Gosden v. Louis

• Decision Date: 04 December 1996
• Docket Number: No. 17609,17609
• Parties: GOSDEN et al., Appellants, v. LOUIS et al., Appellees. * Ninth District, Summit County
• Court: Ohio Court of Appeals

Page 195

116 Ohio App.3d 195

687 N.E.2d 481

GOSDEN et al., Appellants, v. LOUIS et al., Appellees. ^*

No. 17609.

Court of Appeals of Ohio,

Ninth District, Summit County.

Decided Dec. 4, 1996.

Nicholas Swyrydenko and Jeffrey N. James, Akron, for appellants.

Andrea L. Norris, John E. Matejkovic, William Oldham and William P. Michaels, Akron, for appellees.

DICKINSON, Judge.

Plaintiffs Ian Gosden, Paul Gosden, and Gosden Construction Company have appealed from a judgment of the Summit County Common Pleas Court. By their complaint, plaintiffs sought damages allegedly caused them by an August 12, 1993 letter signed by defendants, seventeen residents of Franklin Township. Plaintiffs averred that, by publishing the letter, defendants defamed plaintiffs Ian Gosden and Paul Gosden; tortiously interfered with business relationships of Ian Gosden, Paul Gosden, and Gosden Construction Company; and engaged in a civil conspiracy.

Plaintiffs' claims were tried to a jury beginning November 6, 1995. On November 17, 1995, the trial court entered judgment in favor of defendants on all of plaintiffs' claims.

Plaintiffs have argued that the trial court (1) incorrectly failed to find that the August 12, 1993 letter was libelous per se and, therefore, (a) incorrectly failed to instruct the jury that it should presume that plaintiffs had suffered damages caused by the letter and (b) incorrectly failed to instruct the jury that it should presume that defendants had acted with malice in publishing the letter; (2) incorrectly instructed the jury that plaintiffs had to prove "actual malice" in order to recover on their defamation claim; (3) incorrectly instructed the jury that plaintiffs had to prove defendants' negligence in publishing the letter by clear and convincing evidence; (4) incorrectly instructed the jury regarding the type of malice plaintiffs had to prove in order to recover punitive damages on their defamation claim; (5) incorrectly instructed the jury that plaintiffs had to prove their entitlement to punitive damages by clear and convincing evidence; (6) incorrectly received evidence that plaintiff Ian Gosden had previously been convicted of a crime; (7) incorrectly received evidence that plaintiffs Ian Gosden and Gosden Construction Company had previously been involved in a number of lawsuits; (8) incorrectly granted defendants a directed verdict on Paul Gosden's defamation claim; (9) incorrectly granted defendants a directed verdict on plaintiffs' civil conspiracy claim; (10) incorrectly failed to compel defendants to turn over insurance agreements and financial information to plaintiffs; (11) incorrectly failed to enter judgment in favor of plaintiff Gosden Construction Company on its claim of tortious interference with business relationships; (12) incorrectly released the jury and vacated its award of punitive damages to plaintiff Ian Gosden; (13) incorrectly entered a final judgment that was contrary to the jury verdict; and (14) incorrectly assessed costs to plaintiffs. ¹

This court affirms the judgment of the trial court in part and reverses it in part. The trial court (1) erred by not finding the August 12, 1993 letter libelous per se and, therefore, (a) erred by not instructing the jury that, if plaintiffs proved the other elements of their defamation claim, it should presume that they suffered damages caused by the letter, but (b) did not err by not instructing the jury that it should presume that defendants had acted with malice in publishing the letter; (2) did not err by instructing the jury that plaintiffs had to prove actual malice in order to recover on their defamation claim, because the trial court did not so instruct the jury; (3) did not err by instructing the jury that plaintiffs had to prove defendants' negligence in publishing the letter by clear and convincing evidence; (4) erred by incorrectly instructing the jury that it must find knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth in order to award plaintiffs punitive damages on their defamation claims; (5) did not err by instructing the jury that plaintiffs had to prove their entitlement to punitive damages by clear and convincing evidence; (6) did not err by receiving evidence that plaintiff Ian Gosden had previously been convicted of a crime; (7) erred by receiving evidence that plaintiffs Ian Gosden and Gosden Construction Company had previously been involved in a number of lawsuits; (8) erred by directing a verdict on Paul Gosden's defamation claim; (9) erred by directing a verdict on plaintiffs' civil conspiracy claim; (10) erred by failing to compel defendants to turn over insurance agreements and financial information to plaintiffs; and (11) did not err by failing to enter judgment in favor of plaintiff Gosden Construction Company on its claim of tortious interference with business relationships. Plaintiffs' arguments that the trial court (12) incorrectly released the jury and vacated its award of punitive damages to plaintiff Ian Gosden against three of the defendants, (13) incorrectly entered a final judgment that was contrary to the jury verdict, and (14) incorrectly assessed costs to plaintiffs are moot and are, therefore, overruled.

I

Plaintiff Gosden Construction Company is engaged in the construction contracting business. Plaintiff Ian Gosden is the president of Gosden Construction Company. Plaintiff Paul Gosden, Ian Gosden's son, is an employee of Gosden Construction Company.

During the summer of 1993, the owner of a rental property in Franklin Township hired Gosden Construction Company to complete certain repairs to that property. It worked at the property during the months of July and August. During that time, Paul and Ian Gosden were involved in several heated and angry exchanges with three of the defendants: Daryl and Michael Louis, who lived next door to the property, and Michael Cooley, another resident of the neighborhood. Daryl Louis testified that, on or about August 10 and 11, 1993, with the input of some others whom she did not name, she drafted the letter at issue in this case. Her husband, Michael Louis, testified that he assisted her. The Louises then presented the letter to some of the neighborhood residents and obtained signatures from twenty of them. Shortly thereafter, that letter, dated August 12, 1993, was sent to the property owner. It contained claims that certain "misconduct" was taking place at his property. The alleged misconduct consisted of destruction of neighbors' property, use of profanity, harassment, lewd and lascivious behavior, voyeurism, violation of a county noise ordinance, and speeding and reckless operation of a vehicle. According to the letter, the neighbors were "deeply disturbed" because there were "small children [who had] been terrorized" and were "appalled" that the property owner "would hire such unprofessional people." They requested that he "instruct [his] contractor, Ian Gosden" to stop the alleged misconduct and "instruct Mr. Gosden and his son to stop the illegal behavior." They sent copies of the letter to the Franklin Township Trustees, the Franklin Township Police, and to Ian Gosden. According to plaintiffs, approximately one month after the property owner received the letter, he terminated his relationship with Gosden Construction Company and refused to pay it approximately $25,000 for repairs they claim it had completed.

Plaintiffs filed this action in the Summit County Common Pleas Court on August 9, 1994. Defendants are seventeen of the twenty neighbors who signed the August 12, 1993 letter. Plaintiffs averred that, by publishing the letter, defendants defamed plaintiffs Ian Gosden and Paul Gosden, tortiously interfered with business relationships of Ian Gosden, Paul Gosden, and Gosden Construction Company, and engaged in a civil conspiracy.

During discovery, plaintiffs requested that defendants provide certain information regarding financial status and insurance coverage. On November 14, 1994, due to defendants' failure to comply with plaintiffs' requests, plaintiffs moved to compel production of the financial information. The trial court never ruled on that motion. On June 29, 1995, plaintiffs again moved to compel, this time requesting an order compelling production of both the financial information and the insurance information. The trial court failed to rule on that motion as well. Defendants never provided plaintiffs with the requested information.

Plaintiffs' claims were tried to a jury beginning November 6, 1995. At the close of plaintiffs' case, defendants moved for directed verdicts on all of plaintiffs' claims. The trial court directed a verdict against plaintiffs on their civil conspiracy claim. It also directed a verdict against Paul Gosden on his defamation claim because his name had not appeared in the letter, and because he had failed to show "some injury." Finally, it directed a verdict against Paul Gosden on the tortious interference claim because he was only an employee of his father's construction company and had no business relationship with which defendants could have interfered.

At the close of defendants' case, the trial court submitted Ian Gosden's defamation claim and the tortious interference claim of Ian Gosden and Gosden Construction Company (considered as one claim by the court) to the jury. The jury found in favor of Ian Gosden on his defamation claim against the Louises and Michael Cooley. It awarded him zero compensatory damages and $3,500 punitive damages against those defendants. It found against Ian Gosden on his defamation claim against the other fourteen defendants and against Ian Gosden and Gosden Construction Company on their tortious interference with business relationships claim.

In view of the jury's failure to award any compensatory damages against the Louises and Michael Cooley, the trial court struck its punitive damage award. It then entered judgment in favor of all defendants on plaintiffs'...