Tuite v. Corbitt
Decision Date | 21 December 2006 |
Docket Number | No. 101054.,101054. |
Parties | Patrick A. TUITE, Appellant, v. Michael CORBITT et al., Appellees. |
Court | Illinois Supreme Court |
David P. Sanders, of Jenner & Block. L.L.P., Chicago, Slade R. Metcalf, Jeffrey O. Grossman and Gail C. Gove, of Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P., New York, New York, for appellees.
David W. Andich, of Andich & Andich, Rock Island, for amicus curiae Chicago Reader, Inc.
Damon E. Dunn, of Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman & Dunn, Ltd., Chicago, for amicus curiae Chicago Sun Times, Inc.
James A. Klenk, Samuel Fifer, Gregory R. Naron and Natalie Spears, of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, L.L.P., Chicago, for amici curiae Chicago Tribune Co. et al.
Ronald Craven, Springfield, for amicus curiae Illinois Broadcasters Association.
Michael J. Polelle, Chicago, for amicus curiae AIDA, Inc.
Plaintiff, Patrick A. Tuite, filed a complaint in the circuit court of Cook County against defendants, Michael Corbitt, Sam Giancana, and HarperCollins Publishers, alleging claims of defamation per se, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress as a result of certain statements contained in defendants' book, Double Deal. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint under section 2-615 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2-615 (West 2002)). The trial court granted defendants' motion to dismiss, finding that the disputed statements were capable of a reasonable innocent construction. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment. 358 Ill.App.3d 889, 294 Ill.Dec. 367, 830 N.E.2d 779.
We allowed Tuite's petition for leave to appeal. 177 Ill.2d R. 315(a). Tuite contends that this court should abandon the innocent construction rule. In the alternative, Tuite contends that the dismissal of his complaint should be reversed because there is no reasonable innocent construction for the statements. We decline to abandon the innocent construction rule, but find that the appellate court erred in affirming the dismissal of plaintiff's claims of defamation per se and false light invasion of privacy based on the application of the rule. We therefore reverse the judgments of the appellate and circuit courts and remand this matter to the circuit court for further proceedings.
Corbitt and Giancana coauthored Double Deal, a book that recounts Corbitt's experiences in organized crime in the Chicago area. HarperCollins published Double Deal. In Double Deal, Corbitt and Giancana included a discussion of Tuite's involvement in defending alleged Chicago mafia boss Joey Aiuppa against criminal charges in 1985. Based on the description of his involvement in Aiuppa's defense, Tuite filed a complaint alleging defamation per se, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In his complaint, Tuite alleged that Corbitt is a "self-admitted professional criminal, whose life in crime was in the service of the Chicago mafia." Double Deal purports to be a nonfiction account of organized crime activities in the Chicago area. The cover of the book states it is "The Inside Story of Murder, Unbridled Corruption, and the Cop Who Was a Mobster." Tuite identified the following excerpt from Double Deal as the basis of his claims:
"Unfortunately for the Outfit, during [Operation] Strawman, the FBI had uncovered tons of evidence connecting the Chicago bosses to the guys in Kansas City. When the FBI started calling this new case against Chicago's top bosses Strawman II, it was pretty clear they were on a roll.
Although Strawman II put a crimp in Chicago's top guys, particularly Joey Aiuppa, at first they figured they could beat the charges. But then when witnesses starting [sic] lining up against them, they began to get worried. Three of the FBI's key witnesses—Allen Glick, the guy who fronted four Vegas casinos for Chicago; Aladena `Jimmy the Weasel' Fratianno; and the former Teamsters president Roy Williams—had everyone seriously concerned. From what I understand, they knew enough to bury just about everybody who was anybody in the Outfit.
And it was no use trying to take them out, either. Even if Lombardo (who was serving time on [Operation] Pendorf in Leavenworth) or Spilotro (who was in a Chicago jail awaiting trial for murder) had been available to do the job, it would have been an impossible task. The more critical witnesses, like Roy Williams, had been under heavy security for months, ever since the convictions had come down in Operation Pendorf. So they were virtually untouchable.
Ultimately it wouldn't be just Williams, Glick, and the Weasel the Outfit would have to worry about; by the time the trial got under way in 1985, there were guys flipping left and right. It was pretty clear that the Chicago Outfit was going to take a major hit. Sal told me Joey Aiuppa figured he was going away for sure if he didn't get some better representation. At seventy-seven, Joey Aiuppa was an old man, and he didn't want to die in prison. He was desperate to walk away from those charges and wanted to bring in Pat Tuite, an attorney who'd represented mob cases in the past. But Sal said that Aiuppa had run into a wall with Tuite. Supposedly, the big-shot lawyer told Aiuppa that he'd need a million-dollar retainer before he'd even walk in the door.
It might seem crazy, playing hardball with an Outfit boss like that, but Tuite had his reasons; he was far from stupid. He knew that Outfit guys had a reputation for not paying their attorneys. They'd get off and then leave the lawyer holding the bag. If the guy made any noise about his bill, it was `take me to court,' which, of course, no one ever had the balls to do.
So now Aiuppa and his pals had a dilemma. They didn't want to go on their kick, take their defense money out of their own pockets. So what did they do? They decided to go to Las Vegas— the now crime-free town—and let their skim pay Tuite.
After Tuite was on the case, all the guys were sort of semijubilant. Everybody figured Tuite had it all handled. To Aiuppa and his codefendants, it was like it was a done deal, like they were all going to be acquitted. So you can imagine their reaction when they were all found guilty the following January-1986. I understand they were all sitting around their hotel room in Kansas City, ready to open a bottle of champagne, when the feds showed up to arrest them. And what about Tuite? What kind of explanation could he possibly have given for this result? I can't think of one that would've satisfied me—not after advancing him a million bucks for his legal fees. And I guess that's why, for the life of me, I've never understood why Pat Tuite didn't get whacked. Go figure."
Tuite alleged that these statements are false. He was not retained by Aiuppa, he was not the attorney of record, and he did not file an appearance or participate in the trial. Rather, he served only as a consultant to Aiuppa's attorneys. Additionally, he did not demand or receive a retainer of $1 million cash and did not knowingly receive illegally obtained funds as payment for his consulting services. Further, Tuite alleged the statements falsely imply that he would use all or a portion of the cash retainer to commit bribery or other criminal conduct to ensure that he "had it all handled" and that acquittal was "a done deal."
Tuite alleged that the statements are defamatory per se because they impute to him criminal wrongdoing, a want of integrity as an officer of the court, a want of integrity in the performance of his ethical duties as an attorney, and an inability to perform his professional duties as a criminal defense attorney. Tuite further alleged that the defendants were negligent in publishing the false statements or, in the alternative, that the defendants published the statements with knowledge that they were false or with reckless disregard as to their truth or falsity. Tuite alleged that publication of the statements was wilful and wanton and damaged his reputation as an attorney and as an officer of the court.
In support of his claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress, Tuite alleged that statements in the book, as well as statements made by defendants in marketing the book, caused him to fear for his safety and the safety of those around him. Tuite alleged that the statements were extreme and outrageous and caused him severe emotional distress.
Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint under section 2-615 of the Code, asserting that the complaint failed to state a claim of defamation per se because the disputed statements are capable of an innocent construction. Additionally, defendants asserted that the complaint failed to state a claim of false light invasion of privacy because Tuite failed to allege special damages as required to support such a claim when the statements are not defamatory per se. Defendants further asserted that the conduct alleged in the complaint was not sufficiently extreme and outrageous to support a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Tuite filed an amended complaint, restating the allegations of his original complaint and attaching a copy of Double Deal as an exhibit. The trial court subsequently granted defendants' motion to dismiss the amended complaint. The trial court found that the disputed statements were not defamatory per se because they were capable of a reasonable innocent construction. The court also held that Tuite failed to...
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