Beeton v. District of Columbia

Citation779 A.2d 918
Decision Date30 August 2001
Docket NumberNo. 95-CV-1101.,95-CV-1101.
PartiesBrenda G. BEETON and Dennis Beeton, Appellants, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., Appellees.
CourtCourt of Appeals of Columbia District

Dennis Beeton, pro se, with whom Brenda G. Beeton, pro se, was on the brief, for appellants.

Mary T. Connelly, Assistant Corporation Counsel, with whom Robert R. Rigsby, Corporation Counsel, Charles L. Reischel, Deputy Corporation Counsel, and Lutz Alexander Prager, Assistant Deputy Corporation Counsel, were on the brief, for appellees.

Before TERRY, STEADMAN and REID, Associate Judges.

REID, Associate Judge:

In this case, appellants, Mrs. Brenda Beeton and her husband Mr. Dennis Beeton, employees of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections ("DOC"),1 challenge the trial judge's decision in favor of appellees, the District of Columbia ("the District"), Leon Hammond, and Vincent Gibbons, on their claims for defamation, loss of consortium, and wrongful discharge. Mrs. Beeton argues that the trial court erroneously concluded that: (1) she was a public official and therefore had to prove actual malice to prevail on her defamation claim, and (2) the unliquidated damages she sought for wrongful termination were unrecoverable.2 She also argues that the evidence warranted damages in excess of $60,000.3

We hold that as a District corrections officer, Mrs. Beeton was a public official at the time the defamatory article appeared; hence, she had to prove actual malice on the part of those responsible for its publication, that is, that the article was published "with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not." New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 280, 84 S.Ct. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964). Since Mrs. Beeton did not sustain her burden of proof by presenting clear and convincing evidence of actual malice, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FACTUAL SUMMARY

The record on appeal shows the following facts. Mrs. Beeton began working for the DOC around August 1986, and in 1989 was stationed at the DOC Modular Facility at Lorton, Virginia ("the Facility") where the incidents giving rise to this lawsuit occurred. She was a correctional officer, and was commonly addressed as "Corporal." In August 1989 she was named the Officer in Charge ("OIC") of the Facility's Control Center (Shift No. 2) through the Master Roster system.4 Mrs. Beeton had the necessary experience for the OIC position, and was given the assignment. She functioned satisfactorily until she was removed in October 1989, after the publication of an article in The Modular Circular, a Facility-created newsletter, which implied that she had received the position through a connection. However, after she filed a complaint in the trial court challenging her removal, the trial judge concluded that Mrs. Beeton's "removal was not based on any just cause related to her performance of duties," and that "she was replaced by a less experienced officer...."

At trial on her defamation and wrongful termination claims, Mrs. Beeton asserted that she was humiliated as a result of the article, and became depressed and withdrawn. Her marital relationship also deteriorated, and she lost the ability to be intimate with her husband. She sought therapy, and was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder. From her perspective, the article implied that she received the post in an "illicit" manner, and thus, her reputation was tainted as a consequence. She took time off from work5 and was terminated in September 1991 for being absent without official leave. She was reinstated in May 1992, however, and awarded back pay as well as benefits.

ANALYSIS
The Defamation Claim

Mrs. Beeton's primary argument on appeal is that the trial court erroneously concluded that she was a public official for the purposes of her defamation action, and therefore had to prove actual malice.6 The District maintains that the article was not defamatory, and even assuming that it was, the trial court correctly concluded that Mrs. Beeton was a public official who failed to satisfy her burden of proof.

"Our standard of review is well established. In a case tried without a jury, we address legal issues de novo, but the judge's findings of fact can be reversed only if they are `plainly wrong or without evidence to support [them].'" Jemison v. National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., 720 A.2d 275, 281 (D.C.1998) (quoting D.C.Code § 17-305(a) (1997)) (other citations omitted). The appellate record reveals the following factual background pertinent to our review of Mrs. Beeton's defamation claim. In 1989, the administrator of the Facility authorized the publication of a newsletter, called The Modular Circular, to boost employee morale, and allow staff members an opportunity to vent and voice their concerns. The September 5, 1989 issue of the newsletter included an article voicing contempt for the Facility's bidding process used to fill certain positions. One paragraph in particular noted that a certain female corporal always received "choice" assignments because of some sort of "Connection to which other [correctional] officers [were] not privy[.]" The article was entitled Teamsters Local 1714 News and read in relevant part:

In response to your recent newsletter article "teamsters Local 1714 News." You asked the question, "how do you feel about the recent bidding process?" As a Correctional Officer of over five years in the [DOC], not to mention my military work experience of over 10 years, I want to go on record as saying, "I personally believe the bidding process, as it occurred at this Facility, really sucked." Conditions do not appear to have been made better but many officers have expressed how bad things have worsened, having Potential [sic] to send morale to an all time low.
Officers are often heard complaining among themselves about how displeased and upset they are with assignments they bidded [sic] for and didn't get, about assignments given which they never bidded [sic] for at all, and at least one corporal has been "forced to work beneath other officers to whom he is a senior because his Shift Captain maintains "there can be no deviation from the master roster." However, it should also be noted that some officers on their shifts have maintained they never or rarely work the post they were assigned as a result of the bidding process. Where, then, is the consistency that is to exist among shifts?
Several officers have voiced their displeasure regarding management's selection of a female corporal with less than one year time in grade being assigned daily as OIC of the Modular Facility Control Center for the past two weeks, in the absence of Sgt. J.L. Bryant. They are of the opinion that it would have been more fitting to assign a Sergeant or Senior Corporal to that position. Officers admitted that it appear to them that this Junior Corporal always seem to get "choice" assignments, none of which have (as of this writing) been dormitory or cellblock assignments. Could she perhaps have a "Connection" to which other officers are not privy?

Mrs. Beeton, her husband, and others interpreted the article as implying that she had been given the assignment as a result of preferential treatment. One witness testified that, after reading the article, he and others believed that Mrs. Beeton had provided sexual favors to get the OIC post. The article did not mention Mrs. Beeton by name, but the record supports the trial judge's finding that it was "widely understood by the readership of The Modular Circular" that Mrs. Beeton was its subject; she was the only female corporal assigned daily to the OIC position at that time.

Mrs. Beeton complained to her union representative, the administrator, her immediate supervisor, and the institutional major for the facility. Her supervisor and union representative both wrote to the editor, rebuking him for the publication. No retraction was requested and none was published. In the follow-up issue, there was more comment on the issue:

So you thought there wouldn't be a newsletter since none were found in the usual place on payday, did you? How wrong could you be! I guess we (the staff) are trying to ascertain what we printed in our last edition that had people stopping [sic] by our office literally begging for copies. Only one person was seen leaving while appearing to be somewhat upset while everyone else was all smiles. If someone out there knows something that we don't, please let us (the staff) know. We enjoy keeping you informed and we would like to keep you smiling while doing just that. It's wonderful to have an Administrator, such as Mr. John Lattimore, who will allow his employees an avenue to express their feelings. By doing so we believe problems will sometimes surface, as well as viable solutions to those problems, which will ultimately increase the morale and exprit [sic] de corp[s] of the modular Facility, we welcome all ideas, suggestions, and criticisms without persons being required to give their names. Hope you enjoy this edition as much as the last, but if you don't we expect you to tell us (the staff) what we need to do to make it better.

Mrs. Beeton argues that the article in the newsletter demonstrates culpability and/or gross negligence on the part of the District and its employees, because they were "boasting of the previous defamatory issue's effect." The trial court found that "[Mrs.] Beeton had [not] received preferential treatment in the assignment of her duty posts," that she had the experience for the OIC position, and "was assigned to the OIC position as a result of Master Committee decisions made in the regular course of that Committee's responsibilities." Thus the challenged statements in the newsletter were both "false" and "defamatory."

We now turn to the legal principles applicable to this matter. "In the District of Columbia, `a statement is defamatory if it tends to injure [...

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