Baseball Libel
From Gabbert v. Star Tribune Media Co., LLC, decided yesterday by the Minnesota Court of Appeals (Judge Francis Connolly, joined by Presiding Judge Michelle Larkin and Judge Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks):
Following an incident at an August 2018 Twins game in Target Field, the Twins issued a trespass notice banning appellant Jason Gabbert from Target Field for a year. Appellant brought a negligence action against the Twins, seeking to prevent enforcement of the ban (the 2018 litigation). The Twins moved for summary judgment, and the district court granted the motion on the ground that the Twins were a private entity leasing Target Field and could issue trespass notices as they wished.
The Star Tribune newspaper published items by reporters Randy Furst and Rochelle Olson and columnist Patrick Reusse, as well as letters by Gail Van Der Linden and Susan Seim; plaintiff sued the newspaper and the letter writers, but the court held he had no case. As to the Furst and Olson articles,
The most significant item that appellant claims is defamatory is the Furst Report, published on November 15 and 16, 2018, in the online and print versions of the Star Tribune. Furst interviewed appellant and quoted him several times in the report. The headline of the online version was, “Twins fan banned from Target Field over pursuit of baseballs goes to bat to stay at games”; an introductory paragraph in smaller type read, “Twins officials say Jason Gabbert, who chases baseballs thrown to fans in stands, has been disruptive, but he disagrees. One judge has already backed the team.” The district court concluded that “[t]he statements from the Furst Report materials … are fair and accurate statements as to the 2018 Litigation and are subject to the fair reporting privilege” because they fairly reflect appellant’s disagreement with the Twins’ evidence, and his disagreement with the substance of those statements “do[es] not defeat application of the privilege.”
Appellant contends that “the district court erred in failing to find that the Furst Report is an inaccurate and unfair summary” of his 2018 litigation with the Twins. He specifical
Article from Reason.com
