Merle W. Dameron v. Washington Magazine, Inc. Merle W. Dameron v. Washington Magazine, Inc.
779 F.2d 736 · Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · 1985
Facts
Plaintiff Merle Dameron, an air traffic controller, sued The Washingtonian magazine for defamation after an article stated that controllers were assigned partial blame for the 1974 Mt. Weather plane crash, implying Dameron was partly responsible. Dameron contended he was exonerated and not to blame, and did not allege actual malice. The district court granted summary judgment to the defendants, finding the statement protected by the fair report privilege.
Issue
1. Did the magazine's statement qualify for the fair report privilege? 2. Was Dameron an involuntary, limited-purpose public figure, thereby requiring him to prove actual malice?
Holding
The appellate court reversed the district court's finding that the fair report privilege applied, as the statement lacked proper attribution to an official report. However, the court affirmed the grant of summary judgment, holding that Dameron was an involuntary, limited-purpose public figure for discussions related to the Mt. Weather crash, and thus required to prove actual malice, which he did not allege.
Rule
The fair report privilege requires that a defamatory statement be clearly attributed to or presented as a summary of an official document or proceeding. An individual can become an involuntary, limited-purpose public figure if they play a central, albeit unwilling, role in a public controversy, thereby requiring them to prove actual malice in a defamation claim.
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