Hugh Franklin Waters

“ What is all that "worth"? A Harrison, Arkansas, jury believed that it was worth $650,000, but this court has been directed to reduce that award by ordering a "substantial remittitur." Obviously, there is room for disagreement as to what that means. Defendant argues that it means that Nellie Mitchell should receive no more than nominal damages, while, on the other hand, plaintiff's attorney argues that it would be "substantial" to reduce the award by one-third. ”

“ The material at issue "must convey to a reasonable reader the impression that they describe actual facts about the plaintiff or activities in which she participated to be actionable. When one cannot reasonably interpret the material as portraying actual facts about the plaintiff, no damage to reputation can result." ”

“ Mitchell, and was able to observe their demeanor, is convinced that substantial damages were suffered by her as a result of the wrongful conduct of the defendant. Admittedly, the court cannot take the evidence and point to any "specials" as lawyers call them, or any other identifiable dollar figures which can, with any certainty, justify an award of damages satisfactory to those who believe that these matters should be determined by some kind of formula. ”

“ The inquiry performed is the threshold inquiry of determining whether there is a need for trial—whether, in other words, there are genuine factual issues that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party. ”

“ A great many of the articles in the Sun, as I said before, are fantasy, fantastic, very much like science fiction. There are a sprinkling of actual happenings in the articles about actual happenings in the paper; those are very, very well updated." Vader Deposition at 38.
The typical defamation action involves a purportedly factual publication. Actions involving fictional works are atypical. In an action arising from a purportedly nonfactual publication concentration on the "falsity" of the allegations is problematic. Courts have taken different analytical approaches to this issue. ”

“ The second element of this test would, of course, need to be modified in cases involving private plaintiffs [p1239] when no issue of public concern is involved. In such cases, the inquiry is whether the defendant negligently published a falsehood.
The defendant urges the court to adopt a different standard because the article is completely fabricated and could not be taken as true. As pure fiction or fantasy the defendant argues the article is not reasonably susceptible to a defamatory meaning. The court cannot say this article is clearly fiction. ”

“ However, under all of the circumstances, the court is convinced that it is "worth" a minimum of $150,000 for Mrs. Mitchell to have been forced to endure what defendant heaped upon her, and the court, [p75] therefore, determines that a "substantial remittitur" in this case, as directed by the Court of Appeals, is $500,000. A reduction of a half million dollars is certainly "substantial", and the court believes that an award of at least $150,000 in compensatory damages is justified by the evidence. ”

“ The court concluded "that permitting recovery of presumed and punitive damages in defamation cases absent a showing of 'actual malice' does not violate the First Amendment when the defamatory statements do not involve matters of public concern." Id. at 763.
The Arkansas Supreme Court has stated that in a suit by a private individual against a media defendant the standard of care is that of ordinary negligence, not actual malice as the defendant contends. Little Rock Newspapers, Inc. ”

“ I think that Nellie has been humiliated, and I think she's been very sad about it, and she's been worried about what people say about her, and people believe that she's been involved in this, whatever this story accuses that she has. And she's been a real depressed woman. She's changed. ”

“ It might very well be that a "modern person" would, either because they believed that it was "smart" to do so, or because they were more expressive, show more symptoms of the harm that was done. It might have been wise for Mrs. Mitchell to have gone to psychiatrists who would be able to testify to her damages, but she did not do so because she is from another time and that isn't her "way."
In spite of that, the court, which saw the witnesses testify, including Mrs. ”