Quigley v. Rosenthal
| Decision Date | 11 March 1999 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 94 N 2782.,Civil Action No. 95 N 2916. |
| Citation | 43 F.Supp.2d 1163 |
| Parties | William QUIGLEY and Dorothy Quigley a/k/a Dee Quigley, Plaintiffs, v. Saul F. ROSENTHAL, in his individual capacity and in his capacity as representative of the Anti-Defamation League, and the Anti-Defamation League, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Colorado |
Jay S. Horowitz, Philip L. Gordon, Krendl, Horowitz & Krendl, Denver, CO, for plaintiffs.
David B. Higgins, Joseph C. Jaudon, Richard T. D'Ambrosio, Long & Jaudon, Denver, CO, for defendants.
This is a defamation and wiretap case. Plaintiffs William and Dorothy Quigley allege that Defendants the Anti-Defamation League ("ADL") and Saul F. Rosenthal, in his individual and representative capacity, conducted a campaign of defamation against them in order to falsely portray the Quigleys as anti-Semites. The Quigleys raise twenty-nine claims against defendants, alleging that defendants caused Mitchell and Candice Aronson1 to intercept the Quigley family's private telephone conversations and then used those recorded conversations to publicly depict the Quigleys as anti-Semitic. Specifically, the Quigleys allege that defendants: (1) violated the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 and the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 2510-22 (West 1970 & Supp. 1998) [hereinafter "Federal Wiretap Act"]; (2) deprived them of their right to be free from impermissible wiretapping under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (West 1994 & Supp.1998) [hereinafter "section 1983"]; (3) defamed and conspired to defame them; (4) invaded their privacy; (5) conducted themselves outrageously; (6) maliciously prosecuted them; (7) abused the judicial process; and (8) intentionally interfered with Mr. Quigley's prospective employment opportunities. The matter is before the court on: (1) "Anti-Defamation League and Saul F. Rosenthal's Motion for Reconsideration of the Court's Ruling that ADL and Rosenthal are not Journalists or Motion for Protective Order and Request for Oral Argument" filed August 3, 1998; (2) "ADL and Rosenthal's Motion for Summary Judgment re: First Amendment" filed August 12, 1998; (3) "ADL and Rosenthal's Motion for Summary Judgment re: Agency" filed August 12, 1998; and (4) "ADL and Rosenthal's Motion for Summary Judgment re: Claims for Violation of Constitutional Rights" filed August 12, 1998. Jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1331, 1343(a)(1), and 1367 (West 1993).
In August 1994, the Aronsons moved into a house at 1724 Prima Lane in Evergreen, Colorado. Combined Mem. in Opp'n to Defs. ADL's and Rosenthal's Several Mots. for Summ.J., Statement of Additional Disputed Facts ¶ 8 [filed Oct. 6, 1998] ].) The Quigleys lived two houses down the street from the Aronsons. (Id., Statement of Additional Disputed Facts ¶ 19.) Starting in the fall of 1994, the two families appear to have developed an enmity which has since spawned extensive litigation involving multiple parties.
According to the Aronsons, the Quigleys did not want them to live in the neighborhood because they are Jewish. (Verified Compl. for Injunctive Relief, Damages[,] and Jury Demand ¶¶ 3-4 [filed Dec. 6, 1994] [hereinafter "Aronsons' Compl."].) The Aronsons maintain that, starting shortly after they moved into their new home, the Quigleys conspired to harass and intimidate them so as to force them to leave the neighborhood. (See id. ¶ 3.) At some point in the late summer or early fall of 1994, the Aronsons began using a police scanner to intercept and then tape record the Quigleys' telephone conversations with third parties. (ADL and Rosenthal's Mem. Br. in Supp.Mot. [sic] for Summ.J. re: Claim of Violation of Quigleys' Constitutional Rights, Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 5 [filed Aug. 12, 1998] [hereinafter ]; admitted in pertinent part at Pls.' Based in large part on the content of these intercepted telephone conversations, the Aronsons alleged that the Quigleys made anti-Semitic comments about them and their children.
On October 21, 1994, Mr. Aronson made his initial contact with the ADL, when he reported to Barbara Towbin, senior associate director of ADL's Mountain States regional office, that the Quigleys were harassing him and Mrs. Aronson because they are Jewish. (Pls.' Resp. Facts, Statement of Additional Disputed Facts ¶ 44.) Between October 21 and December 7, 1994, the Aronsons continued to intercept and record the Quigleys' phone conversations, and they spoke to Towbin on an almost daily basis, purporting to inform the ADL about the "campaign of harassment" which the Quigleys were waging against them. (Id., Statement of Additional Disputed Facts ¶ 44; admitted at ADL and Rosenthal's Reply Br. in Supp. of Their Mot. for Summ.J. re: First Amendment, Reply Concerning Undisputed Facts ¶ 55 [filed Dec. 4, 1998] [hereinafter ].) Towbin referred the Aronsons to attorney Gary Lozow, who, in turn, brought in another lawyer, Stewart Kritzer, to meet with the Aronsons and other ADL representatives. (ADL and Rosenthal's Mot. for Summ.J. re: First Amendment, Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 5 [filed Aug. 12, 1998] [hereinafter ]; admitted in pertinent part at Pls.'
On December 6, 1994, the Aronsons filed a complaint in this court against the Quigleys in Civil Action No. 94-N-2782, alleging ethnic intimidation and violation of their civil rights (the "civil-rights action"). Kritzer and Lozow represented the Aronsons in the civil-rights action. The Aronsons' complaint consisted almost entirely of references to excerpts from the intercepted telephone conversations of the Quigleys. .) On December 20, 1994, the Aronsons amended their complaint. (Verified [First] Am. Compl. for Injunctive Relief, Damages[,] and Jury Demand ¶¶ 2-3 [filed Dec. 20, 1994] [hereinafter "Aronsons' Am. Compl."].)
On December 6, 1994, after the civil-rights action had been filed, Denver Post reporter Peter Chronis contacted Rosenthal and asked his opinion about the civil-rights action. Later that same day, Rosenthal, Towbin, Kritzer, and the Aronsons met to discuss a strategy for dealing with the press. (Pls.' Resp. Facts, Statement of Additional Disputed Facts ¶ 95.) Subsequent to that meeting, the ADL issued a "Press Advisory" announcing a December 7, 1994, press conference "to present information about a major case of anti-[S]emitism and harassment in the Evergreen, Colorado area and the lawsuit which has resulted from that case." (Id., Attach., Ex. KK [Press Advisory].) At that press conference, Rosenthal read a prepared "Opening Statement" and fielded questions from members of the media. (Id., Attach., Ex. MM [Opening Statement].) Rosenthal's comments were extensively quoted in the media, and, on December 7, 1994, Rosenthal was interviewed on Denver radio station KOA about the civil-rights action. (Id., Statement of Additional Disputed Facts ¶ 122.) On December 9, 1994, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office publicly announced that it was charging the Quigleys with the crime of ethnic intimidation. (Id., Attach., Ex. BB [Paulter Dep. at 36].)
In January 1995, the Quigleys filed their answer to the Aronsons' amended complaint, denying that they conspired to intimidate the Aronsons or violate the Aronsons' rights. The Quigleys maintained that, for reasons unknown to them, the Aronsons loathed them and engaged in a campaign of tortious and unlawful conduct against them. (Id. at 10.) According to the Quigleys, after enlisting the assistance of Rosenthal, the ADL, and "a transcription service" (later named as Defendant Legal-Temp., Inc., doing business as Attorneys Service Center, Inc. ["Legal-Temp"]), the Aronsons illegally intercepted the Quigleys' private conversations, transcribed them, and edited them so as to falsely portray the Quigleys as anti-Semitic. (Id. at 19-24.) Thereafter, according to the Quigleys, the Aronsons, together with Rosenthal and the ADL, conducted a press conference wherein they publicly labeled the Quigleys anti-Semitic and accused them of planning vicious acts against the...
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