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Keywords

lawsuitappealsummary judgment
defendantstatutetrialmotionsummary judgmentbailmotion for summary judgment

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Raymer v. Doubleday & Co., Inc., 615 F.2d 241, 6 Media L. Rep. 1245

Facts

John Raymer, a police officer, brought a libel action against Doubleday & Company, author Thomas Thompson, and North Branch Road Corp. after he was depicted in Chapter 35 of the book 'Blood and Money.' The chapter described events surrounding the murder of a key witness in a high-profile murder case, including Raymer's involvement in the shooting of the suspect, Bobby Vandiver. Raymer claimed that various descriptions in the book were defamatory, leading to the lawsuit.

Blood and Money is a nonfictional account of the deaths of Joan Robinson Hill and her husband, Dr. John Hill, two prominent Houston residents. The deaths were widely reported and aroused substantial public interest. Following the death of Mrs. Hill, Dr. Hill was charged with her murder. Dr. Hill's trial ended in a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury, and, while awaiting retrial, he was murdered. It was suspected that Joan Hill's father paid one Lilla Paulus, who in turn hired Bobby Vandiver, to murder Dr. Hill. Vandiver confessed to the murder and became a State's witness in the Hill murder case, but while free on bail was shot and killed by police officer John Raymer while resisting arrest.

Issue

Did the passages in the book 'Blood and Money' constitute libel against police officer John Raymer under Texas law?

Did the passages in the book 'Blood and Money' constitute libel against police officer John Raymer under Texas law?

Rule

Under Texas law, a statement is considered libelous if it is a false statement that injures a person's reputation, exposes them to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule, or imputes criminal conduct.

Tex.Civ.Code Ann. tit. 88, s 5430 defines libel as: a defamation expressed in printing or writing, or by signs and pictures, or drawings tending to blacken the memory of the dead, or tending to injure the reputation of one who is alive, and thereby expose him to public hatred, contempt or ridicule, or financial injury, or to impeach the honesty, integrity, or virtue, or reputation of any one, or to publish the natural defects of any one and thereby expose such person to public hatred, ridicule, or financial injury.

Analysis

The court analyzed each passage Raymer claimed was defamatory, determining that they did not meet the legal definition of libel. The descriptions of Raymer's appearance and character were deemed literary expressions rather than defamatory statements. The court also found that the context of the passages indicated they did not imply any wrongdoing or criminal conduct by Raymer, thus affirming the summary judgment.

Evaluating the passages complained of under that statute, we find the district court did not err in deciding that, as a matter of law, only one passage could survive the defendants' motion for summary judgment.

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's ruling, concluding that the passages in question were not defamatory as a matter of law and that the jury's finding supported this conclusion.

Affirmed.

Who won?

Doubleday & Company, Thomas Thompson, and North Branch Road Corp. prevailed because the court found that the statements made in the book did not constitute libel under Texas law.

The district court granted summary judgment as to Doubleday (the publisher) on the ground that Raymer is a public official and there was no evidence of “actual malice” on the part of the publisher.

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