TROUT POINT LODGE V. HANDSHOE
729 F.3d 481 (5th Cir. 2014)
NATURE OF THE CASE: Trout (P) appealed a determination that it could not enforce a
Canadian default judgment against Handshoe (D) for defamation.
FACTS: Handshoe, a Mississippi citizen, owns and operates Slabbed.org, a public-affairs
blog. A focal point over the last few years has been Aaron Broussard, the former Parish
President of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Broussard was indicted and pleaded guilty to
charges of bribery and theft in September 2012. D claims that Slabbed.org has been
'instrumental' in reporting the 'ongoing corruption scandal, indictment, and guilty plea'
involving Broussard. Broussard owned property in Nova Scotia. The property sat on Trout
Point Road, very close to P. D began publishing entries on Slabbed.org alleging a link
between Broussard and P and its owners. The Times-Picayune, a New Orleans newspaper,
published an article indicating that Broussard had an ownership interest in D and that
Jefferson Parish contractors had paid to rent the premises. The Times-Picayune retracted
this assertion and issued a correction after P alerted the paper to purported 'factual
errors in [its] reporting.' The corporate parent of the Times-Picayune also took the
Slabbed.org blog offline after P demanded this retraction. D found another web host for his
site and 'began an internet campaign to damage P. D posted several updates regarding P,
which the district court noted 'can be characterized as derogatory, mean spirited, sexist,
and homophobic.' P sued D in Nova Scotia for defamation and related claims mostly for
imputation of criminal conduct as well as 'unabashed anti-gay, anti-homosexual rhetoric and
rants of the defendant,' used to 'amplify and support the three other stings listed above'
and 'support and shore up all the other defamatory imputations.' D did not appear and P got
a default judgment. The court awarded P $275,000 in general damages, $50,000 in aggravated
damages, and $25,000 in punitive damages. It also awarded $2,000 in costs. P attempted to
enforce the judgment in Mississippi. D removed to federal court. On cross motions for
summary judgment, the district court entered summary judgment in D's favor, finding that P
failed to meet its burden to show that 'D was afforded at least as much protection for
freedom of speech in [the Nova Scotia] action as he would have in a domestic proceeding or,
alternatively, that D would have been found liable for defamation by a domestic court.' P
appealed.
ISSUE:
RULE OF LAW:
HOLDING AND DECISION:
LEGAL ANALYSIS:
Get
free access to the entire content for Mac, PC or Online
for 2-3 days and free samples
of all kinds of products.
for 2-3 days and free samples of all kinds of products.
https://bsmsphd.com
© 2007-2016 Abn Study Partner
No comments:
Post a Comment