Bauer v. Brinkman

• Decision Date: 16 April 2021
• Docket Number: No. 20-0563,20-0563
• Citation: 958 N.W.2d 194
• Parties: Richard BAUER, Individually and as Trustee for the Kendall R. Bauer Trust, Appellant, v. Bradley R. BRINKMAN, Appellee.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

958 N.W.2d 194

Richard BAUER, Individually and as Trustee for the Kendall R. Bauer Trust, Appellant,

v.Bradley R. BRINKMAN, Appellee.

No. 20-0563

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Submitted March 24, 2021

Filed April 16, 2021

Amended April 21, 2021

Harry K. Widdison, Sioux City, for appellant.

Ryland Deinert and Rene Charles Lapierre of Klass Law Firm, L.L.P., Sioux City, for appellee.

Shefali Aurora of the ACLU of Iowa, Des Moines, for amicus curiae American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa.

Christensen, C.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which all justices joined.

CHRISTENSEN, Chief Justice.

In this case, the plaintiff, a manager of an apartment building in small-town Sloan, Iowa, brought a defamation action against another Sloan resident arising from his social media post in which he called the plaintiff a slumlord. The plaintiff alleged the defendant asserted a false statement of fact that he is an unscrupulous landlord of a slum area. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment on the issue of liability. The district court granted the defendant's motion and dismissed the action. The district court reasoned that the context of the defendant's statement shows he was not attempting to comment on the plaintiff's apartments, but rather insult the plaintiff. Therefore, it concluded the statement was a constitutionally protected opinion and dismissed the claim. The court of appeals affirmed. The plaintiff applied for further review, and we granted his application.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

Plaintiff Richard Bauer (Bauer) resides in Sloan, Iowa, where he manages Bauer Apartments. The apartments are owned by the Kendall R. Bauer Trust for which he is the trustee. On September 22, 2015, Kathy Lynch (Kathy) began the construction of Pet Perfect LLC, a dog care facility, directly next to Bauer Apartments. Bauer became concerned issues were going to arise from the dogs and their feces due to the outdoor area being constructed. He contacted the Sloan City Council and asked for the city's zoning ordinances. Bauer also contacted Kathy about his concerns and offered to buy the parcel of land where she was building the facility. She refused. He ultimately filed suit against the City of Sloan and the city council members claiming they failed to enforce a zoning ordinance.

Pet Perfect LLC has its own Facebook page that posted about Bauer's pending lawsuit and cameras he had installed on the exterior of the apartments. On July 5, 2017, Kathy's daughter, Gabbie Lynch, published a post on her personal Facebook page complaining about Bauer and his concerns with the dog feces outside at Pet Perfect LLC. She included in her post a photo of a letter his attorney sent to Kathy. Several people commented on the post, including defendant Bradley Brinkman (Brinkman). Brinkman is a friend of Kathy's. He also lives across the street from Bauer Apartments. Brinkman's Facebook comment states:

It is because of shit like this that I need to run for mayor! [grinning emoji] Mr. Bauer ... you sir are a PIECE OF SHIT!!! Let's not sugar coat things here people. Kathy Lynch runs a respectable business in this town! You sir are nothing more than a Slum Lord! Period. I would love to have you walk across the street to the east of your ooh so precious property and discuss this with me!

On March 12, 2019, Bauer filed suit against Brinkman claiming he was liable for defamation due to his use of the term slumlord. He asserted claims for libel per se, libel per quod, and libel by implication. On January 10, 2020, Bauer filed a motion for partial summary judgment seeking judgment as a matter of law on liability and a trial on damages only. Brinkman resisted the motion and filed his own motion for summary judgment arguing that he could not be liable for the use of the term because it was an expression of opinion. The district court held a hearing on the motions.

On March 20, the district court granted Brinkman's motion for summary judgment finding that his use of the term slumlord was not a statement of fact, but rather a constitutionally protected expression of opinion. The district court reasoned that the term slumlord could hypothetically be used as a statement of fact, however, in the context of the Facebook post it was apparent Brinkman was trying to insult Bauer rather than assert facts about the quality of Bauer Apartments. Bauer appealed. The court of appeals affirmed the district court's order dismissing the action. Bauer applied for further review, and we granted his application.

II. Standard of Review.

We review a district court's summary judgment ruling for correction of errors at law. Terry v. Dorothy , 950 N.W.2d 246, 249 (Iowa 2020). Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Bierman v. Weier , 826 N.W.2d 436, 443 (Iowa 2013). Summary judgment "is afforded a unique role in defamation cases. Judges have a responsibility to determine whether allowing a case to go to a jury would ... endanger first amendment freedoms." Id. (omission in original) (quoting Jones v. Palmer Commc'ns, Inc. , 440 N.W.2d 884, 889 (Iowa 1989), overruled in part on other grounds by Schlegel v. Ottumwa Courier , 585 N.W.2d 217, 224 (Iowa 1998) ).

III. Analysis.

The prima facie elements a plaintiff must prove in a defamation action are that "the defendant (1) published a statement that was (2) defamatory (3) of and concerning the plaintiff." Id. at 464 (quoting Taggart v. Drake Univ. , 549 N.W.2d 796, 802 (Iowa 1996) ). Generally speaking, defamation is the publication of false statements of fact which tend to harm an individual's reputation. Huegerich v. IBP, Inc. , 547 N.W.2d 216, 221 (Iowa 1996). "Defamation includes the twin torts of libel and slander. Libel involves written statements, while slander involves oral statements." Bierman , 826 N.W.2d at 444 (quoting Kiesau v. Bantz , 686 N.W.2d 164, 174 (Iowa 2004), overruled in part on other grounds by Alcala v. Marriott Int'l, Inc. , 880 N.W.2d 699 (Iowa 2016) ). This case concerns libel. Libel is

the "malicious publication, expressed either in printing or in writing, or by signs or pictures, tending to injure the reputation of another person or to expose [that person] to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule or to injure [the person] in the maintenance of [a] business."

Delaney v. Int'l Union UAW Loc. No. 94 , 675 N.W.2d 832, 839 (Iowa 2004) (alterations in original) (quoting Johnson v. Nickerson , 542 N.W.2d 506, 510 (Iowa 1996) ).

Statements that cannot be reasonably interpreted as stating actual facts about a person are not actionable as defamation. Milkovich v. Lorain J. Co. , 497 U.S. 1, 20, 110 S. Ct. 2695, 2706, 111 L.Ed.2d 1 (1990). Thus, speech that is considered "rhetorical hyperbole" and "vigorous epithet" are nonactionable as defamation. Greenbelt Coop. Publ'g Ass'n v. Bresler , 398 U.S. 6, 14, 90 S. Ct. 1537, 1542, 26 L.Ed.2d 6 (1970). Whether a statement is capable of a defamatory meaning is a question for the court. Jones , 440 N.W.2d at 891.

We use a four-factor test to determine whether an alleged defamatory statement can reasonably be interpreted as alleging actual facts or is a protected expression of opinion. Bandstra v. Covenant Reformed Church , 913 N.W.2d 19, 47 (Iowa 2018). First, we consider "whether the alleged defamatory statement ‘has a precise core of meaning for which a consensus of understanding exists or, conversely, whether the statement is indefinite and ambiguous.’ " Id. (quoting Yates v. Iowa W. Racing Ass'n , 721 N.W.2d 762, 770 (Iowa 2006) ). Second, we consider to what degree the statement is "objectively capable of proof or disproof." Id. (quoting Yates , 721 N.W.2d at 770 ). Third, we examine "the context in which the alleged defamatory statement occurs." Id. (quoting Yates , 721 N.W.2d at 770 ). Fourth, we contemplate "the broader social context" the alleged defamatory statement fits into. Id. (quoting Yates , 721 N.W.2d at 770 ).

Bauer argues that Brinkman's speech calling him a slumlord implied a factual assertion that he is an "unscrupulous landlord" of an apartment building that is a slum or in a slum area. He provides the following definition for slumlord:

[A]n unscrupulous landlord who milks a property without concern for tenants, neighborhoods or their own long term interests. Slumlords overcharge for property in poor neighborhoods that is kept in poor repair and allowed to deteriorate. Some indicators of property run by a slumlord include number of police calls, and city and county code violations on the properties.

Slumlord Law and Legal Definition , US Legal, https://definitions.uslegal.com/s/slumlord [https://perma.cc/UZG9-RR8T] (last visited April 9, 2021). The Iowa Code defines a slum area as:

[A]n area in which there is a predominance of buildings or improvements, whether residential or nonresidential, which: by reason of dilapidation, deterioration, age or obsolescence; by reason of inadequate provision for ventilation, light, air, sanitation, or open spaces; by reason of high density of population and overcrowding; by reason of the existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes; or which by any combination of such factors, is conducive to ill health, transmission of disease, infant mortality, juvenile delinquency, or crime, and which is detrimental to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare.

Iowa Code § 403.17(22) (2019). Brinkman argues that his Facebook comment was a protected expression of opinion. The dispositive question in this case is whether a reasonable reader could conclude that Brinkman's Facebook comment implied a factual statement that Bauer is a rental property owner or landlord of a slum area.

A statement that is precise and easy to verify is more likely a fact than an opinion. Jones , 440 N.W.2d at 891. An example of a defamatory statement that is capable of precise meaning and easily verifiable is an accusation that a...