World Wide Ass'n of Specialty Programs v. Pure, Inc.

450 F.3d 1132 · Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 2006

Facts

Plaintiff World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (World Wide), an association marketing residential treatment programs for troubled teens, sued defendants Sue Scheff and Jeff Berryman for defamation and civil conspiracy. Scheff and Berryman had posted negative remarks about World Wide and its affiliated schools on internet sites and email listservs. The District Court granted summary judgment for Berryman and a jury found in favor of Scheff, leading World Wide to appeal both judgments.

Issue

The primary issues on appeal were whether World Wide was correctly designated a limited-purpose public figure, requiring proof of actual malice by clear and convincing evidence for defamation, and whether summary judgment was properly granted to Berryman on the civil conspiracy claim. The court also considered the admissibility of media reports and the jury instruction on the standard of proof for defamation.

Holding

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's judgments, holding that World Wide was a limited-purpose public figure and that any error in the jury instruction regarding the standard of proof for defamation was harmless. The court also affirmed the admission of media reports and the grant of summary judgment to Berryman on the civil conspiracy claim. All claims of error were deemed insufficient to justify a new trial.

Rule

A plaintiff is a limited-purpose public figure if there is a public controversy related to the defamatory remarks and the plaintiff has voluntarily injected itself into that controversy to influence its resolution, requiring proof of actual malice by clear and convincing evidence. To prove civil conspiracy under Utah law, a plaintiff must establish by clear and convincing evidence a combination of two or more persons, an object to be accomplished, a meeting of the minds, one or more unlawful overt acts, and resulting damages.

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