Court Opinion

ID: 9883892
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 02:24:10.899219+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:48:05.506925
License: Public Domain

FOLEY, Judge
(concurring specially).
I reluctantly concur in the result. There is still a lingering doubt in my mind that the language contained in the termination letter constituted actionable libel for which damages could be awarded.
Perhaps if the appellate court had the power to review the case de novo as held in Bose v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc., 466 U.S. 485, 104 S.Ct. 1949, 80 L.Ed.2d 502 (1984), a different result would occur, particularly on the issue of actual malice, which is necessary to defeat a qualified privilege. See Kloch v. Ratcliffe, 221 Neb. 241, 248, 375 N.W.2d 916, 921 (1985). A recent Iowa case discusses qualified privilege and malice. See Haldeman v. Total Petroleum, Inc., 376 N.W.2d 98 (Iowa 1985) (claim of libel denied where discharged employee rejected by prospective employer because of comments stating reason for discharge from previous employ*571ment). The evidence to establish malice is woefully weak in this case.
There were rulings on evidence which could very well have resulted in a new trial had a fuller record been made by way of an offer of proof concerning evidence of the area and projects worked on by Frankson that DSI wanted to use to refute Frank-son’s claim, especially on the elements of both falsity and malice. That evidence might have more fully explained DSI’s actions in placing the comments it did about Frankson’s work and sales accomplishments in the termination letter given to him. At this juncture, we can only speculate what that proof would have been.
The dissent makes a strong case for protecting intracorporate communications between those limited few within the corporation who are part of the process by which the letter of termination was produced. See Mims v. Metropolitian Life Insurance Co., 200 F.2d 800, 803 (5th Cir.1952), cert. denied, 345 U.S. 940, 73 S.Ct. 831, 97 L.Ed. 1366 (1953); see also Jones v. Golden Spike Corp., 97 Nev. 24, 26, 623 P.2d 970, 971 (1981) (adopts Mims rule); Lee v. Brown, 210 Kan. 168, 172, 499 P.2d 1076, 1080 (1972) (follows and applies Mims).
The letter terminating Frankson’s employment never left the corporate files of DSI. The holding seems to be that dictating the letter to the secretary, who is an essential part of the process of termination of Frankson by the corporation, constituted publication. This is a case that should be carefully reviewed by the supreme court and particularly the court should review the Hebner and McKenzie cases relative to in-house publication.
In view of our limited scope of review under the present state of the law, we have no alternative but to affirm. In addition, there were seemingly inconsistent statements contained in the trial court’s instructions relative to the burden of proof in this case, but since no claimed error is asserted with respect to the instructions, we cannot consider any error in that respect that may have occurred.