Court Opinion

ID: 9700915
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 21:53:15.505716+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:02:11.390432
License: Public Domain

O’HERN, J.,
dissenting.
Although I agree with the principles of defamation law articulated by the majority, I write separately to note my disagreement with the application of these principles to the summary dismissal of plaintiff Romaine’s complaint that she was libeled by defendants’ reference to her as one awaiting news from a “junkie,” thus inferentially stating that she was an associate of a criminal. My dissent, then, concerns not the law of libel, but plaintiff’s right to a jury trial of contested issues of fact.
As noted by the majority, the book, “The Shoemaker,” details the crimes of Joseph Kallinger, a convicted murderer. During one of his crime sprees, Kallinger held Randi Romaine and seven others hostage. When plaintiff’s friend, Maria Fasching, arrived at the crime scene, she was seized and murdered by Kallinger. A chapter of the book, entitled “The Hunting Knife,” describes the reason for Maria Fasching’s visit to the Romaine house as follows: “[bjesides, Maria was eager for news from Randi about a junkie they both knew who was doing time in prison.” Plaintiff contends that this sentence is defamatory as a matter of law because it falsely accuses her of criminality or of associating with criminals. Although I agree with the majority that this statement is not libelous per se, Lawrence v. Bauer Publishing & Printing Ltd., 89 N.J. 451, 459, cert. denied, 459 U.S. 999, 103 S.Ct. 358, 74 L.Ed.2d 395 (1982), I cannot conclude that the sentence is not reasonably susceptible of a defamatory meaning, Kotlikoff v. The Community News, 89 N.J. 62, 67 (1982).
*306A defamatory statement is one that is false and that either injures “the reputation of another,” exposes another to “hatred, contempt or ridicule,” or subjects another to “a loss of the good will and confidence entertained towards him by others____” Leers v. Green, 24 N.J. 239, 251 (1957). In determining whether allegedly defamatory words are actionable, “[t]he language in question must be construed according to the fair and natural meaning which will be given it by reasonable persons of ordinary intelligence.” Herrmann v. Newark Morning Ledger Co., 48 N.J.Super. 420, 431 (App.Div.), aff'd on rehearing, 49 N.J.Super. 551 (App.Div.1958). The allegedly defamatory statement must be taken in context and the publication considered as a whole. See Kotlikoff v. The Community News, supra, 89 N.J. at 72.
Moreover, “[t]o establish the defamatory nature of the artide[ ] it [is] not necessary for plaintiffs to prove that defendants had accused them of the commission of a crime. Words that clearly ‘sound to the disreputation’ of an individual are defamatory on their face.” Lawrence v. Bauer Publishing & Printing Ltd., supra, 89 N.J. at 459 (citation omitted). Thus, the fact that the statement at issue does not directly accuse Randi Romaine of being a criminal or of associating with criminals is of little consequence, for “[t]he sting of an accusation may be more pervasive when made by insinuation. Insinuations may thus be more ‘mischievous’ than direct assertions.” Lawrence v. Bauer Publishing & Printing Ltd., 176 N.J.Super. 378, 389 (App.Div.1980), rev’d in part and vacated in part on other grounds, 89 N.J. 451, cert. denied, 459 U.S. 999, 103 S.Ct. 358, 74 L.Ed.2d 395 (1982) (citation omitted).
In libel actions, the preliminary question for the trial court is whether the words at issue are reasonably susceptible of a defamatory meaning. Kotlikoff v. The Community News, supra, 89 N.J. at 67 (citing Herrmann v. Newark Morning Ledger Co., supra, 48 N.J.Super. at 429-30). While it is settled that the determination of whether a statement is defamatory is a question of law to be resolved by the trial court, Lawrence v. *307Bauer Publishing & Printing Ltd., supra, 89 N.J. at 459, it is equally clear that “where the words are ambiguous, reasonably capable of either an innocent or a defamatory meaning, it is a question of fact for the jury to determine * * * which of the two meanings * * * [was] understood by those to whom the publication was made.” Leers v. Green, supra, 24 N.J. at 253; see also Lawrence v. Bauer Publishing & Printing Ltd., supra, 89 N.J. at 459 (two newspaper articles had been held to be libelous per se and hence not reasonably susceptible of nondefamatory interpretation).
When we view defamation issues under state common law, the standard for summary judgment is the traditional test of whether plaintiff has raised a genuine issue of material fact that requires a trial on the merits. Dairy Stores, Inc. v. Sentinel Publishing Co., 104 N.J. 125, 156-57 (1986) (citing Judson v. Peoples Bank & Trust Co., 17 N.J. 67, 73-75 (1954)). The dispositive question, then, as the majority frames it, is whether defendants’ insinuation that Randi Romaine was an associate of a “junkie” was ambiguous or reasonably susceptible of either an innocent or a defamatory meaning. Supra at 290. I am satisfied that in the context of this case the defendants’ characterization of Randi Romaine as an associate of a “junkie” was reasonably susceptible of a defamatory meaning. I must therefore dissent from the Court’s disposition.
It may be that there is a quite innocent or rational explanation for the author’s reference to Ms. Romaine’s association with a “junkie.” That reference may be a mere mistake and thus might be insulated from liability in the context of this work, which is intended to explore matters that are reasonably to be regarded as within the public interest. Because this case comes to us on a motion for summary judgment, however, we must assume the worst scenario for the offenders: that they deliberately misstated this element of the narrative. I suspect that such a scenario is far from reality, but because of the procedural posture of the case I must dissent from the holding that no jury could find that the reference to an innocent victim *308of crime as an associate of a convicted “junkie” reduced her esteem in the community or placed her in a false light before the public.
For affirmance Chief Justice WILENTZ, and Justices CLIFFORD, HANDLER, POLLOCK, GARIBALDI and STEIN — 6.
For reversal — Justice O’HERN — 1.