Lopez v. Univision Communications Inc.
| Decision Date | 30 April 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 98 Civ. 2487(LAK).,98 Civ. 2487(LAK). |
| Citation | 45 F.Supp.2d 348 |
| Parties | Jose A. LÓPEZ, Plaintiff, v. UNIVISION COMMUNICATIONS INC. and Antonio Martinez, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Richard A. Canton, New York City, for plaintiff.
David A. Schulz, Rogers & Wells, New York City, for defendants.
This libel case arises out of a series of televised investigative reports. The television station and its reporter suggested that plaintiff, a member of the Colombian Senate who also is a physician practicing in the New York area, touts credentials which "are largely invented."1 The claim, in essence, is that Dr. López's resume substantially exaggerates his credentials and experience. Plaintiff argues that defendants "have manipulated the facts of [plaintiff's] career in order to tarnish his reputation."2 Defendants move for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
Plaintiff, José López, is a Colombian physician practicing medicine in the United States. In addition, he is a member of the Colombian Senate representing the State of Tolima,3 a fact more easily understood in light of the ability of Colombian citizens living in the United States to hold dual citizenship and to vote in Colombian elections.4
Plaintiff's resume, which he submitted to this Court,5 portrays him as a man educated at some of this nation's finest medical institutions and who subsequently has enjoyed impressive professional success. From 1993 to 1994, it says, plaintiff was educated at "Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA." From 1990 to 1993, it continues, he was at "New York Medical Hospital, New York University, New York, NY." Plaintiff's resume indicates also that he received a Ph.D. from "New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY."
The same resume details experience which purportedly includes concurrent work as the Director of the International Center of Laser Microsurgery in New York, New Jersey, Milan and Armenia, and at family health centers in New York and New Jersey. It indicates also that Dr. López was the Medical Director of the Department of Health in Hillside, New Jersey, and the Director of the Medical Department of the Lyons Institute of Technology in Clark, New Jersey. The resume claims too that López served as a professor of cellular and molecular biology at Seton Hall University and as an assistant professor of cellular biology and anatomy and physiology at Kean College of New Jersey.
The information about plaintiff put forth on his resume is supplemented by information distributed by The José A. López Foundation. This foundation apparently released articles promoting Dr. López as "one of the great men of the twentieth century" and "one of the most renowned specialists in the United States in the field of aesthetic dermatologic surgery, and laser microsurgery."6 The foundation, moreover, evidently has published a book called The Best of Colombia which contains a short biographical sketch describing Dr. López as "one of the most internationally important physicians to perform laser endoscopic surgery"7 and as one who "dominates [the field of] endoscopic surgery."8
Dr. López is said to be well known in the Colombian community in New York for his medical, political and social activities. He has appeared as a medical expert on radio and television.
Dr. López's activities drew the apparently desired attention, but they also invited scrutiny. In March 1998, at the time López was elected to the Colombian Senate,9 Adrianna Saldarriaga, a managing editor at WXTV, Channel 41, a Spanish language television station broadcasting to the tri-state area which is owned by defendant Univision Communications, Inc,10 decided to do a story about Dr. López. Saldarriaga's efforts resulted in three broadcasts on April 1, 2 and 3, 1998.11 The format of each broadcast was the same. An announcer or reporter, usually defendant Martinez, challenged some aspect of Dr. López's credentials. Interspersed with these challenges were audio and video of Dr. López's responses.
The April 1 broadcast was quite brief and made three salient points: (1) Dr. López's authority to practice medicine in Colombia had been questioned, but Dr. López claimed that he was authorized to practice there; (2) the New York State professional licensing office, according to Channel 41, said that "López's license [to practice medicine] expired in December 1997," while Dr. López claimed that he had confirmed that very day that his "license is in fact active, from 7/1/93 to 7/31/99" and (3) López's New Jersey license "is still valid."12
The April 2 broadcast was somewhat longer than its predecessor. Channel 41 began by reporting that Dr. López's background was under scrutiny in Colombia, where his medical training "is being looked at very closely ... for supposed lies about his academic background." Channel 41 claimed to have investigated Dr. López's resumé itself and to have found three alleged inconsistencies.13
First, Channel 41 reported that Dr. López's resumé "claims that between 1993 and 1994, he took courses in microsurgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital of the Harvard School of Medicine." It went on to say that it had spoken with named employees "of the student's registrar office and the hospital, respectively" and was told "that there is no file with the name of José Arley López Obando."14
Second, the broadcast attributed to Dr. López the claim that "he studied aesthetic surgery and dermatological surgery at the New York Medical Hospital of the university of the same name."15 It reported that a named representative "of that institution" told Channel 41 that "there are no records" under Dr. López's name and date of birth. Dr. López then appeared on the screen and stated that:
The reporter then stated that "we called the institution again and they repeated to us that there is no file under the name José López-Obando."16
Third, Channel 41 claimed that Dr. López had shown it a diploma indicating that he holds a Ph.D. It then showed a clip from a Colombian interview with Dr. López in which a questioner asked Dr. López whether he had a Ph.D. as he had claimed and Dr. López responded that he had not finished his dissertation. The Channel 41 reporter then asserted that a named representative of the university that supposedly had granted the Ph.D. had said that "There are no records with the name of José López Obando." Dr. López then was shown stating that "[t]his is part of the case that is being built against José López."17
The April 3 broadcast was introduced as the third and last part of Channel 41's "exclusive investigation into the authenticity of the credentials of one of the best-known Hispanic surgeons in our area." It reported that Dr. López claimed that he was authorized to practice laser cosmetic surgery. It went on to say that Channel 41 had confirmed Dr. López's New Jersey license and learned that the New York license that expired in December 1997 had been renewed on April 1, 1998. At that point a video clip was played in which Dr. López said that he had been licensed since 1989 and 1990.
Channel 41 then repeated that Dr. López was under investigation in Colombia. Referring to statements about Dr. López's background taken from The Best of Colombia. Channel 41 stated that it had confirmed "some of the facts that appear in that book" but went on to enumerate alleged inconsistencies.18
First, the program showed a clip of Dr. López saying that he had "satisfied the premed requirements at Kean College." It then alleged that Kean College had told Channel 41 that Dr. López "had only been in attendance for two semesters."19
Second, the broadcast quoted The Best of Colombia as stating that Dr. López was the director of the Department of Health in Hillside, New Jersey, but reported that a spokeswoman for the department said there never had been a Colombian director.20
Third, Channel 41 reported that Septimo Dia, a Columbian news magazine, had reported that the version of The Best of Colombia distributed in the United States had been altered, as compared with the Colombian version, to substitute Dr. López's picture on the cover for a photograph of a soccer player.21
Finally, the third show included a clip of Dr. López saying that the questions raised were "the opinion of a group that is trying to impugn the image of José López."22
While the Channel 41 reports questioned many of plaintiff's educational and professional credentials, Dr. López does not challenge most of the statements it made. Plaintiff tacitly admits, for example, that he misrepresented himself as the holder of a Ph.D., a degree he never earned. Nor does he challenge Channel 41's assertion that he substituted his own photograph for that of a soccer star's in The Best of Colombia. Among the welter of accusations in the three broadcasts, plaintiff's libel claims focus on only four statements. Dr. López challenges Channel 41's reporting that:
1. His license to practice medicine in New York had expired in December 1997.
2. Massachusetts General Hospital ("MGH") of the Harvard School of Medicine had no record of him.
3. "New York Medical Hospital of the university of the same name" had no record of him.
4. He had studied at Kean College for only two semesters.23
In fact, it is now undisputed that Dr. López's registration lapsed, but his license never expired. In addition, Dr. López has submitted an affidavit disputing the truth of the suggestions that he had not studied at MGH, Harvard, or the New York...
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