Hugh Franklin Waters

“ As at trial, the defendant contends that the wrongful death standard of requiring more than normal grief or more than normal mental anguish should be applied in this case. Aside from wrongful death actions and the tort of outrage, the Arkansas courts have not required extreme mental anguish before an award of damages is appropriate. With regard to the tort of outrage the court has stated that "the emotional distress for which damages may be sought must be so severe that no reasonable person could be expected to endure it." ”

“ Simply stated, it is whether the evidence is such that, without weighing the credibility of the witnesses or otherwise considering the weight of the evidence, there can be but one conclusion as to the verdict that reasonable men could have reached. ”

“ No distinction is made between those articles that are wholly fictional and the articles that are intended to be factual. Fictional articles are not denoted as such. The Sun apparently intends for the readers to determine which articles are fact and which are fiction or what percentage of a given article is fact or fiction. ”

“ IV. Motion for New Trial As to the motion for a new trial, this court has frequently expressed its concern and uncertainty about the standard to be applied in view of what appears to be the inconsistencies and ambiguities engendered by cases decided by various panels of the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. ”

“ The power exists in the trial judge whether the verdict is unreasonably high or unreasonably low.
11 Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2807 (1973) (citations and footnotes omitted) .
Defendant argues there is no evidence to support the award of $650,000 in compensatory damages. We are informed that this is the highest award in Boone county history and it is also the highest jury award for compensatory damages in a defamation, invasion of privacy, or outrage case in the history of the State of Arkansas. ”

“ In the defamation claim this was made one of the essential elements of the claim. See Instruction Number 7. With regard to the false light claim, this requirement was incorporated into the definition of actual malice as follows: "actual malice means that Globe International intended, or recklessly failed to anticipate, that readers would construe the publicized matter as conveying actual facts or events concerning Mrs. Mitchell. A finding of actual malice requires more than mere negligence." ”

“ FARMER KILLS SELF BY BREATHING COW GAS—He dies with his beloved animals
It may be, as defendant in essence argues, that Mrs. Mitchell does not show a great deal of obvious injury, but a reasonable juror might conclude, after hearing the evidence and viewing the Sun issue in question, that Nellie Mitchell's experience could be likened to that of a person who had been dragged slowly through a pile of untreated sewage. ”

“ Finally, the defendant argues it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the false light invasion of privacy claim because plaintiff voluntarily agreed to the use of her photograph. It is contended that once a party has consented to the use of her photograph she cannot complain about the context in which it was used. ”

“ The court concludes that reasonable jurors could find that it is "worth" a great deal to suddenly find your likeness buried in the slime of which this publication was made, directly in front of an article describing the relative tastiness of adult human flesh compared to that of children. ”

“ Suffice it to say that the court has carefully considered the defendant's arguments and believes for the reasons stated on the record at trial that the defendant is entitled to no relief.
V. Conclusion For the reasons stated herein the defendant's motion will be denied.
↑ In this respect, Paul Greenberg, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist testified in a deposition used as evidence in this case, while being questioned by defendant's attorney:
Q.If the author testifies that he made up a story, isn't that fiction? A.Sir, it's false. All things that are false are not necessarily fiction. ”

“ Bone, 283 Ark. 399, 678 S.W.2d 312 (1984) ) . The Ross court further noted that "the tort of outrage is not easily established and required clear-cut proof; merely describing the conduct as outrageous does not make it so." ”