D Magazine Partners, L.P. v. Rosenthal

• Decision Date: 17 March 2017
• Docket Number: No. 15-0790.,15-0790.
• Citation: 529 S.W.3d 429
• Parties: D MAGAZINE PARTNERS, L.P. d/b/a D Magazine, Magazine Limited Partners, L.P., and Allison Media, Inc., Petitioners, v. Janay Bender ROSENTHAL, Respondent
• Court: Texas Supreme Court

529 S.W.3d 429

D MAGAZINE PARTNERS, L.P. d/b/a D Magazine, Magazine Limited Partners, L.P., and Allison Media, Inc., Petitioners,

v.Janay Bender ROSENTHAL, Respondent

No. 15-0790.

Supreme Court of Texas.

Argued October 4, 2016

OPINION DELIVERED: March 17, 2017

Rehearing Overruled September 29, 2017

Jason Patrick Bloom, Thomas J. Williams, Allen Ryan Paulsen, for Petitioners.

John E. Defeo, for Respondent.

Thomas S. Leatherbury, Marc A. Fuller, for Amicus Curiae Texas Press Association.

Layne Steven Keele Amicus Curiae.

Justice Lehrmann delivered the opinion of the Court.

A free press is essential to a healthy democracy. Through conscientious and diligent reporting, the press holds public officials accountable and helps citizens stay informed on matters of public concern. Accordingly, both the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution robustly protect freedom of speech. But, these safeguards are not unlimited and do not categorically deprive individuals of legal recourse when they are injured by false and defamatory speech. The line between the rights of the press and the rights of defamed individuals is not easily drawn. This elusive boundary underlies today's dispute about the propriety of a defamation lawsuit's early dismissal under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA).

In this case, the plaintiff—a private citizen who was the subject of a magazine article about her receipt of food stamps—sued the magazine, asserting defamation and other claims stemming from allegations that the article falsely accused her of committing welfare fraud. When the magazine moved to dismiss the suit under the TCPA, the trial court denied the motion as to the defamation claim, granted it as to the other claims asserted, and denied the magazine's request for attorney's fees. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that the plaintiff was entitled to proceed on her defamation claim. The court also concluded that it lacked jurisdiction over the appeal of the trial court's denial of attorney's fees.

The magazine presents two primary issues here. First, it asserts that the court of appeals improperly relied on Wikipedia as authority in its opinion. Second, it argues that the plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case of defamation sufficient to defeat the magazine's dismissal motion. We agree with the magazine that the court of appeals' reliance on Wikipedia led to an unduly narrow interpretation of the article's title that, in turn, impacted the court's analysis of the plaintiff's defamation claim. As to the second point, we hold that a reasonable person could construe the article as a whole to accuse the plaintiff of fraudulently obtaining public benefits and that the plaintiff presented sufficient evidence in support of the defamation elements to survive the magazine's motion for early dismissal. Finally, on the ancillary issue of attorney's fees, we disagree with the court of appeals' conclusion that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the magazine's appeal of the trial court's denial of its request for attorney's fees in connection with the partially granted motion to dismiss, and we conclude that the trial court erred in awarding no fees. We affirm the court of appeals' judgment in part, reverse it in part, and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings.

I. Background

In March 2013, D Magazine published an article under the heading "CRIME" titled "THE PARK CITIES WELFARE QUEEN." In the subheading, the article identifies Janay Rosenthal as a "University Park mom" who "has figured out how to get food stamps while living in the lap of luxury." Rosenthal's mug shot from a prior, unrelated arrest features prominently next to the title. The body of the article, discussed in more detail below, goes on to describe how Rosenthal "pulls it off" despite the assumption that someone in her situation would "never qualify." D Magazine printed the article, attributed to an "ANONYMOUS PARK CITIES PARENT," and also published it online.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is responsible for administering food stamps, now called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, in Texas. Before publication, no one from D Magazine contacted the Commission for comment. After preparing the article for print, editor-at-large Tim Rogers called Rosenthal to ask for her comments. Rosenthal told Rogers she was being harassed by her fiancé's ex-girlfriend and expressed concern that Rogers was working with her alleged harasser. Rogers suggested that she call D Magazine from its public listing to verify his identity, but she did not follow up.

After publication, the Commission's chief counsel sent Rogers a letter about the article, which counsel described as having alleged that Rosenthal "committed fraud in applying for and receiving SNAP benefits." The letter stated that the Commission had "audio recordings that indicate that the information [in the article] was obtained by deception," and the letter requested that all of Rosenthal's personally identifiable information be removed from the online version.

After reading the article, Rosenthal contacted the Commission to inquire whether she had committed any wrongdoing in obtaining SNAP benefits. The Commission investigated and sent Rosenthal a letter explaining that its "investigation found no evidence anyone has fraudulently obtained or otherwise abused state benefits." Rosenthal forwarded the letter to D Magazine.

Rosenthal sued D Magazine¹ for defamation and also asserted claims under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices–Consumer Protection Act and the Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act. D Magazine moved for dismissal of all claims and sought attorney's fees under the Texas Citizens Participation Act. The trial court granted the motion as to the statutory claims but denied it "in all other respects as the Court finds that Plaintiff has established by clear and specific evidence a prima facie case of defamation." D Magazine brought an interlocutory appeal. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 54.014(a)(12) (authorizing an interlocutory appeal from an order denying a TCPA motion to dismiss).

A divided court of appeals affirmed, holding that Rosenthal established a prima facie case for each element of the defamation claim by clear and specific evidence. 475 S.W.3d 470, 487 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2015). The court determined that the "gist of the article included the assertion that [Rosenthal] had committed welfare fraud" by "submitting false information to [the Commission] to continue to receive SNAP benefits to which she otherwise would not have been entitled." Id. at 483. As part of its analysis, the court relied on a Wikipedia-supplied definition of "welfare queen" to determine the meaning of the term contained in the article's title. Id. at 482 n.8. Having concluded the article accused Rosenthal of committing welfare fraud, the court of appeals—relying on the Commission's investigation—determined that there was evidence the article's gist was untrue and defamatory. Id. at 483–84. We granted D Magazine's petition for review.²

II. Free Speech and the TCPA

A. TCPA Framework

One of the foundational principles of American democracy is the freedom to comment on matters of public concern. See Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coal. , 535 U.S. 234, 253, 122 S.Ct. 1389, 152 L.Ed.2d 403 (2002) ("The right to think is the beginning of freedom, and speech must be protected ... because speech is the beginning of thought."). Federal constitutional protections for speech were "fashioned to assure unfettered interchange of ideas for the bringing about of political and social changes desired by the people." N.Y. Times Co. v. Sullivan , 376 U.S. 254, 269, 84 S.Ct. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964) (quoting Roth v. United States , 354 U.S. 476, 484, 77 S.Ct. 1304, 1 L.Ed.2d 1498 (1957) ). The Texas Constitution also explicitly protects freedom of expression, declaring that "[e]very person shall be at liberty to speak, write or publish his opinions on any subject ... and no law shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the press." TEX. CONST. art. I, § 8. Protections for the press are especially vital because of the pivotal role it plays in the dissemination of information to the public. N.Y. Times Co. v. United States , 403 U.S. 713, 717, 91 S.Ct. 2140, 29 L.Ed.2d 822 (1971) (Black, J., concurring) ("In the First Amendment, the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy.").

However, while freedom of the press is critically important to the functioning of our democratic society, members of the press are also "responsible for the abuse of that privilege." TEX. CONST. art. I, § 8. In turn, states maintain a legitimate interest in "the compensation of individuals for the harm inflicted on them by defamatory falsehood." Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. , 418 U.S. 323, 341, 94 S.Ct. 2997, 41 L.Ed.2d 789 (1974) ; see also Kinney v. Barnes , 443 S.W.3d 87, 91 (Tex. 2014) (noting that courts have long recognized "a cause of action for damages to a person's reputation inflicted by the publication of false and defamatory statements").

The tension between the "need for a vigorous and uninhibited press" and "the legitimate interest in redressing wrongful injury" necessarily comes into play in cases addressing First Amendment limitations on defamation liability. Gertz , 418 U.S. at 342, 94 S.Ct. 2997. And in today's world, we must be especially mindful of this longstanding yet delicate balance, as modern technology allows information to be easily and widely disseminated without necessarily being subjected to the sort of rigorous verification processes that conventional media sources are expected to employ. Maintaining that balance of allowing the press the freedom to perform its critical societal function while protecting the rights of individuals harmed by false or misleading reporting remains an essential task, and courts continue to struggle "to...