LEONARD DAMRON, APPELLANT,

v.

OCALA STAR-BANNER COMPANY, A FLORIDA CORPORATION, AND LOYAL PHILLIPS, INDIVIDUALLY, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 1972-06-20

No. Q-215

SPECTOR, C. J., and WIGGINTON and RAWLS, J J., concur.

263 So. 2d 291 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1972) Positive Treatment

Cited by 12 cases

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Holding

The court held that a public figure cannot recover for defamatory falsehoods published by the news media without proof of express malice with convincing clarity.

Facts & Procedural History

Plaintiff sued for libel and initially won, but the U.S. Supreme Court reversed, requiring proof of express malice. The trial court found no such evid…

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Topics

Express Malice Public Figure Actual Malice Libel

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Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

Damron appeals a final summary judgment in favor of appellee-newspaper. This cause has been the subject matter of protracted litigation. Damron initially recovered a judgment in his action for libel against the Ocala Star-Banner. This Court sustained the judgment appealed. 221 So.2d 459 (1 Fla.App.1969). The Federal Supreme Court granted certiorari and reversed. 401 U.S. 295, 91 S.Ct. 628, 28 L.Ed.2d 57 (1971). The trial judge found in the summary judgment now appealed that the Federal Supreme Court:

“. . . has held that under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, plaintiff must prove ‘with convincing clarity’ that defendants ran the story with express malice, i. e., ‘the publication was deliberately falsified, or published recklessly despite the publisher’s awareness of probable falsity’ . . .

“There is no evidence here that would take the case to the jury under that standard . . .”

We have studied at length the record developed in this cause, as well as the Federal Supreme Court’s decisions in New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 84 S.Ct. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964); Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64, 85 S.Ct. 209, 13 L.Ed.2d 125 (1964); Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy,1 401 U.S. 265, 91 S.Ct. 621, 28 L.Ed.*292 2d 35 (1971); and Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc., 403 U.S. 29, 91 S.Ct. 1811, 29 L.Ed.2d 296 (1971).

Apparently, the Federal Supreme Court has ruled that a public figure is without recourse when the news media, without proof of “express malice” of “convincing clarity,” chooses to publish defamatory falsehoods about such public figure. Thus, we are compelled to affirm the judgment appealed.

Affirmed.

SPECTOR, C. J., and WIGGINTON and RAWLS, J J., concur.

Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus

Citator

Cited By

Menendez v. KEY W. Newspaper Corp., 293 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974)

…ress require an adverse judgment. See also, St. Amant v. Thompson, 390 U.S. 727, 88 S.Ct. 1323, 20 L.Ed.2d 262 (1968); Ocala Star-Banner Co. v. Damron, 401 U. S. 295, 28 L.Ed.2d 57, 91 S.Ct. 628 (1971); Damron v. Ocala Star-Banner Co., Fla.App.1972, 263 So. 2d 291. It also has been held that in cases of this nature, which involve the First Amendment area and where the issue is recklessness employed in the publication of alleged false and libelous information, that summary judgments should be more liberally g…
Green Valley Sch., Inc. v. Cowles Fla. Broad., Inc., 327 So. 2d 810 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976)

…r the truth with subjective awareness of probable falsity: “There must be sufficient evidence to permit the conclusion that the defendant in fact entertained serious doubts as to the truth of his publication.” . Damron v. Ocala Star-Banner Company, 263 So. 2d 291 (1 Fla.App.1972). . Gertz v. Welch, 418 U.S. 323, 94 S.Ct. 2997, 41 L.Ed.2d 789 (1974). . Cantrell v. Forest City Pub. Co., 419 U.S. 245, 95 S.Ct. 465, 42 L.Ed.2d 419 (1974). . Cantrell v. Forest City Pub. Co., 484 F. 2d 150 (6th Cir.1973). . Ti…
Helton v. United Press Int'l, 303 So. 2d 650 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974)

…, 376 U.S. 254, 84 S.Ct. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964); Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts, 388 U.S. 130, 87 S.Ct. 1975, 18 L.Ed.2d 1094 (1967) ; Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, 403 U.S. 29, 91 S.Ct. 1811, 29 L. Ed.2d 296 (1971); Damron v. Ocala Star-Banner Co., 263 So. 2d 291 (1 Fla. App.1972) ; and Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64, 85 S.Ct. 209, 13 L.Ed.2d 125 (1964). The trial court summarized its final summary judgment by holding: “Finally, plaintiff can only sustain his action upon clear and convincing proof of ac…

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Authorities Cited

N.Y. Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (U.S. 1964)
Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64 (U.S. 1964)
Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc., 403 U.S. 29 (U.S. 1971)
Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy, 401 U.S. 265 (U.S. 1971)
Ocala Star-Banner Co. v. Damron, 401 U.S. 295 (U.S. 1971)
Ocala Star-Banner Co. v. Damron, 221 So. 2d 459 (Fla. 1st DCA 1969)

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