Reesman v. Highfill
Jurisdiction | Oregon |
Parties | William R. REESMAN, Appellant, v. Richard HIGHFILL and Jim Wilson, Respondents, and Jack Murray, Barnard Clark and People Against Aurora Airport Expansion, Defendants. 94; CA A92453. |
Citation | 942 P.2d 891,149 Or.App. 374 |
Docket Number | C-11060 |
Court | Oregon Court of Appeals |
Decision Date | 23 July 1997 |
David D. Park, Portland, argued the cause for appellant. With him on the briefs was Elliott & Park.
Billy M. Sime, Salem, argued the cause for respondent Richard Highfill, and William G. Earle, Portland, argued the cause for respondent Jim Wilson. Parks, Bauer, Sime and Winkler, Salem, and Hallmark, Keating & Abbott, P.C., Portland.
Before DEITS, C.J., and De MUNIZ and HASELTON, JJ.
Plaintiff appeals, assigning error to the entry of summary judgment against his claims for defamation and "false light" invasion of privacy. He asserts, particularly, that the trial court erred in concluding that defendants' 1 statements were not capable of defamatory meaning; that plaintiff was a public figure; and that there was no triable issue of fact as to whether defendants acted with actual malice. We generally agree with plaintiff, except that we conclude that he failed to adduce legally sufficient evidence of actual malice with respect to certain aspects of his false light claim. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Plaintiff is the sole shareholder and chief aerobatics pilot of Mig Magic, Inc., a business engaged in air show performances. Plaintiff's performances are notable in that he flies former Communist bloc aircraft. 2 Plaintiff has received local media attention because of his performances.
Between 1989 and, at least, March 1994, plaintiff kept and maintained his aircraft at the Aurora State Airport in the Aurora/Charbonneau area. Beginning in 1991, the airport was the object of controversy because of plans for expansion that had provoked the opposition of some local residents. Those residents formed an association, People Against Aurora Airport Expansion (PAAAX). Defendants were two of the four members of PAAAX's steering committee 3 and were actively involved in the association's legal efforts to stop the airport's expansion. Between the fall of 1991 and January 1994, PAAAX engaged in extensive litigation and incurred substantial unpaid attorney fees; defendants, as members of the steering committee, were personally obligated for those fees. Plaintiff, although aware of the airport controversy, did not participate in it.
On March 1, 1994, while plaintiff was testing a new engine in his Chinese MiG-17 in the airspace above the Aurora Airport, a fuel line broke. The jet caught fire, and plaintiff was forced to make an emergency landing at Aurora Airport. The next day, The Oregonian published an article regarding the incident. That article, headlined "Pilot escapes death in burning jet," included a picture of the burnt MiG and a caption that stated: "An explosion and fire rocked Bill Reesman's Chinese MiG-17 fighter Tuesday as he tried a corkscrew climb over the Aurora Airport going 300 mph." The text of the article stated, in part:
On March 18, 1994, defendants published and distributed a flyer to citizens in Aurora and Charbonneau. The flyer's main purpose was to solicit contributions towards PAAAX's outstanding attorney fees of approximately $20,000. Above the flyer's text was a photocopy of The Oregonian 's picture of the burnt MiG and its accompanying caption and headline. The text of the flyer read:
"New developments in negotiations between PEOPLE AGAINST AURORA AIRPORT EXPANSION and the Oregon Aeronautics Div. are the cumulative result of your loyal financial support. Contributions are still urgently needed to help defray already accrued attorney's fees. They will be gratefully received by,
Jim Wilson, Treas.
Plaintiff brought this action, alleging claims of defamation and invasion of privacy by false light. As to the defamation claim, plaintiff alleged that the statements in the flyer "impl[ied] the existence of the following false and defamatory matters" concerning plaintiff:
Plaintiff's false light claim alleged that his privacy had been invaded in the same three ways.
Defendants moved for summary judgment against both the defamation and the false light claims. As to the defamation claim, defendants raised two alternative arguments. First, the statements in their flyer were not capable of defamatory meaning. Second, plaintiff was a "public figure" for purposes of the publication, and the evidence in the summary judgment record, even when viewed most favorably to plaintiff, did not demonstrate that defendants had acted with "actual malice." With respect to the false light claim, defendants made three alternative arguments: (1) the flyer did not concern "private facts"; (2) the flyer's statements were not "highly offensive"; and (3) the evidence was insufficient to establish that the allegedly actionable statements were made with "actual malice." Plaintiff opposed defendants' motion and also cross-moved for partial summary judgment on the "public figure" issue. The trial court granted defendants' motion and, concomitantly, denied plaintiff's cross-motion:
On appeal, plaintiff challenges the entry of judgment against both claims. We begin with the defamation claim. Plaintiff contends that the...
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...proof of more than either knowledge of or reckless disregard as to the falsity of the publicized matter. See Reesman v. Highfill, 149 Or.App. 374, 387-88, 942 P.2d 891 (1997), rev. allowed 326 Or. 464, 952 P.2d 63 (1998) (McNabb held that malice is shown by evidence of knowledge of or reckl......
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Reesman v. Highfill
...The circuit court entered summary judgment for defendants. Plaintiff appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed. Reesman v. Highfill, 149 Or.App. 374, 942 P.2d 891 (1997). For the reasons that follow, we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and affirm the judgment of the circuit Th......
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