Liberty Lobby, Inc. v. Rees

• Decision Date: 29 July 1988
• Docket Number: No. 86-7091,86-7091
• Citation: 852 F.2d 595
• Parties: , 15 Media L. Rep. 1721 LIBERTY LOBBY, INC., Appellant, v. John REES, et al.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

Page 595

852 F.2d 595

271 U.S.App.D.C. 297, 15 Media L. Rep. 1721

LIBERTY LOBBY, INC., Appellant, v. John REES, et al.

No. 86-7091.

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued March 8, 1988.

Decided July 29, 1988.

Mark Lane, Washington, D.C., for appellant.

David J. Branson, Washington, D.C., for appellees.

Before MIKVA and Ruth Bader GINSBURG, Circuit Judges, and Opinion for the Court filed by Chief Judge RE.

RE ^*, Chief Judge, United States Court of International Trade.

RE, Chief Judge:

In this libel action, appellant, Liberty Lobby, Inc., appeals from an order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia which granted appellees' motion for summary judgment. Liberty Lobby charged that the appellees John Rees, Sheila Louise Rees, and Information Digest libeled it by publishing two articles in Information Digest which contained false and defamatory statements about Liberty Lobby. The district court held that Liberty Lobby failed to establish that a reasonable trier of fact could find, by clear and convincing evidence, that the appellees published either of the two articles with actual malice.

Liberty Lobby urges three grounds in support of its contention that the district court erred in holding that a reasonable jury could not find actual malice by clear and convincing evidence: (1) in the course of denying a discovery motion made by Liberty Lobby, the Magistrate stated that Liberty Lobby already had "substantial evidence to establish knowing falsity"; (2) two of the Reeses' sources denied giving them information supporting the accusations made against Liberty Lobby; and (3) the Reeses relied upon a published article which the publisher previously had retracted. Liberty Lobby also contends that the district court erred in failing to grant its motion, made pursuant to Rule 56(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, for permission to extend discovery, and to depose certain confidential informants.

The question presented is whether the district court erred in holding that Liberty Lobby failed to show that a reasonable jury could find, by clear and convincing evidence, that the appellees acted with actual malice in their publication of the two articles. Based on facts in the record that are not genuinely in dispute, we hold that a reasonable jury could not find, by clear and convincing evidence, that the Reeses published the articles with knowing falsity, or with reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of statements made in them. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the district court.

BACKGROUND

In March 1984, Information Digest, a biweekly newspaper written and published by John Rees and Sheila Louise Rees, published an article entitled "The LaRouche Aparatus [sic] in the U.S." The article chronicles Lyndon LaRouche's involvement with various organizations, such as Students for a Democratic Society, the Communist Party U.S.A., and Liberty Lobby. It also describes publications controlled by LaRouche, and organizations operated by him, including the National Caucus of Labor Committees, the United States Labor Party, and the National Democratic Policy Committee. The article characterizes LaRouche as Marxist, communist, extremist, anti-Semitic, and revolutionary. It describes Liberty Lobby and its founder and treasurer, Willis A. Carto, as anti-Semitic.

On November 14, 1984, Liberty Lobby filed suit for libel against John Rees and Information Digest in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Liberty Lobby alleged that the article defamed it by asserting falsely that Liberty Lobby was closely linked with LaRouche and his organization, and that "some of LaRouche's more unsavory alleged activities were set in motion as a result of an arrangement with Liberty Lobby." In addition, Liberty Lobby contended that the article falsely asserted that the LaRouche organization was "given the run" of the offices maintained by the Spotlight, a weekly newspaper published by Liberty Lobby. Liberty Lobby contended that the article "libelously damages Liberty Lobby through the technique of guilt by association.... The overall effect of the article is untruthfully to place Liberty Lobby among what the article characterizes as disreputable company."

In January 1986, Liberty Lobby moved to amend and supplement its complaint by naming Sheila Louise Rees a defendant, and adding a second cause of action alleging that an article in the March 8, 1985 issue of Information Digest, entitled "The Populist Party," also contained false and defamatory statements about Liberty Lobby.

The Populist Party article, written by Sheila Louise Rees, discusses the formation, activities, and philosophy of the Populist Party, and describes the role of Liberty Lobby and various individuals associated with it in the Populist Party. The article characterizes Liberty Lobby and its founder and treasurer, Willis A. Carto, as "racialist and anti-Semitic," and refers to the "long-term relationship of the Lyndon H. LaRouche organization with Carto's network."

On May 30, 1986, Liberty Lobby moved to compel John Rees to reveal the identity of a confidential source. United States Magistrate Arthur L. Burnett denied the motion because Liberty Lobby had not shown the requisite need. In passing, the Magistrate stated that "it appears that the plaintiff already has substantial evidence to establish knowing falsity or reckless disregard of the truth, and pursuing these alternative sources would lead ... only to cumulative evidence." Liberty Lobby, Inc. v. Rees, 111 F.R.D. 19, 23 (D.D.C.1986).

On June 17, 1986, the Reeses moved for summary judgment on the grounds that the articles were published without actual malice and were substantially true. In July 1986, pursuant to Rule 56(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Liberty Lobby requested leave to conduct additional discovery, and sought access to confidential informants. On October 3, 1986, the district court granted the Reeses' motion for summary judgment. Liberty Lobby, Inc. v. Rees, 667 F.Supp. 1, 6 (D.D.C.1986).

In granting the Reeses' motion for summary judgment, the district court stated that it was applying the standard established by the Supreme Court in Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Under that standard, on a motion for summary judgment in a defamation action, the court must determine "whether the evidence presented is such that a reasonable jury might find that actual malice had been shown with convincing clarity." 477 U.S. at 257, 106 S.Ct. at 2515. After reviewing the record, the district court concluded that "there is de minimis evidence that the defendants published their article with knowing falsity or reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the assertions in those articles." Liberty Lobby, 667 F.Supp. at 3.

Liberty Lobby appealed the order of the district court, and the Reeses moved for summary affirmance. This court denied the Reeses' motion, and Liberty Lobby moved for sanctions, costs, and attorneys' fees pursuant to this court's General Rule 23, and Rule 38 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. A ruling on Liberty Lobby's motion was deferred pending oral argument. Because the application for summary affirmance was not frivolous, and compiled with the rules governing proceedings in this court, Liberty Lobby's motion for sanctions, costs, and attorneys' fees is denied.

DISCUSSION

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 a public official is prohibited from "recovering damages for a defamatory falsehood relating to his official conduct unless he proves that the statement was made with 'actual malice'--that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not." In Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts, 388 U.S. 130, 87 S.Ct. 1975, 18 L.Ed.2d 1094 (1967), the Supreme Court extended the "actual malice" standard to apply to statements made about "public figures." See id. at 154-55, 87 S.Ct. at 1991. Liberty Lobby concedes that it is a "public figure" for the purposes of this defamation action. Liberty Lobby, 667 F.Supp. at 2. Therefore, it must establish, by "clear and convicing proof," that the Reeses made the allegedly defamatory statements with "actual Under Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment may be entered against a party who fails to present sufficient evidence "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." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Hence, the trial court may properly grant summary judgment if there are no "genuine factual issues that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. at 2511.

                malice."   See Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 342, 94 S.Ct. 2997, 3008, 41 L.Ed.2d 789 (1974).  Furthermore, the first amendment requires that a public figure bear the burden of proving the falsity of a defamatory statement, as well as actual malice.   See Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps, 475 U.S. 767, 775-76, 106 S.Ct. 1558, 1563, 89 L.Ed.2d 783 (1986).  The requirements of showing "clear and convincing proof" of actual malice, and a preponderance of evidence of falsity are also "applicable when considering a motion for summary judgment."   See Liberty Lobby, Inc. v. Dow Jones & Co., 838 F.2d 1287, 1292-93 (D.C.Cir.1988);  see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 254, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2513, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)
                

In Anderson, the Supreme Court held that "where the factual dispute concerns actual malice, clearly a material issue in a New York Times case, the appropriate summary judgment question will...