vacuum but must be viewed on the backdrop of the entire report. . . . Indeed, we presume that the public reads the entire article when we assess its fairness and accuracy.” (citing Molin v. Trentonian, 687 A.2d 1022, 1023–24 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1997) (“[T]he majority of jurisdictions support the rule that headlines are to be construed in conjunction with their accompanying articles.”)); see also Donald M. Zupanec, Libel by Newspaper Headlines, 95 A.L.R.3d 660 (1979) (“[I]t generally has been held that a headline must be construed together with the article to which it refers. In following this rule of construction, it has at times been held that defamatory language in a headline was cured by language in the body of the accompanying article.”). Because, as we have described, the body of the article defuses any defamatory meaning the headline might have alone, Hogan cannot prevail under the majority rule. But Hogan asks us to instead apply the rule set forth in § 563 of the Restatement of Torts. Under this rule, “the text of a newspaper article is ordinarily not the context of the headline . . . because the public frequently reads only the headlines of a newspaper or reads the article itself so hastily or imperfectly as not to realize its full significance.” Restatement (Second) of Torts § 563 cmt. d (1977); see also Las Vegas Sun, Inc. v. Franklin, 329 P.2d 867, 870 -18- (Nev. 1958) (“The text of a newspaper article is not ordinarily the context of its headline, since the public frequently reads only the headline.”); see also Burgess v. Reformer Publ’g Corp., 508 A.2d 1359, 1363 (Vt. 1986) (“[W]e cannot subscribe to the theory that a newspaper is entitled to a summary judgment where it prints a nonlibelous article under a libelous headline.” (internal quotation marks omitted)). The reasoning underlying this approach is that, because we expect much of a newspaper’s readership to see only the headline, a newspaper cannot rely on the body of the article to clear up any defamatory misapprehensions. But we disagree that the headline should always be disassociated from the context of the entire article. We start with the fundamental principle requiring that a statement be read in context. The Restatement does not challenge this principle; it indicates simply that “the text of a newspaper article is ordinarily not the context of the headline.” Restatement (Second) of Torts § 563 cmt. d (1977). But in this case, no reasonable reader would assume that the headline told the whole story and take it at face value. The reader instead would realize that the publisher was advertising a full article on a dispute and the body of the article would provide context for the headline. As one commentator put it, “[a] headline cannot, of course, set forth all the details of an article or capture completely its tone. It is not actionable for doing what it is supposed to: interest the reader in perusing the article proper. That it ‘teases’ the reader into reading further is not blameworthy, so long as the headline is not misleading.” Robert D. Sack, Sack -19- on Defamation § 2:4.6 (2013). What is more, in this case the headline’s context was readily accessible. With one mouse click, any reader could access the full story and would readily realize the nature of the accusation. In rejecting Hogan’s contention that the headline in this case should be read in isolation, we do not imply that a headline standing alone can never give rise to a defamation action. This would be a different case if the headline had been disloyal to the context of the article. 7 But Hogan does not contend that the headline is altogether out of step with the article; his objection to the headline is that it is ambiguous. The FierceTelecom headline could possibly mean that Hogan was being prosecuted for the crime of extortion or that a lay person had accused him of attempting to intimidate UTOPIA. 8 One meaning is false, and one meaning is true. Reasonable readers would identify this ambiguity and, before 7 See, e.g., Sprouse v. Clay Commc’n, Inc., 158 W. Va. 427, 441 (1975) (“Generally where the headline is of normal size and does not lead to a conclusion totally unsupported in the body of the story, both headlines and story should be considered together for their total impression. However, where oversized headlines are published which reasonably lead the average reader to an entirely different conclusion than the facts recited in the body of the story, and where the plaintiff can demonstrate that it was the intent of the publisher to use such misleading headlines to create a false impression on the normal reader, the headlines may be considered separately with regard to whether a known falsehood was published.”). 8 As we have discussed, “extortion” can be used colloquially or to refer to a crime. Similarly, “charged” can mean a person has been informally called to account for any sort of wrongdoing, or it can mean he was formally charged with a crime. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 307 (2002). -20- assuming they knew what had happened, would proceed to the text of the article for clarification. But, even if we were to apply strictly the Restatement’s instruction that a headline should stand alone, Hogan would not prevail here because he is not named in the headline. A curious reader would have to explore the body of the article to learn who had been accused of extortion, and, in doing so, would learn about the employment dispute and the nature of the accusation. See Crall v. Gannett Satellite Info. Network, Inc., 1992 WL 400713 at  (S.D. Ohio Nov. 6, 1992) (“Where the plaintiff’s name was not contained in the headline, the article and the headline must be construed together as one document to determine whether the newspaper article was libelous to the plaintiff.” (quoting Ledger–Enquirer Co. v. Brown, 105 S.E.2d 229, 230 (Ga. 1958)). But wait, Hogan says, he is named in the first paragraph of the article, so a busy reader would quickly find out he was the UTOPIA contractor facing extortion charges. He thus encourages us to read in isolation the headline and the article’s first sentence because FierceTelecom published that excerpt of the article on its homepage. He essentially argues this court should read a headline and any excerpt or teaser that a publisher features on a homepage in isolation, as if they constituted a standalone article. But reasonable readers would recognize that the short excerpt of the news article here does not tell the full story; and, if readers want the full story, they will scroll through the rest of the article. -21- Finally, Hogan complains of the articles’ descriptions of the behaviors that gave rise to UTOPIA’s extortion accusation. For instance, KSL reported that Hogan’s attorney “sent written notices to UTOPIA threatening to file a lawsuit and noting that Hogan would bring unfavorable public scrutiny to UTOPIA unless specific demands of Hogan’s were met.” App. 132. Hogan contends this misrepresents the intent of the letters. But the letters themselves refute this position; the articles’ characterizations of those letters are substantially true.9 Because none of the statements in the articles are defamatory or defamatory by implication, the district court correctly dismissed those claims.