Court Opinion

ID: 9531058
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:07:02.109639+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:28:19.985452
License: Public Domain

Judge ROTHENBERG
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent.
In a well-reasoned opinion, the trial court stated inter alia:
[S]tatements of opinion relating to matters of public concern are not actionable if the opinion has no provably false factual connotation or truthful facts supporting the opinion [are] set forth. (cites omitted)_ Here the court concludes as a matter of law that the use of the words ‘scam’ and ‘taken’ in the context of the whole telecast show [the doctor’s] words to be rhetorical hyperbole and protected opinion, not assertions of fact. [The doctor’s] expertise is disclosed as well as his interest and concern in the area. The underlying basis of his opinions are disclosed in that [the doctor] and defendant McCarroll state that all of the services and products provided by the plaintiff are not necessary to accomplish the desired ends of allowing individuals to predetermine the nature and extent of medical care and treatment....
There exists substantial authority from a number of jurisdictions consistent with the trial court’s analysis. See Letter Carriers v. Austin, 418 U.S. 264, 94 S.Ct. 2770, 41 L.Ed.2d 745 (1974) (use of the word “traitor” in literary definition of a union “scab” not basis for defamation action since it was “merely rhetorical hyperbole”); Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Ass’n v. Bresler, 398 U.S. 6, 90 S.Ct. 1537, 26 L.Ed.2d 6 (1970) (newspaper’s reference to local developer’s negotiating position as “blackmail” was merely rhetorical hyperbole, and not libelous); Phantom Touring, Inc. v. Affiliated Publications, 953 F.2d 724, 728 (1st Cir.1992) (critic who described musical comedy version of Broadway show as a “rip-off, a fraud, a scandal, a snake-oil job” did not commit libel because commentary was “figurative and hyperbolic” and there is “no objective evidence to disprove it”; terms “fake” or “phony” similarly unprovable since they “admit of numerous interpretations”); McCabe v. Rattiner, 814 F.2d 839, 842 (1st Cir.1987) (“The lack of precision makes the assertion ‘X is a scam' incapable of being proven true or false.”). See also Oilman v. Evans, 750 F.2d 970 (D.C.Cir.1984) for exhaustive discussions of the differences between opinion and fact in the context of a libel action brought by a public figure against a newspaper. But see Sunshine Sportswear & Electronics, Inc. v. WSOC Television, Inc., 738 F.Supp. 1499, 1506 (D.S.C.1989) (terms “scam” and “rip-off” have ascertainable meaning and can be identified as either true or false).
These on-point holdings and the trial court’s reasoning convince me that the dismissal of plaintiff’s claims should be affirmed. Further, although two discrepancies do exist between the trial court’s findings and the information presented by the plaintiff, I consider them relatively minor in the context of this dispute.
APPENDIX
Transcript of First News Broadcast — 4/23/91
Newscaster Larry Green: And there’s lots of news still ahead in our next half hour. Living wills give you the chance to have control over your own life but should you pay to get one?
[Commercial Break and News]
Larry Green: Living wills have become a popular and legal way of maintaining some control over your dying days. They allow you to make difficult life and death decisions. Do you want to be kept alive on life support systems? Artificially fed? Hospitals and libraries throughout the metro area offer living will forms free of charge. And now, a new Denver company is capitalizing on the living will trend, charging $29.95. Is it worth it? News 4’s Suzanne McCarroll is here with more on the story.
Defendant Suzanne McCarroll: Well, Larry, some in the business of medical ethics say that this is really exploiting people’s fear of death. But the president of the company says it’s an al*522truistic service providing forms for people to make difficult decisions. He says $29.95 is a nominal fee.
In the past six months the staff at the CU Health Sciences Center has sent out 10,000 living will forms free of charge; you need only provide a stamp. Just this month Merrill Hastings has opened the Living Will Center. He too will send out living will forms. He’ll provide the stamp, you need to provide $29.95.
Merrill Hastings (Living Will Center Representative): ... It’s done on a stronger piece of paper ...
Suzanne McCarroll: Hastings acknowledges that his living will form reads the same as the form hospitals and libraries offer free of charge. But he points out the print is bigger and with it comes a quarterly living will newsletter and this wallet I.D. card so that people know you have a living will. The $29 packet also comes with this form for appointing a durable power of attorney — someone to make final decisions for you if you can’t. This same form is available free of charge at the CU Health Sciences Center. And next, the packet includes this medical directive.
Merrill Hastings: ... and on it is a choice of the treatments that you may wish to take or not wish to take — and how long you want to take them for. This is not a legal document — it’s a road map for the patient.
Dr. Frank Marsh: ... I think it’s a scam....
Suzanne McCarroll: Dr. Frank Marsh is a medical ethicist. He has reviewed these forms and is disgusted. He says the medical directive and power of attorney forms are unnecessary — certainly not worth paying for.
Dr. Frank Marsh: ... And they will send in $29.95 and what they get back is they’ve been taken — is what is amounts to — totally taken!
Suzanne McCarroll: Marsh teaches a course to medical students at CU’s Med School. In it he advocates the use of living wills, but he does not advocate paying for the practice.
Dr. Frank Marsh: It’s a way to make money. They seize on the term “will” and they look at it and they think that— well this is cheap, I don’t have to go to a lawyer — $29.95 looks cheap for a will and they don’t have to pay a penny— not one red cent for it.
Suzanne McCarroll: Now, those in the medical ethics community say the living will forms offered free of charge are really all you need. If there’s anything else you wish to add, simply add it. You don’t need a special form to do that. And, again, the Harvard Medical School sends out a living will packet for $5.00. The American Medical Association has information on living wills. And in Denver the CU Hospital, CU Health Sciences Center, will send you out a living will form free of charge. Again, that local address is: University Hospital, in care of Living Wills, 4200 East Ninth Avenue, Box A092, Denver, Colorado 80262. And from the people we talked to it’s not that there’s anything wrong with these forms, they’re just saying that $29.95 is an unnecessary charge for a service you can provide or find free of charge in the community.
Larry Green: Does Hastings have a medical or legal background?
Suzanne McCarroll: Neither, he’s kind of an entrepreneur and has done various business ventures, but he admits he’s not a lawyer nor a doctor.
Larry Green: Let’s give him the benefit of this doubt then. Will he hold your hand over the telephone while you’re trying to fill out the forms? Is there some sort of information that comes along, besides just the form?
Suzanne McCarroll: Well it’s the form and a letter of direction. It’s sort of a toll free number you call, you get your form mailed out, but they don’t provide over-the-phone, ongoing counseling.
*523Larry Green: Okay. All right. So we still have a chance though to get this for $29.95 cheaper from University officials here?
Suzanne McCarroll: Right.
Larry Green: All right. Thank you very much.
Transcript of Second News Broadcast — 4/24/91
Newscaster Kristin McColoskey: And there’s lots of news still ahead in our next half hour. Wondering how you can get a living will and a durable power of attorney for free? We’ll show you coming up.
[Commercial Break and News]
Larry Green: Yesterday, we told you about a company that will sell you living will forms for $29.95. And we told you you could get those forms for free at the University of Colorado Health Science Center. Well, a lot has happened since our report yesterday and Suzanne McCarroll is here now to tell us all about it.
Suzanne McCarroll: Well, Larry, yesterday we showed you one company in town that charged $29.95 for a living will kit. Now that kit includes a living will, a durable power of attorney and a medical directive form. Now, the durable power of attorney form allows you to name someone to make medical decisions should you not be competent. The medical directive form lets you list what medical procedures you would or wouldn’t want.
We then talked to Dr. Frank Marsh, a medical ethicist at University Hospital. He told us the medical directive form was unnecessary, but you can pick up the other two forms free of charge at the hospital. This is where the story gets complicated.
Merrill Hastings who runs the company that charges $29.95 for the forms called us and challenged us saying you couldn’t get those forms at University Hospital. We checked back with University Hospital this morning — a spokesman there said that as of today they have reversed their position. As of this afternoon, they are no longer providing the durable power of attorney form — only the living will form. But there is a way to get all the necessary forms free of charge or for just a nominal fee. You don’t have to pay $29.95.
At Porter Memorial Hospital you simply walk in the lobby and pick up the durable power of attorney form and the living will form off the rack. Hospital personnel say the forms are free and very popular.
Ed Christian (Porter Memorial Hospital): ... feel very important that patients have the right to control the destiny of their lives. And if we can encourage them to take that action, then it works out well for everybody.
Suzanne McCarroll: The Denver Public Library has the forms available at the Social Science desk on the third floor of the main library downtown. The forms are in this book. You need only come up with $.20 to xerox the two pages. Ask the librarian for help if you need it.
Marilyn Chang (Librarian): If you were to telephone us, we could fax a copy to one of our branches and you could pick it up there. So we make it very convenient for you.
Suzanne McCarroll: You can also write Harvard Medical School for living will forms. They will send you a living will form, a medical directive and a durable power of attorney form. The packet is $5.00 for two sets. The forms have been published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
It also includes this medical directive which walks you through a variety of medical scenarios. You can check the medication or treatment you would or wouldn’t want.
Again, University Hospital is still providing living will forms free of charge. A spokesperson there says they are no longer handing out those durable power of attorney forms because it enables *524someone to carry out your wishes. The hospital staff says while they’re valid forms you should first talk to an attorney before making such an important decision. But those forms are still available elsewhere.
If you want the living will form and the durable power of attorney form go to Porter Hospital or your local library. If you want all three forms, including that medical directive, you can write to Harvard Medical School, and of course Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Larry Green: All right. Thank you very much.
Suzanne McCarroll: Mm. hmm.