Martin v. COMMITTEE FOR HONESTY & JUSTICE, 03-196.

Citation2004 WY 128,101 P.3d 123
Decision Date01 November 2004
Docket NumberNo. 03-196.,03-196.
PartiesKenneth MARTIN, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. The COMMITTEE FOR HONESTY AND JUSTICE AT STAR VALLEY RANCH; and Dick Black, Jim A. Ross, Duane Johnston, Steve Crittenden, and Tom Baker, Appellees (Defendants).
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Wyoming

Representing Appellant: Kenneth Cohen, Jackson, Wyoming.

Representing Appellees: Laurence W. Stinson of Bonner Stinson, P.C., Powell, Wyoming, for appellees Duane Johnston and Tom Baker; and James E. Phillips of James E. Phillips, P.C., Evanston, Wyoming, for appellee Jim A. Ross.

Before HILL, C.J., and GOLDEN, LEHMAN, KITE, and VOIGT, JJ.

HILL, Chief Justice.

[¶ 1] This dispute arose out of a controversy in the Star Valley Ranch subdivision that resulted in the termination of the employment of the subdivision's general manager. Jim Ross, Dick Black, Duane Johnston, and Tom Baker (collectively the Defendants) published and distributed throughout the subdivision several bulletins critical of Kenneth Martin's alleged role in that controversy and advocating for his recall from his position as a director on the board of the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA). Martin filed suit against the Defendants alleging that various statements in the bulletins were defamatory. The district court granted motions for summary judgment filed by the Defendants concluding that Martin was a public figure for the limited purpose of the controversy, and that he could not establish that the Defendants had acted with actual malice in publishing the bulletins. Martin appeals both findings. We will affirm.

ISSUES

[¶ 2] In his brief, Martin sets out two issues:

Did the district court err in finding that Ken Martin was a limited purpose public figure?
Did the district court err in deciding on summary judgment that none of the Defendants acted with "actual malice" in publishing defamatory statements about Plaintiff?

Defendant Ross responds by setting forth three issues:

Issue No. 1: Did the District Court err in finding that Kenneth Martin ... was a public figure for a limited purpose?
Issue No. 2: Did the District Court err in finding that Martin could not establish by convincing clarity that Jim A. Ross... acted with malice, even if Martin could show that Ross' statements were false or inaccurate?
Issue No. 3: Did the District Court err in granting summary judgment to Ross?

Defendants Johnston and Baker set out five issues for consideration:

1. Whether the District Court properly held that the Appellant [Martin] was a limited-purpose public figure.
2. Whether the District Court properly held that the facts were insufficient to establish that the subject publications were published with actual malice.
3. Whether the factual allegations of the complained-of publications are substantially true.
4. Whether the Committee for Honesty and Justice in Star Valley Ranch is a Wyoming Unincorporated Nonprofit Association and, therefore, a distinct entity with which its members are not co-principals.
5. Whether the undisputed facts are sufficient to support libel claims against Appellees Duane Johnston and Tom Baker.
FACTS

[¶ 3] Star Valley Ranch is a residential development located in Lincoln County, Wyoming, consisting of about two thousand lot owners. Martin is a resident and lot owner in Star Valley Ranch, as are all of the Defendants. The subdivision is managed by the SVRA, a non-profit homeowners association. A seven-member board of directors, elected by the lot owners, governs the SVRA. The day-to-day operations of the SVRA are run by a general manager, who is hired by and serves at the pleasure of the board of directors.

[¶ 4] Kenneth Martin and Steve Crittenden were acquaintances who had played in a local band together. In June of 1999, they were elected to the SVRA board of directors. The general manager of the SVRA resigned in December of 1999. At Martin's suggestion, Crittenden was appointed to an interim position — business agent — to run the day-to-day operations until the board could complete a search for a new general manager. In March of 2000, the board decided to permanently hire Crittenden as the general manager.

[¶ 5] Martin did not concur with the decision because he believed that Crittenden was not qualified for the job. Several allegations of impropriety were made against Crittenden, including an accusation of sexual harassment against him by an SVRA employee. Martin and another board member were disturbed by the allegations against Crittenden. They hired an attorney who composed a letter to the board outlining their concerns about Crittenden and requested an opportunity to address the board. The board subsequently allowed Crittenden, the attorney who was retained by Martin and the other board member, and the employee who had made the allegations, to address the board in a series of open public meetings. A week after the last meeting, a new board election was held and three new directors were elected. In their first meeting, the new board passed a resolution recommending termination of Crittenden from the general manager's position. Crittenden was removed from the position shortly thereafter.

[¶ 6] In the aftermath of the controversy surrounding Crittenden's dismissal, the Defendants formed an informal committee to counter what they perceived as "dirty politics" on behalf of certain board members, particularly Martin. They called themselves "The Committee for Truth and Justice at Star Valley Ranch." The Defendants prepared six bulletins critical of Martin and distributed them to Ranch residents through the mail and by posting them in public areas. In the bulletins, the Defendants criticized Martin's role in Crittenden's firing and questioned his motivations.1 They also advocated a recall of Martin and reinstatement of Crittenden as general manager.

[¶ 7] On February 19, 2002, Martin filed a complaint against the Defendants asserting that the bulletins contained defamatory statements and seeking actual and punitive damages. The Defendants moved for summary judgment, which was granted. The district court concluded that Martin was a limited purpose public figure because he had voluntarily injected himself into a public controversy. The court also found that "based on the affidavits and materials provided, that [Martin] could not establish by clear and convincing evidence that the Defendant acted with malice even if [Martin could] show that the Defendant's statements were false or inaccurate." Martin has appealed these rulings.2

STANDARD OF REVIEW
[¶ 8] When we review a summary judgment, we have before us the same materials as did the district court, and we follow the same standards which applied to the proceedings below. The propriety of granting a motion for summary judgment depends upon the correctness of the dual findings that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the prevailing party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Reed v. Miles Land and Livestock Company, 2001 WY 16, ¶ 9, 18 P.3d 1161, ¶ 9 (Wyo.2001). A genuine issue of material fact exists when a disputed fact, if proven, would have the effect of establishing or refuting an essential element of an asserted cause of action or defense. We, of course, examine the record from a vantage point most favorable to that party who opposed the motion, affording to that party the benefit of all favorable inferences that fairly may be drawn from the record. Scherer Construction, LLC v. Hedquist Construction, Inc., 2001 WY 23, ¶ 15, 18 P.3d 645, ¶ 15 (Wyo.2001); Central Wyoming Medical Laboratory, LLC v. Medical Testing Lab, Inc., 2002 WY 47, ¶ 15, 43 P.3d 121, ¶ 15 (Wyo.2002).

Burnham v. Coffinberry, 2003 WY 109, ¶ 9, 76 P.3d 296, ¶ 9 (Wyo.2003). Questions of law are reviewed de novo.

DISCUSSION
Public Figure

[¶ 9] The United States Supreme Court has held that the constitutional guarantees of free speech and press prohibit a public official from recovering damages for defamatory statements unless it can be shown that the statements were made with actual malice. New York Times Company v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 279, 84 S.Ct. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964). Three years later, the Court extended that protection to public figures. Curtis Publishing Company v. Butts, 388 U.S. 130, 87 S.Ct. 1975, 18 L.Ed.2d 1094, rehearing denied, 389 U.S. 889, 88 S.Ct. 11, 19 L.Ed.2d 197 (1967). Public figures are those who "have assumed roles of special prominence in the affairs of society." Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 345, 94 S.Ct. 2997, 41 L.Ed.2d 789 (1974). There are two types of public figures: (1) individuals who have achieved such pervasive fame or notoriety that they are a public figure for all purposes and in all contexts;3 and, more commonly, (2) individuals who have voluntarily injected themselves or been drawn into a particular public controversy and thereby becoming a public figure for a limited range of issues for which they are prominent. Gertz, 418 U.S. at 345, 351-52, 94 S.Ct. 2997; Adams v. Frontier Broadcasting Company, 555 P.2d 556, 560 (Wyo.1976). Pursuant to the limited public figure concept, only those statements relating to the controversy that give rise to an individual's public figure status receive the protection of the actual malice standard. Arnold v. Taco Properties, Inc., 427 So.2d 216, 218 n. 7 (Fla.App. 1 Dist.1983). The defamatory statement itself cannot, of course, create a public controversy. Hutchinson v. Proxmire, 443 U.S. 111, 134-35, 99 S.Ct. 2675, 61 L.Ed.2d 411 (1979).

[¶ 10] The district court held that Martin was a public figure for the limited purpose of the controversy that was the subject of the alleged defamatory statements — Crittenden's termination from his job as general manager of the SVRA by the board of directors. Martin argues that the court's conclusion was in error for two reasons. First, he insists that there was no public controversy. He contends that the firing of Crittenden was simply an internal...

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