Fair Report Privilege

25 Florida cases classified under this topic · sorted by citation count · browse and sort

• Medico v. Time, Inc.
  643 F.2d 134· 3d Cir.· 1981-03-02 ·cited 26×
  The court held that a news magazine's publication of a summary of FBI documents identifying an individual as a Mafia capo is protected by the common law fair report privilege under Pennsylvania law.
• Street v. Nat'l Broad. Co.
  645 F.2d 1227· 6th Cir.· 1981-03-13 ·cited 17×
  The dissent argues that the passage of time can extinguish public figure status, and a negligence standard should apply to defamation claims by private individuals when the pressures of contemporaneous reporting have subsided.
• Dameron v. Wash. Magazine, Inc.
  779 F.2d 736· D.C. Cir.· 1985-12-24 ·cited 14×
  The court held that while the fair report privilege did not apply, the plaintiff was an involuntary, limited-purpose public figure, requiring proof of actual malice which was not alleged.
• Lavin v. NEW York News, Inc.
  757 F.2d 1416· 3d Cir.· 1985-03-26 ·cited 14×
  The court held that a reasonable fact-finder could conclude that the headline, photograph, and article, taken together, were more pejorative than the FBI affidavit concerning the plaintiff, thus potentially losing the protection of the fair report privilege.
• Levine v. CMP Publ'ns, Inc.
  738 F.2d 660· 5th Cir.· 1984-08-13 ·cited 12×
  The dissenting judge argues that the majority erred in affirming the jury's finding of negligent reporting and defamatory falsehoods, asserting the article was substantially truthful and protected by the First Amendment.
• Garo Lauderback v. Am. Broad. Cos., Inc.
  741 F.2d 193· 8th Cir.· 1984-08-21 ·cited 11×
  Statements made about the plaintiff in a broadcast were protected expressions of opinion, not assertions of fact, and thus not defamatory.
• Reuber v. Food Chem. News, Inc.
  925 F.2d 703· 4th Cir.· 1991-02-05 ·cited 10×
• Lowenschuss v. W. Publ'g Co.
  542 F.2d 180· 3d Cir.· 1976-09-16 ·cited 10×
  Verbatim publication of judicial opinions by a publisher like West is absolutely privileged, even if the opinion contains defamatory material.
• Hurley v. Nw. Publ'ns, Inc.
  398 F.2d 346· 8th Cir.· 1968-08-14 ·cited 10×
  The court held that the newspaper had a conditional privilege to publish a fair summary of a state court complaint, and no malice was present.
• Thomas v. United States & Lake Country Reporter, Inc.
  890 F.2d 18· 7th Cir.· 1989-11-20 ·cited 9×
  The issuance of a press release by the IRS containing information from a Tax Court opinion does not constitute an unauthorized disclosure of tax-return information under section 7431, even if the information originated from a tax return.
• Rasmussen v. Collier Cnty. Publ'g Co.
  946 So. 2d 567· Fla. 2d DCA· 2006-12-13 ·cited 8×
  William Rasmussen, founder of ESPN and the failed Stadium Naples golf resort project, appealed a summary judgment dismissing his libel suit against the Naples Daily News and three individual journalists. The court affirmed, holding that the newspaper's coverage was substantially
• Chapin v. Knight-Ridder
  993 F.2d 1087· 4th Cir.· 1993-05-19 ·cited 8×
  The court held that the district court erred in dismissing the complaint for failure to state a claim, as the article could reasonably be interpreted as defamatory under Virginia law.
• Schiavone Constr. Co. & Ronald A. Schiavone v. Time, Inc.
  847 F.2d 1069· 3d Cir.· 1988-05-16 ·cited 8×
  The court held that plaintiffs were public figures and not libel-proof as a matter of law, reversing the grant of summary judgment on those grounds.
• Chang-Sin LEE v. The Dong-A Ilbo
  849 F.2d 876· 4th Cir.· 1988-06-20 ·cited 6×
  The dissenting judge would recognize a qualified privilege for fair republication of foreign government reports, subject to proper attribution, to better balance reputational protection and public access to information.
• Trump v. Am. Broad. Cos., Inc.
  2023 WL 9510534· S.D. Fla.· 2024-07-24 ·cited 4×
  The court held that collateral estoppel does not bar the plaintiff's defamation claims because the prior findings were made in a different context and involved different statements, and that the substantial truth defense cannot be decided on a motion to dismiss as factual issues
• Anne McQueen v. Baskin
  377 So. 3d 170· Fla. 2d DCA· 2023-11-17 ·cited 3×
  The appellate court reversed a lower court's dismissal of a defamation lawsuit. The lower court had found the statements made by the defendant on her vlog and website to be non-defamatory opinions and protected speech under Florida's Anti-SLAPP statute. The appellate court disagr
• Dorsey v. Nat'l Enquirer, Inc.
  973 F.2d 1431· 9th Cir.· 1992-08-17 ·cited 1×
  The court held that summary judgment was improper because the 'fair and true' issue, concerning whether a news report accurately captured the gist of official proceedings, presented a genuine issue of material fact for the jury.
• Bell v. Pollock
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-04-17
  Rick Bell, Karen Bell, Brian Bell, and Branden Bell sued defendants for defamation and misappropriation of likeness based on a documentary film titled "Finding Kendrick Johnson" that alleged the Bells were involved in the death of Kendrick Johnson. The court granted in part and d
• MAC Isaac v. C.A. No. S22C-10-012 RHR Cable News Network, Inc.
  Del. Super. Ct.· 2024-09-30
  The appellate court affirmed the trial court's decisions, granting motions to dismiss for CNN, Politico, and the Biden for President Campaign Committee, and granting summary judgment for Robert Hunter Biden. The court also granted the plaintiff's motion to dismiss Biden's counter
• Trump Media & Tech. Grp. Corp. v. WP Co. LLC
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-03-08
  The court held that the plaintiff failed to sufficiently allege actual malice for defamation claims regarding loan statements, finder's fees, and investigation reports, and thus granted the motion to dismiss in part.
• Deligdish v. Bender
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-08-07
  Craig Deligdish sued David Bender for publishing a defamatory website (DeligdishWatch.com) that made false statements about Deligdish's medical practice and business reputation, and Deligdish asserted claims for defamation, tortious interference, trade libel, and fraud. The court
• Carter Page
  Del.· 2022-01-19
  The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court's dismissal of defamation claims against Oath Inc. The Court held that the primary article at issue, the 'Isikoff Article,' was substantially true because it accurately reported on the existence of a federal investigation int
• Larreal v. Telemundo of Fla., LLC
  S.D. Fla.· 2020-09-21
  A Venezuelan undocumented immigrant who overstayed his visa sued Telemundo for defamation after the news station broadcast his arrest during a drug raid, implying he was arrested for drug-related charges when he was actually arrested on an outstanding bench warrant for a traffic
• Miller v. Gizmodo Media Grp., LLC
  S.D. Fla.· 2019-08-27
  Jason Miller, a political strategist and commentator, sued Gizmodo Media Group and Katherine Krueger (managing editor of news website Splinter) for defamation after they published an article reporting on allegations Miller had drugged a woman with an abortion pill without her con
• LAL v. CBS, Inc.
  726 F.2d 97· 3d Cir.· 1984-01-19
  The court held that the "fair report" privilege protected the broadcast, the trespass claim failed due to tenant consent, and the reporter's notes were protected by the shield statute.