Manning v. Wpxi, Inc.
| Decision Date | 20 December 2005 |
| Citation | 886 A.2d 1137 |
| Parties | Jeffrey A. MANNING Appellant v. WPXI, INC., A Corporation and Subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., A Corporation; Cox Enterprises Inc., A Corporation; David Johnson, an Individual, Scott Newman, an Individual, Ursula Riggins, an Individual, and Bridget Eiselt, an Individual. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
John E. Quinn, Pittsburgh, for appellant.
Walter P. DeFrost, III, Pittsburgh, for Johnson, appellee.
Before: BENDER, PANELLA, and JOHNSON, JJ.
¶ 1 In this case, we consider whether the Appellant, Judge Jeffrey A. Manning of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, satisfied the actual malice standard in his defamation suit against WPXI and others arising from WPXI's broadcast of news reports regarding an incident which occurred at Pittsburgh International Airport. The trial court in this action found that Manning, as a public figure, must prove actual malice on the part of WPXI, reporter David Johnson and producer Scott Newman. Finding that Manning did not prove actual malice, the trial court entered summary judgment in favor of WPXI, Johnson and Newman ("Appellees"). Manning appeals the Order, contending that there was sufficient evidence of the falsity and lack of investigation on Appellees' parts to satisfy the actual malice standard. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the decision of the trial court.
¶ 2 The factual background of this case begins on December 20, 1995, when Manning and his fiancée, Kathleen Murphy, drove Manning's son, Richard Manning, to Pittsburgh International Airport. Upon arrival at the airport, they proceeded to the main security checkpoint. Manning was holding his son's garment bag when they reached the security checkpoint. At the checkpoint, Manning was concerned that the garment bag, which was thin plastic and inexpensively made, would tear if it were sent through the magnetometer, i.e., the x-ray machine, in the usual manner. Therefore, Manning asked the x-ray operator, Ursula Riggins, an African-American woman, to be "careful" with the garment bag. Riggins sent the garment bag through the x-ray machine, but when it came through the machine it was torn. When Manning saw the tear he confronted Riggins. The events which transpired thereafter are fiercely disputed by both sides and the subject of the present litigation.
¶ 3 According to Riggins and several other Ogden Security employees, Manning used a racial slur. Following the incident, Riggins provided her employer with two written statements completed the same day as the incident. In the first statement, Riggins attributed the racial slurs to Manning's son and fiancée, whom Riggins referred to as Manning's wife. In this initial statement, she noted that "his wife and his son kept giving me the finger (middle) and called me a n____r several times." In her second statement, Riggins attributed a racial slur to Manning as she explained that Manning called her a "f____g n____r."
¶ 4 Several other Ogden employees corroborated Riggins's statement. Bridget Eiselt wrote in a signed statement that "the man was also making racial slurs, he said to his wife and everyone that was listening `see give a n____r a job and look how they act.'" Michael Melnikof stated in his statement that Manning made "vile, lucrid [sic] and intoxicating remarks," including, "[s]ee what happens when you give a black person a job." Additionally, Wayne Boley noted that "[t]here were very racial remarks shouted out by Mr. and Mrs. Manning to PDS Riggins that was [sic] loud enough for many people to hear." Further, Jeff Match noted that "he began shouting and using racial remarks about Riggins to his wife who was standing by the podium." Lastly, Susan Grove stated that "he proceeded to make some uncalled-for racial remarks to his wife in a very loud and arrogant manner."
¶ 5 To the contrary, Manning contends that he did not use a racial slur; rather, he notes that he confronted Riggins in a non-argumentative manner and that Riggins inexplicably became enraged and screamed, "I'm going to kick your ass." In his amended complaint, Manning conceded that a racial slur was used, but attributed the slur to his fiancée. However, at his deposition, Manning denied hearing his fiancée make any racial slurs.
¶ 6 During the confrontation between Manning and Riggins, Kathleen Murphy left, at Manning's direction, to find a police officer. Murphy located Sergeant Donald Fox, a professional acquaintance of Manning's. Shortly thereafter, Sergeant Fox arrived at the site of the confrontation and had to physically separate Manning from Riggins. Sergeant Fox also radioed for assistance, after which, patrolmen Jason Harrison, Jeffrey Mohr, and David Hustler responded. Upon their arrival at the scene, however, the confrontation had ended and Manning, his son, and fiancée had already departed. Patrolman Hustler returned to his post, but Patrolmen Harrison and Mohr remained at the scene and Sergeant Fox directed Patrolman Harrison to write a report of the incident.
¶ 7 Thereafter, Manning's son and fiancée returned to the security checkpoint to pick up a piece of luggage they had forgotten. At that time, Patrolman Harrison interviewed Manning's fiancée about the incident. Patrolman Harrison also interviewed Bridget Eiselt and Riggins. Following the interviews, Patrolman Harrison returned to the police station to complete his report.
¶ 8 WPXI subsequently learned of the incident involving Manning and Riggins in late December 1995 or early January 1996 when it received three anonymous tips on its investigation hotline. Riggins also called the hotline and left her name and telephone number. Scott Newman, the investigative producer who received Riggins's message, contacted Riggins to discuss the incident. Riggins explained to Newman that Manning had used the word "n____r" during their dispute. Upon hearing Riggins's description of the incident, Newman initiated an investigation.
¶ 9 Newman first went to Riggins's home where he taped an on-camera interview with Riggins in which she again stated that Manning called her a "n____r" during the incident. Thereafter, Newman learned that written statements of the incident completed by security employees existed; Newman eventually obtained the reports on or about January 10, 1996. Newman then arranged an on-camera group interview of the five employee eyewitnesses: Mike Melnikof, Bridget Eiselt, Jeff Match, Frank Aiello, and Wayne Boley. David Johnson, a reporter at WPXI, conducted the interview. During the interview, all five witnesses confirmed that Manning had used the word "n____r" in reference to Riggins during the incident.
¶ 10 Newman and Johnson next attempted to speak with Manning about the incident and went to the courthouse in Pittsburgh to request an interview. Manning refused to meet with them, and instead, Newman and Johnson spoke with Manning's attorney, Gary Zimmerman, Esquire. Zimmerman told them that Manning had not used a racial slur during the confrontation, but offered no other details or explanation regarding the incident.
¶ 11 The deposition of Attorney Gary Zimmerman provides the main thrust of Manning's defamation claim. On January 22, 1996, following their initial conversation at the courthouse, Zimmerman spoke with Newman over the telephone, and informed Newman that the police report indicated that Manning had not used any racial slurs; rather, Zimmerman told Newman that the police report stated that Manning's fiancée had used a racial slur directed at Riggins. On January 23, 1996, Zimmerman contacted Newman to inquire as to whether he planned on running the story in light of the police report. Zimmerman noted that Newman responded by stating, "[w]ell, I'm going to go with the story the way I want to go with it." Zimmerman then requested that Newman's report reflect the facts as contained within the police report, but Newman refused Zimmerman's request stating, "I'm not going to do that because that doesn't fit into my program." When Zimmerman objected and informed Newman that he did not believe that his story would reflect the incident's actual events, Newman stated,
¶ 12 On January 24, 1996, Zimmerman sent Newman a letter instructing him not to contact Manning, his son, or fiancée, and the letter also noted that Manning would commence a legal action against WPXI if the station broadcasted any story about the incident. On January 30, 1996, Daniel Berger, Esquire, another one of Manning's attorneys, sent Newman a letter in which he again explained that Manning had not used any racial slur.
¶ 13 Newman then contacted Patrolman Harris, the police officer who drafted the police report, and Patrolman Harris, while refusing to be interviewed for the story, told Newman that he "stood behind" his report. Newman also contacted Sergeant Fox, who had agreed to be interviewed on camera. Thereafter, Sergeant Fox informed Newman that he did not hear any racial slurs, but that he could not say conclusively that no racial slurs had been spoken.
¶ 14 On February 1 and 2, 1996, on its 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. news broadcasts, WPXI aired reports about Manning's alleged utterances of racial slurs at the airport. WPXI reported the story again on February 5th and 6th, on its 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. news broadcasts. In its reports, WPXI used footage from the taped interviews of the Ogden Security employees in which the employees stated that Manning used the word "n____r" in reference to Riggins. The news reports repeatedly stated that Manning, through his attorney, denied the allegations. The reports also included the fact that the police report did not state that Manning used a racial epithet.
¶ 15 On January 24, 1997, Manning commenced a civil action against WPXI, Scott Newman and ...
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