New England Tractor Trailer Training of Connecticut, Inc. v. Globe Newspaper Co.
| Decision Date | 14 June 1984 |
| Citation | 462 N.E.2d 1134,18 Mass.App.Ct. 906 |
| Parties | NEW ENGLAND TRACTOR TRAILER TRAINING OF CONNECTICUT, INC. v. GLOBE NEWSPAPER COMPANY. |
| Court | Appeals Court of Massachusetts |
Mack M. Roberts, Chestnut Hill, for plaintiff.
James F. McHugh, Boston, for defendant.
Before PERRETTA, DREBEN and KASS, JJ.
RESCRIPT.
This libel action brought by the plaintiff, New England Tractor Trailer Training of Connecticut, Inc., arose out of a 1974 Boston Globe "Spotlight" series on career training schools. When filed, the complaint also contained a count asserting a claim on behalf of New England Tractor Trailer Training of Massachusetts, Inc., but this count was later dismissed with prejudice. 1 The plaintiff appeals from the allowance of the defendant's motion for summary judgment. Whether the written material involved is defamatory is not before us.
1. Three of the articles in question refer to a "New England Tractor-Trailer School." Affidavits were presented by the plaintiff stating that although there are two separate corporations with similar names, one in Connecticut and one in Massachusetts, the separation results from legal requirements in both States; that, in fact, the two corporations operate as a single school with two branches, one in Connecticut and one in Massachusetts; that the manager and the officers of the two corporations are the same; and that these facts were told to a reporter of the defendant by the president of the plaintiff. Exhibits attached to the affidavits consisting of promotional and other material disseminated in both States support the claim that the two corporations appear to operate as a single school with two branches. One of the articles refers to a sales claim that New England Tractor-Trailer is the largest such school in the region. It also appears from an affidavit of the plaintiff's counsel that the Boston Globe is distributed in Connecticut. An affidavit filed by the defendant states that there are two corporations (a fact admitted by the plaintiff), and that the defendant intended its article to be only about the Massachusetts corporation. The ground advanced in support of the summary judgment is that the articles cannot reasonably be construed to be "of and concerning the plaintiff," Hanson v. Globe Newspaper Co., 159 Mass. 293, 294, 34 N.E. 462 (1893). In view of the plaintiff's affidavit that the existence of the like-named Connecticut corporation was called to the defendant's attention, we think there is here a triable issue as to whether the defendant was negligent in failing to realize that the communication could reasonably be understood to refer to the plaintiff. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 564 comment f (1977).
2. Prior to the agreed upon dismissal of the claims of the Massachusetts corporation, the motion judge entered summary judgment for the defendant on "those portions" of the...
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New England Tractor-Trailor Training of Connecticut, Inc. v. Globe Newspaper Co.
...count one of the complaint. NETTT-Conn appealed the allowance of summary judgment on count two. The Appeals Court reversed. 18 Mass.App. 906, 462 N.E.2d 1134 (1984). We granted the Globe's application for further appellate review. We reverse the trial judge's entry of summary judgment for t......
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New England Tractor Trailer Training of Connecticut, Inc. v. Globe Newspaper Company
...Tractor Trailer Training of Connecticut, Inc. v. Globe Newspaper Company Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. JUN 14, 1984 18 Mass.App. 906, 462 N.E.2d 1134. ...