Bryant v. Associated Press
| Decision Date | 09 October 1984 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 82/261. |
| Citation | 595 F. Supp. 814 |
| Parties | Fitzroy BRYANT, Plaintiff, v. ASSOCIATED PRESS and Daily News Publishing Company, Inc., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Virgin Islands |
Lolita D'Jones, Christiansted, St. Croix, V.I., for plaintiff.
Frederick G. Watts, St. Thomas, V.I., for defendant Associated Press.
Adriane J. Dudley, St. Thomas, V.I., for defendant Daily News Pub. Co., Inc.
THIS MATTER is before the Court on motion of defendants Daily News Publishing Company, Incorporated (hereafter "Daily News") and the Associated Press (hereafter "A.P.") for summary judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. Plaintiff Fitzroy Bryant (hereafter "Bryant" or "plaintiff") resists summary judgment in this libel action asserting that questions of material fact are presented requiring resolution by a jury. Since we conclude that no issues of material fact are raised by the present record and that plaintiff has failed as a matter of law to make his case against either the Daily News or the A.P., summary judgment will be granted.
The summer of 1982 found the normally pacific isles of St. Kitts and Nevis embroiled in heated, and often violent, disagreement over the desirability of, and framework for, independence from Great Britain. Premier Kennedy Simmonds had been leader of the St. Kitts — Nevis government since February of 1980 when his party, the People's Action Movement, joined with the Nevis Reform Party to oust the Labour Party government in a general election. On August 29, 1982, Bryant, chairman of the now opposition Labour Party spoke at a rally on St. Kitts organized to protest any move by St. Kitts and Nevis toward independence before holding another general election. During his speech Bryant reportedly called on those in attendance to remove the Simmonds' government from office and encouraged them to accept any risk in accomplishing that goal.
Several days later another incident further heightened the emotions of Kittitians. In the early hours of Wednesday September 2, 1982, a fire in the capital of Basseterre destroyed the historic Supreme Court building, a picturesque landmark of St. Kitts for some 200 years. The island was in an uproar. Police investigators discovered the fire to have been deliberately set, and Premier Simmonds wasted no time in pointing his finger at leaders of the opposition Labour Party. A tempest of accusations and cross-accusations followed.
At some point the determination was made that Bryant's August 29th speech was so impassioned as to be criminal. On Saturday, September 4, 1984, just prior to a scheduled public meeting, Bryant was arrested and charged with inciting people to violence.
The next day a printed A.P. wire dispatch reporting on the events in St. Kitts was received via teletype in the Daily News' newsroom in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The dispatch, in pertinent part reads as follows:
Daily News motion, Exhibit B.
The wire editor judged the developments in St. Kitts to be newsworthy in the Virgin Islands and decided to publish the item in the next day's Daily News. He reviewed the story, composed a headline, and with minor changes, the dispatch as received was published on page 4 of the September 6, 1982 Daily News under the headline "St. Kitts official jailed for arson." See Daily News Motion, Exhibit A.
On the following day the Daily News was put on notice that the headline accompanying the article was erroneous, as Bryant had not been arrested for arson but instead for inciting people to violence. The Daily News was planning to run a follow-up A.P. dispatch in the September 8 edition, so it amended the A.P. report to include a correction of the September 6 headline. See Daily News Motion, Exhibit C.
Bryant now brings this action in libel against both the A.P. and the Daily News contending that the article and headline falsely portrayed him as an arsonist and severely damaged his reputation throughout the Caribbean. Bryant asserts that both defendants acted in disregard of the actual truth of the matter, the Daily News in failing to verify the accuracy of its headline and the A.P. in juxtaposing and intertwining its stories so as to leave the general public with the wrong impression.
The A.P. and the Daily News assert that the allegedly libelous publications are privileged within the ambit of the New York Times, infra, rule. They contend that Bryant is a public figure, and, as such, in order to prevail he must prove that defendants acted with "actual malice" toward him. Defendants urge that, on the record, Bryant has failed to make such a showing thus summary judgment should enter on their behalf.
The first matter this Court faces is to determine the standard of fault to be applied to these defendants. In weighing the First Amendment values on one hand, with the right of citizens to protect their reputations on the other, the Supreme Court has set down the rule that if the plaintiff is a "public official" or a "public figure", the balance must be struck in favor of freedom of speech. In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 279-80, 84 S.Ct. 710, 725-26, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964) the Supreme Court held that the Constitution requires that, in an action for defamation relating to his official conduct, a "public official" must prove by clear and convincing evidence that an alleged defamatory statement was made with "actual malice". The Court went on to define this requisite "actual malice" as publishing articles with a knowledge of their falsity or reckless disregard for their truth. Id. The New York Times rule was later expanded by the Court to encompass "public figures" regarding matters of public interest in Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts, 388 U.S. 130, 87 S.Ct. 1975, 18 L.Ed.2d 1094 (1967). Later, in refusing to further extend New York Times, supra, to private individuals the Court explained why "public officials" and "public figures" must satisfy a more demanding burden of proof. In Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 94 S.Ct. 2997, 41 L.Ed.2d 789 (1974) the Court noted that these libel plaintiffs had "voluntarily exposed themselves to increased risk of injury from defamatory falsehood concerning them" and, because of their status, had greater access than private individuals to channels of public communication in order to rebut such a falsehood. Id. at 345, 94 S.Ct. at 3009. The Court then went on to set forth two classifications of "public figures":
Those who attain this status have assumed roles of especial prominence in the affairs of society. Some occupy positions of such persuasive power and influence that they are deemed public figures for all purposes. More commonly, those classed as public figures have thrust themselves to the forefront of particular public controversies in order to influence the resolution of the issues involved. In either event, they invite attention and comment.
Id.; at 345, 94 S.Ct. at 3009.
Defendants assert in the case at issue that plaintiff clearly is a limited purpose "public figure" within the second category described above. We agree.
It cannot be disputed that Bryant has been a major and influential participant in St. Kitts politics over the past decade. He served intermittently as a member of the House of Assembly, the legislature of St. Kitts, from 1966 until 1980. During the same period he held a position in the executive branch serving as Minister of Government for Health, Education and Social Affairs from 1967 through 1979. Bryant, as well, served as Attorney General in 1979 and 1980.
Since 1966, Bryant has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Labour Party, the party ousted from power by the Simmonds' government in 1980. He presently is, and has been since 1979, the Chairman of the Labour Party, which today retains its position as the primary opposition party in St. Kitts. In conjunction with his active party membership, Bryant writes a widely read and aptly named weekly column, "Frankly Speaking", for the voice of the Labour Party, the Labour Spokesman. Bryant has, thus, not shied from the public light since the Labour Party's defeat in 1980.
As to be expected, the major political issue facing St. Kitts in recent times has been its move towards independence from Great Britain. The complexities of the matter prompted nationwide emotional debate. Bryant opposed the ruling party's proposal for achieving independence and, from July, 1982 up until his arrest in September, 1982, he made weekly speeches in support of his opposition. Bryant was attempting to influence as many of the people as possible and admits that his role in the ongoing national debate of 1982 was a visible one.
In light of the foregoing, this Court cannot help but...
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