Brennan v. Laramie Newspapers, Inc., 3994

• Decision Date: 15 February 1972
• Docket Number: No. 3994,3994
• Parties: Phil BRENNAN and Eileen Brennan, Appellants (Plaintiffs below), v. LARAMIE NEWSPAPERS, INC. and David J. Mickelson, Appellees (Defendants below).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

Page 1044

493 P.2d 1044

Phil BRENNAN and Eileen Brennan, Appellants (Plaintiffs below), v. LARAMIE NEWSPAPERS, INC. and David J. Mickelson, Appellees (Defendants below).

No. 3994.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

Feb. 15, 1972.

Weston W. Reeves, of Graves, Smyth & Reeves, Cheyenne, for appellants.

Alfred M. Pence, of Pence & Millett, Laramie, for appellee Laramie Newspapers, Inc.

Thomas S. Smith, of Smith, Stanfield & Mendicino, Laramie, for appellee David J. Mickelson.

Before McINTYRE, C. J., and PARKER and McEWAN, JJ.

Mr. Justice McEWAN delivered the opinion of the court.

The plaintiffs filed a complaint alleging that defendant-Laramie Newspapers, Inc. had published a defamatory article of and concerning plaintiffs, and also alleging that defendant-Mickelson had slandered plaintiffs in the same manner. The cause was tried before a jury, and at the close of plaintiffs' case the trial court granted defendants' motions for directed verdicts.

This case arose as a result of a picture and story in the Laramie Daily Boomerang on April 30, 1970, which paper was published by the defendant-Laramie Newspapers, Inc. The picture showed defendant-Mickelson holding a quart bottle of water. Under the picture was the following story:

'POLLUTION ISN'T ALL ABOVE GROUND, as Dave Mickelson, resident of the Snowy Range Trailer Estates in West Laramie, has found. Mickelson glares unhappily at a quart sample of water taken from the faucet of his trailer home. He had the unsavory sample tested by the University of Wyoming and was told that the water was polluted and contained a heavy measurement of solids and was not fit for human consumption. Mickelson, a UW student, said, 'It doesn't really matter now-I'm moving tomorrow.' The water comes from a privately-owned well and is not a part of the city water system, but complaints of contaminated wells have not been uncommon in West Laramie.'

Plaintiffs owned and operated the 'Snowy Range Trailer Estates.' When they purchased the first piece of property in 1962 the improvements consisted of a house containing an apartment. In 1963 they began to operate a public trailer park using the name 'Snowy Range Trailer Estates.' In 1965 they purchased a tract of undeveloped land diagonally across from the original property, and this is the tract upon which defendant-Mickelson's trailer was parked. They developed the park until they had 14 trailer spaces in the original area, four on the lands acquired in 1965, and plans for further expansion. At the time the newspaper article was published there were also in the trailer park three trailers and two houses with apartments, all owned by plaintiffs and used as rentals. They preferred to rent to students, and most of the tenants attended the University of Wyoming. Each section had its separate water system for residential use by tenants consisting of two wells in each section, one of which was referred to as a shallow well and one as a deep well. The two wells in the section in which defendant-Mickelson lived were not interconnected and could not be used simultaneously for domestic purposes but were used alternately, as later discussed.

Mr. James Hull, general manager of Laramie Newspapers, Inc., was called as an adverse witness by plaintiffs. He wrote the caption which appeared under the picture of defendant-Mickelson and the jar of water. Mr. Hull had known defendant-Mickelson for about two years and first met him while defendant-Mickelson was employed at the Laramie Country Club. On or about August 24, Mr. Hull had gone to defendant-Mickelson's trailer to pick up his wallet which he had lost and which defendant-Mickelson had found. While there Mr. Hull observed water drawn from the tap in defendant-Mickelson's trailer. He testified that the water appeared 'very bad,' it was 'murky, discolored,' but it was not as discolored as the water pictured in the newspaper article.

Defendant-Mickelson moved into the trailer park with his own trailer in July of 1969, and stayed there until April 30, 1970. He answered an ad in the paper placed by the Brennans in which it was said they would give free rent to anyone willing to work five hours per week. He worked 'full time' for the Brennans in July, August, and the first part of September, and a few hours each month through December. Mr. Brennan was a salesman and was out of town quite a bit and Mrs. Brennan needed someone to take care of emergencies. Mr. Brennan was out of town when defendant-Mickelson moved in and apparently he did not return until sometime in September. From time to time there were problems of rust in the water. Mrs. Brennan testified that defendant-Mickelson had helped her in attempts to cure the rust problem, and in September of 1969 she had him turn off the deep well because they couldn't get rid of the rust. There appeared to be no animosity between plaintiffs-Brennans and defendant-Mickelson, and Mrs. Brennan thought he was a 'fine gentleman.'

The Brennans had recommended that their tenants carry city water for drinking purposes and furnished defendant-Mickelson and other tenants containers in which to carry water from town. On occasions Mr. Brennan had defendant-Mickelson put Clorox in the wells, but was not sure he had ever had him put Clorox into the shallow well or had done so himself. In any event, the water situation at the Snowy Range Trailer Estates left something to be desired, and plaintiffs agreed it would be in their best interest to have city water.

On April 28 or 29, defendant-Mickelson drew the sample of water which was pictured in the paper. He testified that he took the sample to the University of Wyoming for testing, then showed it to the city sanitarian, and subsequently took it to the Fireside Lounge where he had been working and where Mr. Hull saw it and requested a picture. Defendant-Mickelson ...