Garrard v. Charleston Cnty. Sch. Dist.
Decision Date | 06 November 2019 |
Docket Number | Opinion No. 5691,Appellate Case No. 2016-002525 |
Citation | 838 S.E.2d 698,429 S.C. 170 |
Parties | Amy GARRARD and Lee Garrard, Guardians Ad Litem for R.C.G., A Minor; and Dean Frailey and Kathryn Frailey, Guardians Ad Litem for C.F., A Minor, Richard Nelson and Cheryl Nelson, Guardians Ad Litem for D.G.N., A Minor; Adam Olsen Ackerman; and A.E.P., III, Plaintiffs, v. CHARLESTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, Kevin Clayton, Axxis Consulting Company, and Jones Street Publishers, LLC, Defendants, Eugene H. Walpole, Plaintiff, v. Charleston County School District, Kevin Clayton, Axxis Consulting Company, and Jones Street Publishers, LLC, Defendants, Of Whom Eugene H. Walpole, Amy Garrard and Lee Garrard, Guardians Ad Litem for R.C.G., A Minor; and Dean Frailey and Kathryn Frailey, Guardians Ad Litem for C.F., A Minor, Richard Nelson and Cheryl Nelson, Guardians Ad Litem for D.G.N., A Minor; Adam Olsen Ackerman; and A.E.P., III, are the Appellants, and Of Which Jones Street Publishers, LLC, is the Respondent. |
Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
John E. Parker and William F. Barnes, III, of Peters, Murduagh, Parker, Eltzroth, & Detrick, P.A., of Hampton, for Appellants.
Wallace K. Lightsey and Meliah Bowers Jefferson, of Wyche, PA, of Greenville, for Respondent.
In this defamation action, Appellants—six members of the 2014-2015 Academic Magnet High School (AMHS) football team and their head coach, Eugene Walpole(Coach Walpole)—appeal the circuit court's order granting summary judgment to Respondent Jones Street Publishers.Appellants contend the circuit court erred in (1) finding the statements of fact in certain articles published by Jones Street Publishers are protected by the fair report privilege, (2) finding the opinions expressed in the articles are not actionable, (3) finding Appellants have not shown proof of injury to reputation, (4) finding the alleged defamatory statements were not "of and concerning" the students, and (5) finding Coach Walpole has not shown that Jones Street Publishers acted with actual malice.We affirm.
Following this press release, Superintendent McGinley held a press conference in which she described the post-game ritual that prompted the investigation.Superintendent McGinley stated that "allegations" were brought to her attention by one of the School District's board members who indicated AMHS's football team was practicing a watermelon ritual that involved students making "monkey sounds" as part of their post-game celebration.She expressed that the board member was concerned about the "racial stereotypes related to this type of ritual."Superintendent McGinley contacted AMHS's principal to investigate the matter.The principal indicated that "the coaches were aware of the ritual following the victories[,] but they did not observe any cultural insensitivities."The principal reported back to Superintendent McGinley that it was an "innocent ritual."However, Superintendent McGinley decided that further investigation was necessary because the board member stated that the football team engaged in a "tribal-like chant that [was] animalistic or monkey-like."
Superintendent McGinley asked the School District's diversity consultant, Kevin Clayton and Associate Superintendent Louis Martin to conduct the investigation.Mr. Clayton and Mr. Martin interviewed the students on the football team and the coaches.The investigation revealed that "players would gather in a circle and smash the watermelon while others were either standing in a group or locking arms and making chanting sounds that were described as ‘Ooo ooo ooo,’ and several players demonstrated the motion."Superintendent McGinley stated the AMHS team named the watermelons "Bonds Wilson"2 and drew a face on each watermelon "that could be considered a caricature."A copy of the caricature that was drawn on the watermelons was shown at the press conference.3Superintendent McGinley concluded the press conference by stating that it was "our conclusion that the accountability lies with the adults" and that the Charleston County School District(the School District) had "taken action to relieve the head coach of his responsibilities."No students were named during the press conference.
After the press conference, several news media outlets ranging from national publications to the AMHS's newspaper reported on the firing of Coach Walpole, and numerous commentators expressed their opinions concerning the post-game ritual.
In a reversal, Superintendent McGinley issued a press statement on October 22, 2014 indicating she was reinstating Coach Walpole as head coach and that he would resume his coaching duties on October 23, 2014.Shortly thereafter, the Charleston County School Board announced the resignation of Superintendent McGinley.4Following this announcement, Mr. Haire wrote a second article entitled, "Mob Rules: School district forces out superintendent who fired coach who condoned racist ritual."This article was published in the City Paper on November 5, 2014.
Later that month, six members of the AMHS football team filed a defamation complaint against Jones Street Publishers, the School District, Kevin Clayton...
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...some ascertainable person and that the plaintiff was the person to whom the statement referred.” Garrard v. Charleston Cty. Sch. Dist., 838 S.E.2d 698, 717 (S.C. Ct. App. 2019), reh'g denied (Mar. 18, 2020) (quoting Burns v. Gardner, 493 S.E.2d 356, 359 (S.C. Ct. App. 1997)). In the instant......
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Cruce v. Berkeley Cnty. Sch. Dist.
...is determining whether the plaintiff is a public official, public figure, or private figure. Garrard v. Charleston Cnty. Sch. Dist. , 429 S.C. 170, 208, 838 S.E.2d 698, 718 (Ct. App. 2019), petition for cert. filed. This determination is a matter of law to be decided by the court. Id. In co......
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Davis v. New Penn Financial LLC
... ... determine. McBride v. Sch. Dist. of Greenville ... Cnty. , 698 S.E.2d 845, 852 ... Phelps , 562 U.S. 443, ... 452 (2011); Garrard v. Charleston Cnty. Sch. Dist ., ... 838 S.E.2d 698, ... ...
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A. Defamation
...text. [312] West v. Morehead, 396 S.C. 1, 7, 720 S.E.2d 495, 498-99 (Ct. App. 2011). See also Gerrard v. Charleston Cnty School Dist., 429 S.C. 170, 838 S.E.2d 698 (Ct. App. 2019) (the fair report privilege is the privilege to publish fair and substantially accurate reports of judicial and ......
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C. Elements Defined
...S.E.2d 812, cert. denied, 436 U.S. 945, 98 S. Ct. 2847, 56 L. Ed. 2d 786 (1978) (state senator); Garrard v. Charleston Cty. Sch. Dist., 429 S.C. 170, 838 S.E.2d 698 (Ct. App. 2019) (head high school football coach who participated in newspaper and television interviews was public official);......
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D. Defenses
...The privilege has also been applied to the reporting of public comments by a public official. Garrard v. Charleston Cty. Sch. Dist., 429 S.C. 170, 838 S.E.2d 698 (Ct. App. 2019) (article was fair and substantially accurate report of statements made by public official at press conference).[9......