Court Opinion

ID: 9582890
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:32:32.416202+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:38:43.350521
License: Public Domain

WALLER, Justice
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. In my opinion, a de novo review of the record demonstrates clear and convincing evidence of malice.
In the August 29th broadcast, Tedder stated, with respect to the forged signatures, that Stroupe “claims Peeler or his supporters engineered this problem.” However, both Tedder’s deposition, and the testimony of Haynes Mullinax, who was present when Stroupe made the statement, reveal that Stroupe accused only Peeler’s supporters, and not Peeler himself, of involvement in the forgeries. In my opinion, the fact that Tedder misquoted Stroupe as accusing Peeler himself *268of participation in the forgeries is evidence of actual malice which, when coupled with the misrepresentations of the September 1st broadcast, provide clear and convincing evidence sufficient to submit the case to the jury.
In regard to the September 1st broadcast, it is clear that Tedder edited portions of his interviews with Gimball and Hall, then spliced them in at appropriate junctures to convey the impression their statements implicated Peeler in the forgeries. For example, Tedder says:
Stroupe wants to prove he had nothing to do with the forgeries, and the supporters who gathered at his service station believe someone in the Peeler camp set Stroupe up. Peeler says he had nothing to do with it. But Peeler will be hard pressed to convince a lot of people. They believe it’s just Cherokee County politics as usual.
In response to these statements, Gimball and Hall are immediately quoted, stating:
Gimball: It wouldn’t surprise me. I mean, there’s so much things that go on that people won’t say nothing about. Hall: My opinion is that Harvey’s [Peeler] got something to do with it.
As reported and spliced into the broadcast, these statements clearly imply that Hall and Gimball believed Peeler had something to do with the forgeries. However, Both Gimball and Hall testified that they specifically told Tedder they did not think Peeler was involved with the forgeries. Gimball testified that his statement was, in reality, a response to an inquiry about general politics and whether or not some politicians may do things which are not right to win an election. It was not, he testified, a statement concerning Peeler or his alleged involvement with the forgeries. Similarly, Hall testified that his statement was made in response to a question as to whether or not Peeler was involved in the investigation of the forgeries; it was not intended to imply that he believed Peeler had anything to do with the forgeries.
As broadcast, the statements of both Gimball and Hall convey to the listener the impression they believed Peeler was involved in the forgeries. This, however, is not the information reported to Tedder. Moreover, the information which was given to Tedder is spliced and reported out of context. In my *269opinion, as a whole, the record reflects more than mere “sloppy journalism.” In my opinion, the actions of appellants in misquoting Stroupe, and in splicing and editing the statements of Hall and Gimball, demonstrate a deliberate attempt to convey the false impression that people were questioning Peeler’s involvement in the forgeries. In my opinion, this constitutes an “extreme departure from the standards of investigation and reporting ordinarily adhered to by responsible publishers,” so as to provide clear and convincing evidence of malice. I would affirm the trial court’s denial of the motion for JNOV.1

. Further, I would affirm the punitive damage award. In my opinion, the verdict is neither inconsistent nor violative of Spartan’s due process rights.