Pacific & Southern Co., Inc. v. Montgomery
Decision Date | 08 November 1974 |
Docket Number | No. 29013,29013 |
Parties | PACIFIC & SOUTHERN COMPANY, INC., et al. v. Leroy MONTGOMERY. |
Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Long, Weinberg, Ansley & Wheeler, Ben L. Weinberg, Jr., F. Clay Bush, Atlanta, for appellants.
Davis & Stringer, Robert H. Stringer, Decatur, for appellee.
Syllabus Opinion by the Court
This appeal presents in sharp focus the competing values lodged in two principles: (1) the freedom of the media to publish and broadcast; and (2) the right, not to be damaged by such a publication or broadcast, possessed by an individual citizen.
It is our view that a publication or broadcast, alleged to be a purely private defamation, is not entitled to absolute protection under the 'free speech and press' principle.
In this case Mrs. King, a customer, had a dispute with the plaintiff, a repairer of automobiles. She contacted the defendants, a television station and its reporter, concerning her dispute with the plaintiff. The defendants talked with Mrs. King and plaintiff about the dispute; the defendants filmed Mrs. King with reference to her complaint; the defendants filmed the plaintiff's place of business; and the defendants then broadcast the pictures with the following narrative:
'(Reynolds) The lady who called me today has a Volkswagen. It needed repair and is still in the shop and she has a problem. Mrs. King told me her problem. 'What started this problem, Mrs. King?' (King) (Reynolds) 'So you had it and was it expensive?' (King) (Reynolds) 'Where is your Volkswagen today?' (King) (Reynolds) 'Well, do they want you to pay all this money again to get your car out?' (King)
'(Reynolds)
The plaintiff then brought an action against the defendants in which he alleged that they
The defendants filed pleadings denying these allegations, the case was tried before a jury, and at the conclusion of the plaintiff's presentation of evidence the trial judge granted a motion for a directed verdict in favor of the defendants. After hearing argument on the motion by counsel the trial judge said:
The plaintiff appealed to the Court of Appeals, that court reversed the judgment of the trial court (131 Ga.App. 712 (206 S.E.2d 631)), and we granted the defendants' application for a writ of certiorari to review the decision and judgment of the Court of Appeals.
We agree with the judgment of reversal rendered by the Court of Appeals. The telecast, the pictures and spoken narrative taken in their entire context, together with the testimony of the plaintiff and the defendant news reporter, convince us that the issue of defamation or no defamation was a question of fact for determination by the jury. The trial judge therefore should not have directed a verdict in favor of the defendants.
The plaintiff, answering questions propounded by counsel for the defendants, testified: 'Q. Was the car based on your awareness of it and the number of times that '61 car was brought into Montgomery Enco Station between January 8, 1971, and December 1st, 1971 giving Mrs. King trouble for whatever reason? A. Yes, sir, it was giving her some trouble other than the work that we had done on it. Q. Do you think it was going to keep on giving her trouble irrespective of the work you had done? A. As the car itself? Q. The car itself. A. I would imagine a car that old would constantly have maintenance problems-accelerator troubles, brakes and so forth. Q. From a variety of troubles? A. Yes, sir. Q. So this statement in the transcript here that the car is bringing Mrs. King trouble and she is going to have more trouble with it is true, isn't it? A. The statement you read-if I may read it, please. Are you referring to the engine itself? Q. Look on the front page, the one before that, the last paragraph, and let's read this together. 'Mrs. King, we talked to the man at the shop where you had your Volkswagen work done and even though those little, old, small engines are small and generally dependable, this one is bringing you trouble and you are going to have more trouble with it.' That's true, isn't it? A. No, sir. Q. What's wrong about it? You just told us that it was going to keep on bringing her trouble. A. I said the car in general, but not the engine, the one that's been repaired. Q. Was the crankshaft part of the engine? A. Yes, sir. Q. Had she had any trouble with that after the January, 1971 work? A. No, sir. Q. Hadn't she had the crankshaft broken? A. When she brought it in in September, we found it to be broken. Q. Yes, so she had trouble with that part of the engine? A. Sure, that's eight months. Q. That's what I say. After December 1st, 1971, don't you think she would continue to have trouble with the engine of that '61 Volkswagen? And I am not casting any aspersions on your work. A. No, sir, not normally she would not have. Q. Tell us about what is part of the engine and what is not. Are the camshafts part of the engine? A. Yes, sir. Q. Crankshaft part of the engine? A. Yes, sir. Q. Cylinder head studs part of the engine? A. No, sir. Q. The various fuel lines, they are ancillary to the engine, aren't they? A. That's correct. Q. Don't they on a car that old go bad and give trouble? A. Yes, sir. We replace a lot of fuel lines, fuel pumps. Q. Would you not anticipate that likely to cause trouble in the future in a
Later, on re-cross examination of the plaintiff by counsel for the defendants, the following was elicited from him: 'Q. Do you remember me asking you on your deposition given in Mr. Stringer's office various statements contained in this transcript, Plaintiff's Exhibit 2? A. I remember some of it, yes, sir. Q. I want to read the question on line 2 and I was quoting: 'Mrs. King, we talked to the man at the shop where you had your Volkswagen work done and even though those little, old, small engines are small and are generally dependable, this one is bringing you trouble and you are going to have more trouble with it.' Please read your answer. A. 'I'd say that was correct."
It is obvious that this last answer read by the plaintiff from his deposition taken earlier is in conflict with the plaintiff's actual testimony at the trial quoted above in that the trial testimony explained the deposition testimony, the trial testimony having reference to the engine that the plaintiff had repaired and the deposition testimony having reference to Mrs. King's car...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
Hammer v. Slater
...576, 58 L.Ed.2d 656 (1978); Montgomery v. Pacific & Southern Co., 131 Ga.App. 712, 717, 206 S.E.2d 631, 635 (same), aff'd, 233 Ga. 175, 210 S.E.2d 714 (1974), overruled on other grounds by Diamond v. American Family Corp., 186 Ga.App. 681, 368 S.E.2d 350, cert. denied (Ga.1988).8 We are, of......
-
Southern Bell Tel. and Tel. Co. v. Coastal Transmission Service, Inc., 65684
...be determined by the court. Horton v. Georgian Co., 175 Ga. 261(2), 165 S.E. 443 (1932). See generally, Pacific & Southern Co. v. Montgomery, 233 Ga. 175, 180, 210 S.E.2d 714 (1974). We do not agree with appellant's assertion that Barrow and Coastal could not both claim defamation by the ad......
-
In re Wright, Bankruptcy No. 83-02168A
...440, 445 (S.D.Ga.1976); Montgomery v. Pacific & Southern Co., Inc., 131 Ga.App. 712, 717, 206 S.E.2d 631, 635 (1974), aff'd, 233 Ga. 175, 210 S.E.2d 714 (1974); Holmes v. Clisby, 121 Ga. 241, 248, 48 S.E. 934 (1904); Southeastern Newspapers, Inc. v. Walker, 76 Ga.App. 57, 61-63, 44 S.E.2d 6......
-
Williams v. Runion
...as to the negligence count. Montgomery v. Pacific &c. Co., 131 Ga.App. 712, 714, 206 S.E.2d 631, affirmed sub nom Pacific &c. Co. v. Montgomery, 233 Ga. 175, 210 S.E.2d 714. 2. In his second enumeration, Williams contends the court erred in refusing the testimony of a real estate appraiser ......