Jones v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

• Decision Date: 07 September 1988
• Docket Number: No. 87-412-CIV-T-17(C).,87-412-CIV-T-17(C).
• Citation: 694 F. Supp. 1542
• Parties: Arthur JONES, Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANIES, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida

694 F. Supp. 1542

Arthur JONES, Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANIES, INC., Defendant.

No. 87-412-CIV-T-17(C).

United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Tampa Division.

September 7, 1988.

Paul A. Louis, Sinclair, Louis, Siegel, Heath and J.F. Dougherty, II, Miami, Fla., for plaintiff.

Gregory G. Jones, Christopher L. Griffin, Carlton, Fields, Ward, Emmanuel Smith, Cutler & Kent, P.A., Tampa, Fla., for defendant.

ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

KOVACHEVICH, District Judge.

This cause of action is before the Court on Defendant's motion for summary judgment filed November 6, 1987, Plaintiff's response to issues 1, 3, and 5 filed April 15, 1988, and the court-ordered joint memorandum filed June 7, 1988.

This circuit clearly holds that summary judgment should only be entered when the moving party has sustained its burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue as to any material fact when all the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Sweat v. The Miller Brewing Co., 708 F.2d 655 (11th Cir.1983). All doubt as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact must be resolved against the moving party. Hayden v. First National Bank of Mt. Pleasant, 595 F.2d 994, 996-7 (5th Cir.1979), quoting Gross v. Southern Railroad Co., 414 F.2d 292 (5th Cir.1969). Factual disputes preclude summary judgment.

The Supreme Court of the United States held, in Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986),

In our view the plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. Id. 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d at 273.

The Court also said, "Rule 56(e) therefore requires that nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by her own affidavits, or by the `depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate `specific facts showing there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553, 91 L.Ed. 2d at p. 274.

The complaint in this cause of action was filed March 24, 1987. The complaint seeks compensatory and punitive damages (one billion dollars in compensatory and three billion dollars in punitive damages) for an alleged defamatory program broadcast on Defendant's news program 20/20 on March 12, 1987. The complaint asserts that the news broadcasters of that program conspired to betray Plaintiff on national television and to portray him as dishonest, a liar, and a man who is cruel to animals. Plaintiff asserts that the defamatory statements were made with malice and based on a conspiracy to destroy his reputation for truth and honesty.

On November 6, 1987, Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging there is no genuine issue of material fact and that summary judgment is appropriate. The following issues were presented by the motion for summary judgment:

1. Plaintiff must, but has failed to, specify the particular statements of fact in the broadcast that allegedly defamed him, offering instead a non-specific, "shotgun" condemnation that is, as a matter of law, insufficient.

2. Plaintiff has failed to prove by any evidence, much less by the requisite clear and convincing evidence, that any statement made by Defendant was false.

3. The statements upon which Plaintiff purports to base his claim are not reasonably capable of a defamatory meaning.

4. Being a "public figure", Plaintiff must, but has failed to, show that Defendant acted with "actual malice", that is, with knowledge that its statements were false or with reckless disregard for their truth.

5. The statements about which Jones complains were non-actionable opinion, which is protected absolutely by the First Amendment.

Plaintiff, thereafter, filed a motion to compel certain discovery:

1. all original out tapes, or all original videotape films, made in the production of "Save the Elephants", March 12, 1987;

2. copy of the videotape of the entire program 20/20 for March 12, 1987 3. all notes, memoranda, written documents, original handwritten correspondence, used by any staff or employees in the preparation of the program "Save the Elephants";

4. all original out tapes, or all original videotape films, made in the production of the segment "The Flying Elephants", broadcast in 1984;

5. copy of the videotape of the entire 1984 20/20 program containing the segment "The Flying Elephants";

6. all notes, memoranda, written documents, original handwritten correspondence, used by staff or employees, in the preparation of the segment "The Flying Elephants";

7. copies of all notes, memoranda and correspondence between ABC and Pat Derby with respect to the program "Save the Elephants" from January 1, 1986, through the date of the motion;

8. copies of all original handwritten notes, inter-office memoranda, and other documents prepared by Barbara Walters, Hugh Downs, and Roger Caras in preparation of the program "Save the Elephants" from the date the program was first conceived through the date of the motion, exclusive of correspondence to any attorney subsequent to on or about March 16, 1987;

9. copies of original telephone logs reflecting calls between agents, officers, or employees of ABC with respect to the preparation and showing of the program "Save the Elephants", as well as any documents, notes, or other memoranda reflecting returned or original phone calls;

10. copies of all correspondence, notes, or memoranda received by ABC as a result of the broadcast of the program "The Flying Elephants" in 1984; and

11. copies of all letters, telegrams, or other written documents received by ABC as a result of the broadcast of the program "Save the Elephants" on March 12, 1987.

On November 6, 1987, Defendant filed a suggestion to the court, in the nature of a request for protection, regarding discovery. Defendant offered to provide videotapes and transcripts, of the broadcast in question, at Plaintiff's request and expense. Defendant moved the court to deny any other discovery at that point, as the case was clearly frivolous. Defendant, additionally, filed an opposition to the motion to compel and again moved the court to deny further discovery until the resolution of the motion for summary judgment.

A hearing was held by Magistrate Jenkins on the motion to compel December 9, 1987. On January 29, 1988, Magistrate Jenkins issued her order on the pending discovery matters. The order determined that three (3) of the issues of the summary judgment motion presented issues to which the discovery sought by Plaintiff had no relevance, specifically issues one, three, and five. The order directed Plaintiff to respond to those three issues of the motion for summary judgment and deferred ruling on the motion to compel pending resolution of issues one, three, and five of the motion for summary judgment.

On February 8, 1988, Plaintiff filed a pleading entitled "Objections to or Petition for Hearing on Appeal of Magistrate's Order and Memorandum of Law." On March 22, 1988, this Court denied Plaintiff's objections to the magistrate's order and affirmed her ruling that issues one, three, and five of the motion for summary judgment resolved prior to subjecting the parties to extensive and expensive discovery that is of no relevance to those issues.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The following findings of fact are relevant to the disposition of the motion for summary judgment, some are the undisputed findings delineated by the parties in the court-ordered joint memorandum:

1. The Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this cause based on diversity of citizenship, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

2. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (hereafter ABC) broadcast the March 12, 1987, segment of the news magazine 20/20 entitled "Save the Elephants," including the "lead-ins," that are issues in this case.

3. Plaintiff Arthur Jones is the millionaire inventor of the Nautilus exercise machines. Plaintiff claims the segment in question constitutes defamation; the complaint states that he has "deservedly" built a national and international reputation as an entrepreneur and inventor of medical and exercise equipment, which has been sold to hundreds of thousands of purchasers throughout the world. Plaintiff also states he has previously enjoyed an excellent reputation as author of hundreds of articles on the topics of exercise, muscle structure, strength training principles, flexibility and metabolic condition, and rehabilitation or injuries; these articles have been published throughout the world.

4. The Court finds that over the years Plaintiff has invited media attention and has been the subject of repeated media coverage, including coverage in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Business Week, Forbes, Playboy, and Time. (Ex. B, pgs. 1-21). At one point, Plaintiff was the subject of a report on the television program "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous." Subsequent to that program, it was reported that Plaintiff intended to sue the host of that program, Robin Leach, and was quoted as saying, "Leach `is a malicious liar ...'" (Ex. B., pg. 16).

5. The coverage of Plaintiff has not been limited to his business affairs, but has also covered aspects of his personal life. Some aspects of his personal life that have been reported by the media are; 1) Jones packs an antique Colt 45 at all times; 2) Jones "gulps coffee by the pot and fast food by the bagful, chain smokes, and nibbles constantly from bowls of Hershey's Kisses and cheese puffs scattered about his office"; 3) " ... Jones tends toward drab, baggy outfits that he may not change for days"; 4) each of Plaintiff's wives, five total, have been 16 to 20 years old at the time they wed; 5) Jones " ... has told his children they will never see any of...