(This syllabus is not part of the opinion of the Court. It has been prepared by the Office of the Clerk for the convenience of
the reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the Supreme Court. Please note that, in the interests of brevity,
portions of any opinion may not have been summarized).
Argued February 15, 2000 -- Decided August 1, 2000
VERNIERO, J., writing for a majority of the Court.
In this appeal, the Court considers the application of the doctrine of presumed damages to a claim of defamation
asserted by the plaintiff, Ana Rocci, a teacher.
Plalntiff, Ana Rocci, and defendant, Edward Tilli, are teachers who took students on a trip to Spain in 1995.
Rocci, a teacher at St. Joseph's High School in Metuchen, accompanied by twenty-three students from that school, joined
Tilli, a teacher at Ecole Secondaire Macdonald-Cartier (Ecole) of Ontario, Canada, and ten students from that school for
the trip.
After the trip, on May 9, 1995, Tilli wrote a letter to the principal of St. Joseph's High School, complaining about
Rocci's allegedly unprofessional conduct during the course of the trip. Specifically, he complained that, among other
things, Rocci had consumed seven bottles of wine on the plane and had kept the students out late on numerous occasions.
At some point following the principal's receipt of Tilli's letter, Rocci commenced an action for defamation against
Tilli and the tour guide, among others. In her complaint, Rocci alleged that she had suffered “loss of earnings and grievous
mental injury in that she was exposed to the contempt and ridicule of her friends and acquaintances and was rendered
outraged in mind, spirit and body, to the extent that she required prolonged medical treatment to restore her health.”
Subsequently, at her deposition, Rocci stated that she was neither fired nor suspended from her teaching position;
that she was able to prove to the principal the falsity of the statements contained in the letter; and that she did not suffer any
economic damages. In addition, although she had attributed a digestive ailment to anxiety she experienced after receiving
the letter, Rocci admitted that she did not incur any medical expenses related to the alleged defamation. Finally, Rocci
testified that she was upset by students' inquiries about the wine she allegedly drank on the airplane. She acknowledged
however that she herself had shown Tilli's letter to the students in an effort to have them discredit his accusations.
The trial court granted Tilli's and Ecole's motion for summary judgment. In dismissing Rocci's complaint, the
trial court concluded that Tilli's letter was not defamatory and noted that Rocci had not alleged pecuniary damages.
Although the Appellate Division acknowledged that the letter could be defamatory and concluded that Rocci's European
undertaking with her students did not implicate a public interest, it affirmed the trial court's dismissal of Rocci's complaint.
Citing the Supreme Court's decision in Sisler v. Gannett Co.,
104 N.J. 256 (1986), a majority of the panel concluded that to
maintain a claim of defamation under New Jersey common law, a plaintiff must prove that her reputation has been injured,
that she suffered pecuniary loss, or that she suffered extreme emotional distress. One member of the panel dissented.
Relying on the doctrine of presumed damages, Judge Lesemann concluded that proof of actual harm is not a prerequisite to
Rocci's right to recover damages.
The matter was before the Supreme Court as of right, based on Judge Lesemann's dissent below. Following oral
argument in the matter, the Court afforded the parties the opportunity to submit supplemental briefs concerning whether
Tilli's letter implicated the public interest. In response, the parties, as well as the New Jersey Press Association as amicus
curiae, submitted briefs on the issue. In their briefs, defendants Tilli and Ecole contended that because Tilli's letter
implicated the public interest, Rocci could not presume damages and would have to prove actual malice to sustain her suit.
In contrast, Rocci argued that, even though the letter implicated a matter of public concern, she should be permitted to
present her case to the jury to demonstrate that defendants were motivated by malice.
HELD: Defendant's allegedly defamatory letter, which implicated the public interest, requires heightened free-speech
protections; thus, reputational or pecuniary harm may not be presumed absent a showing of actual malice as defined under
New York Times v. Sullivan.
1. Although the law of defamation embodies the important public policy that individuals should generally be free to enjoy
their reputations unimpaired by false and defamatory attacks, defamation of law principles must achieve the proper balance
between protecting reputation and protecting free speech. (pp. 7-8)
2. When alleged defamatory remarks touch on a matter of public concern, the interests of free speech justify, and fairness
to individual reputation permits, application of a strict and high burden of proof to establish actionable defamation. Thus, a
plaintiff asserting a defamation claim in that context cannot rely on the doctrine of presumed damages absent a finding that
defendant published the statement with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.
(pp. 8-9)
3. Because there is a strong public interest in the behavior of teachers, especially concerning their conduct with and around
their students, Rocci may not rely on the doctrine of presumed damages and must allege more than mere embarrassment to
survive summary judgment. (pp. 9-10)
4. Jurisprudence should not act to chill complaints about a teacher's behavior in the presence of students or similar matters
involving the public interest. (pp. 10-11)
5. By discouraging frivolous defamation actions, motions for summary judgment keep open lines of communication to the
public on matters of public concern. (pp. 11-12)
6. Rocci's only claim of harm is embarrassment, which was caused by her own distribution of Tilli's letter. Because the
alleged defamatory material involves a matter of public concern, which is at the heart of the First Amendment and thus
requires enhanced protection, Rocci may not survive a motion for summary judgment when she has failed to provide any
evidence of harm to her beyond her embarrassment. (pp. 12-13)
7. Applying the actual-malice standard in the context of summary judgment, even when considering the evidence in the
light most favorable to Rocci, a reasonable factfinder could not find clear and convincing evidence of actual malice on
Tilli's part. (pp. 13-14)
8. The question of whether the doctrine of presumed damages should apply to claims made by a private-figure plaintiff
when no public interest is implicated is reserved for the future. (pp. 14-15)
JUSTICE O'HERN filed a separate opinion in which he dissented from the majority's opinion for the reasons
expressed by Judge Lesemann in his dissent below. At a minimum, Justice O'Hern believed that Rocci should have been
permitted to present her case to a jury without having to prove special damages other than the damage to her good name.
As modified, judgment of the Appellate Division is AFFIRMED.
CHIEF JUSTICE PORITZ and JUSTICES STEIN, COLEMAN, LONG, and LaVECCHIA join in JUSTICE
VERNIERO's opinion. JUSTICE O'HERN has filed a separate dissenting opinion.
SUPREME COURT OF NEW JERSEY
A-
34 September Term 1999
ANA ROCCI,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
ECOLE SECONDAIRE MACDONALD
CARTIER, a foreign entity and
EDWARD TILLI,
Defendants-Respondents,
and
JAVIER MATIACCI RODRIGUEZ and
JOHN DOE (1-10),
Defendants.
Argued February 15, 2000 -- Decided August 1, 2000
On appeal from the Superior Court, Appellate
Division, whose opinion is reported at
323 N.J. Super. 18 (1999).
Jacqueline R. Rocci argued the cause for
appellant.
Michael T. Kearns argued the cause for
respondent (Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst &
Doukas, attorneys; Donald D. Davidson, of
counsel).
Thomas J. Cafferty argued the cause for
amicus curiae, New Jersey Press Association
(McGimpsey & Cafferty, attorneys; Mr.
Cafferty and Arlene M. Turinchak, on the
briefs).
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
VERNIERO, J.
In this appeal we consider the application of the doctrine of presumed damages to a claim of defamation asserted by plaintiff, a teacher. The claim centers on a letter by defendant, also a teacher, in which defendant asserts that plaintiff behaved unprofessionally on a class trip. The Appellate Division affirmed the Law Division's grant of summary judgment, holding that plaintiff did not establish a claim of defamation because she did not proffer proof of reputational or pecuniary harm. 323 N.J. Super. 18 (1999).
We affirm but for reasons different from those expressed by the Appellate Division. We conclude that defendant's letter, which concerns a teacher's behavior around her students and was sent only to that teacher's supervisor, requires heightened free- speech protections. In view of that conclusion, we hold that reputational or pecuniary harm may not be presumed in this case absent a showing of “actual malice” as that term is defined under New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 279-80, 84 S. Ct. 710, 726, 11 L. Ed 2d 686, 706 (1964). Because plaintiff was unable to show such harm and has alleged no facts sufficient to demonstrate actual malice, the grant of summary judgment was appropriate in this case.
Plaintiff Ana Rocci and defendant Edward Tilli are teachers who in 1995 took students on a trip to Spain. Rocci, a teacher at St. Joseph's High School in Metuchen, accompanied twenty-three students from that school. She and the St. Joseph's students joined Tilli, a teacher at École secondaire Macdonald-Cartier High School (École secondaire) of Ontario, Canada, and ten students from that school. Together, the group toured through Spain.
After the trip, on May 9, 1995, Tilli wrote a letter to the principal of St. Joseph's High School, complaining that, among other things, Rocci had consumed seven bottles of wine on the plane and acted unprofessionally during the trip by keeping the students out late:
My name is Ed Tilli and I am a teacher at Macdonald Cartier High School. . . . In all my years of experience as a teacher and counsellor I have had to deal with very few problems in comparison with this years [sic] Spain experience.
As you may already know this years [sic] adventure was a joint canadian-american [sic] school trip. Our ten students of which [sic] eight girls and two boys teamed up with your twenty-three boys excluding the adults. As such, this experience would have benefited [sic] all students if it were not for the unfortunate lack of professionalism on the part of Mrs. A. Rocci. If I may I would now like to relate to you both our personal experiences with her as well as those of Javier Matiacci Rodriguez (the E.F. Tour Guide during the Spain visit).
Thursday, April 13
As related by the Tour Guide the [sic] and students, Mrs. Rocci had had seven bottles of wine on the flight from J.F.K. to Amsterdam. This was to set the tone for things to come. That very same evening fully aware that the next day we were to get up at 7:00 a.m. for the Madrid guided tour, Mrs. Rocci kept her students, with some of ours, out until 2:00 a.m. This would make it very difficult for the students to stay awake and remain focused that day.
Friday, April 14
On the way to Toledo, being overtired, the students did very little listening if any at all. . . .
We were . . . told by our E.F. Tour Guide that Mrs. Rocci (forgetting that we were all equal paying customers) felt that because she had the majority number of students that she could therefore make all decisions for both groups.
. . . .
Once again, that evening your students were kept out until 2:30 a.m. while being fully aware of the 7:00 a.m. wake-up call and early departure to Segovia.
. . . .
Monday, April 17
. . . .
In the evening your students
were forced out until 1:30 a.m.
and were scheduled to get up and
leave for Tangiers, Morocco at
4:30 a.m. As usual the students
were very tired and had
difficulties in enjoying Tangiers.
(Information related by both
students and Tour Guide).
Plaintiff commenced an action for defamation
against Tilli, École secondaire, tour guide Javier
Matiacci Rodriguez, and ten unnamed defendants.
Rodriguez and the unnamed defendants are not
represented in this litigation. Additionally,
although Rodriguez was identified as a defendant,
plaintiff's complaint alleged no claims against
Rodriguez. 323 N.J. Super. at 21 n.1.
In her complaint, plaintiff alleged the following
damages: “loss of earnings and grievous mental injury
in that she was exposed to the contempt and ridicule
of her friends and acquaintances and was rendered
outraged in mind, spirit and body, to the extent that
she required prolonged medical treatment to restore
her health.” However, at her deposition, plaintiff
stated that she was neither fired nor suspended from
her teaching position and that she did not suffer any
economic damages. She further stated that after the
letter arrived at her school she met with the
principal and, using information provided by her
colleagues and students, she proved the falsity of the
statements to the principal. Although she attributed
a digestive ailment to anxiety she experienced after
receiving the letter, plaintiff stated that she did
not incur medical expenses related to the alleged
defamation. Finally, plaintiff testified that she was
upset by students' inquiries about the wine she
allegedly drank on the airplane, but she acknowledged
that she showed the letter from Tilli to the students
in an effort to have them discredit Tilli's
accusations.
On motion by defendants Tilli and École
secondaire, the Law Division granted summary judgment
in favor of defendants. That court concluded that
Tilli's letter was not defamatory, and also noted that
plaintiff had not alleged pecuniary damages. Although
the Appellate Division acknowledged that the letter
could be defamatory and concluded that plaintiff's
European undertaking with her students did not
implicate a public interest, 323 N.J. Super. at 22, it
affirmed the trial court's disposition. Citing this
Court's decision in Sisler v. Gannett Co.,
104 N.J. 256, 280, 291 (1986), the panel held that to maintain
a claim of defamation under New Jersey common law a
plaintiff must prove that her reputation has been
injured, that she suffered pecuniary loss, or that she
suffered extreme emotional distress. 323 N.J. Super.
at 23-24. One member of the panel dissented. The
dissenting member, relying on the doctrine of presumed
damages, concluded that proof of actual harm is not a
prerequisite to plaintiff's right to recover damages.
Id. at 27 (Lesemann, J.S.C., dissenting). Plaintiff
appealed to this Court as of right pursuant to Rule
2:2-1(a)(2).
Following oral argument, we afforded the parties
the opportunity to submit supplemental briefs
concerning whether defendant Tilli's letter implicated
the public interest. In response, the parties, as
well as the New Jersey Press Association as amicus
curiae, submitted briefs in which they discussed that
question. Defendants Tilli and École secondaire
contend that because Tilli's letter implicated the
public interest, plaintiff could not presume damages
and would have to prove actual malice to sustain her
suit. In contrast, plaintiff argues that, although
the letter implicated a matter of public concern, she
should be permitted to present her case to the jury to
demonstrate that defendants were motivated by malice.
“The law of defamation embodies the important public policy that individuals should generally be free to enjoy their reputations unimpaired by false and defamatory attacks.” Swede v. Passaic Daily News, 30 N.J. 320, 331 (1959). The law, however, is not without its limits. Defamation-law principles must “achieve the proper balance between protecting reputation and protecting free speech.” Ward v. Zelikovsky, 136 N.J. 516, 528 (1994). In that regard, “speech on 'matters of public concern' . . . is 'at the heart of the First Amendment's protection.'” Sisler, supra, 104 N.J. at 264-65 (quoting Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc., 472 U.S. 749, 758-59, 105 S. Ct. 2939, 2945, 86 L. Ed.2d 593, 602 (1985)). The same is true under our State Constitution. Id. at 271-72 (“[O]ur decisions, pronounced in the benevolent light of New Jersey's constitutional commitment to free speech, have stressed the vigor with which New Jersey fosters and nurtures speech on matters of public concern.”).
In the same vein, speech related to matters of public concern “occupies the 'highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values[.]'” Dun & Bradstreet, supra, 472 U.S. at 759, 105 S. Ct. at 2945, 86 L. Ed. 2d at 602 (quoting Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 145, 103 S. Ct. 1684, 1689, 75 L. Ed.2d 708, 718 (1983)). Such speech “requires maximum protection.” Sisler, supra, 104 N.J. at 266. Thus, when alleged defamatory remarks touch on a matter of public concern, “the interests of free speech justify, and fairness to individual reputation permits, application of a strict and high burden of proof to establish actionable defamation.” Id. at 275. Within that context, a plaintiff asserting a defamation claim cannot rely on the doctrine of presumed damages absent a finding that the defendant published the statement “with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.” New York Times, supra, 376 U.S. at 279-80, 84 S. Ct. at 726, 11 L. Ed. 2d at 706.
Applying those tenets here, we are satisfied that plaintiff may not rely on the doctrine of presumed damages. There is a strong public interest in the behavior of teachers, especially concerning their conduct with and around their students. DiCosala v. Kay, 91 N.J. 159, 180 (1982) (recognizing high degree of care required to be exercised toward children when adult's employment involves contact with children); cf. Standridge v. Ramey, 323 N.J. Super. 538, 545 (App. Div. 1999) (“[P]erformance of high school athletic teams is often a matter of substantial public interest within a community.”). Similarly, the Supreme Court of Connecticut has observed, “[u]nquestionably, members of society are profoundly interested in the qualifications and performance of the teachers who are responsible for educating and caring for the children in their classrooms.” Kelley v. Bonney, 606 A.2d 693, 710 (Conn. 1992).
In her supplemental brief, plaintiff acknowledges that defendant's letter implicates a matter of public concern. More specifically, she states that her “role was one as a fiduciary charged with the care of her students. On its face, the letter appears to concern itself with the students [sic] well being.” In view of that fiduciary role and the public interest, we believe that there must be free discourse, commentary, and criticism regarding a teacher's professionalism and behavior during a school-sponsored event. That principle, which is at the heart of this case, tips the scale in favor of requiring plaintiff to allege more than mere embarrassment to survive summary judgment. Hence, although a private figure, plaintiff is required to allege and prove pecuniary or reputational harm.
Moreover, teachers are aware that they will be subject to evaluation by members of their school boards, administrators, peers, parents, and students. In re L.R., 321 N.J. Super. 444, 452 (App. Div. 1999) (“The most obvious available measure to protect students from a teacher who poses a danger to their safety or welfare is for [Division of Youth and Family Services] to communicate its concerns and recommendations to the school district which employs the teacher.”). Accordingly, we must ensure that our jurisprudence does not act to chill complaints about a teacher's behavior in the presence of students or similar matters involving the public interest. Dairy Stores, Inc. v. Sentinel Publ'g Co., 104 N.J. 125, 157 (1986) (“[T]he fear of [being sued for defamation] can inhibit comment on matters of public concern.”); cf. Givhan v. Western Line Consol. Sch. Dist., 439 U.S. 410, 99 S. Ct. 693, 58 L. Ed.2d 619 (1979) (holding it improper to terminate teacher due to her complaints and criticism of school policies and practices communicated privately to principal; teacher's complaints were protected by First Amendment); Kailin v. Rainwater, 593 N.W.2d 865 (Wis. Ct. App. 1999) (explaining public interest in disclosure of principal's records of misconduct outweighed principal's privacy and reputational interests).
In this case, plaintiff failed to allege any specific harm to her reputation; instead, she felt embarrassed each time her students teased her about drinking alcohol. She was also concerned that others would find out about the letter, stating “you know how kids are.” However, the students learned of the letter's contents only after plaintiff herself distributed the letter to them. In contrast, defendant sent the letter directly and privately to plaintiff's principal. As stated at her deposition, plaintiff's only claim of harm is embarrassment caused by her own distribution of the letter. Although we do not diminish the sense of embarrassment asserted by plaintiff, plaintiff should not be able to recover for that embarrassment when she herself caused the material to be distributed.
Moreover, plaintiff incurred no medical expenses for her alleged health problems and did not miss any work due to her asserted ailments. Apparently, plaintiff did not go to a gastroenterologist regarding her claimed digestive problems until the day before her deposition, well after she asserted in her complaint that she required “prolonged medical treatment.” Likewise, plaintiff suffered no pecuniary harm -- she did not lose her job, suffer any form of discipline, or miss any days of work. Plaintiff continued to be permitted to chaperone European trips and did not suffer any loss associated with any other job.
In view of the record, the trial court appropriately disposed of plaintiff's case on summary judgment. The alleged defamatory material involves a matter of public concern, which is at the heart of the First Amendment and thus requires enhanced protection. We do not believe that in such a setting a plaintiff should be able to survive a motion for summary judgment when she has failed to provide any evidence of harm beyond her embarrassment. Sisler, supra, 104 N.J. at 281.
Lastly, in Costello, supra, 136 N.J. at 615, we made clear that under the heightened actual-malice standard,
[p]laintiffs . . . must produce substantial evidence to survive a motion for summary judgment. Although courts construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party in a summary judgment motion, the “clear and convincing” standard in defamation action adds an additional weight to the plaintiffs' usual “preponderance of the evidence” burden.
We decide this case on our conclusion that the content of defendant's letter implicated the public interest and that plaintiff's proofs fell short of the actual-malice standard. We reserve for a future case the question whether the doctrine of presumed damages should apply to claims made by a private-figure plaintiff when no public interest is implicated. Similarly, in view of our conclusion that society's interest in the content of the letter mandated that plaintiff proffer proof of reputational or pecuniary harm, we do not need to decide whether the letter represented a privileged communication.
As modified, the judgment of the Appellate Division is affirmed.
CHIEF JUSTICE PORITZ and JUSTICES STEIN, COLEMAN, LONG, and LaVECCHIA join in JUSTICE VERNIERO's opinion. JUSTICE O'HERN filed a separate dissenting opinion.
SUPREME COURT OF NEW JERSEY A- 34 September Term 1999
ANA ROCCI,
Plaintiff
Appellant,
v.
ECOLE SECONDAIRE
MACDONALD-CARTIER,
a foreign entity
and EDWARD TILLI,
Defendants
Respondents,
and
JAVIER MATIACCI
RODRIGUEZ and JOHN
DOE (1-10),
Defendants.
O'HERN, J., dissenting.
As the late William Prosser observed
many years ago, “There is a great deal about
the law of defamation which makes no sense.”
Matters are even worse today. According to
the authors of a leading casebook, “[t]he
current state of libel law has been deplored
by almost everyone affected by it.”
Plaintiffs are dissatisfied, in large part
because their success rate is extremely low,
while defendants are frustrated because they
cannot prevail earlier in the litigation and
thus, incur substantial litigation costs. . .
. [M]any, if not most, of the problems in
modern defamation law can be traced to its
constitutionalization by the Supreme Court .
. . .
[Cynthia Nance, The Uniform Correction or
Clarification of Defamation Act: How Not to
Reform Arkansas Defamation Law,
51 Ark. L.
Rev. 721 (1998).]
In this case, which “makes no sense” to me, I dissent
primarily for the reasons stated by Judge Lesemann in the
Appellate Division.
323 N.J. Super. 18, 26(App. Div. 1999).
The only issue before us is the viability of the doctrine of
“presumed damages.” In Ward v. Zelikovsky,
263 N.J. Super. 497
(App. Div. 1993), Judge Antell traced the history of the
requirement of special damages in slander actions to the ancient
divisions between ecclesiastical courts and the King's courts.
Ecclesiastical courts had jurisdiction over spiritual matters and
the King's Court over temporal matters. Defamation without
temporal losses was a sin to be punished in the church courts.
The requirement of special damages was an accident of
history designed to resolve a jurisdictional conflict. Justice
Holmes once noted that “whenever we trace a leading doctrine of
substantive law far enough back, we are very likely to find some
forgotten circumstance of procedure at its source.” Oliver W.
Holmes, Jr. The Common Law 253 (1991).
Presumed damages were simply a procedural device to get out
of the church courts. It is one thing to state that damages for
defamation may not be presumed in cases of public concern without
a showing of actual malice. It is quite another thing to say
that one does not suffer damages from defamation unless pecuniary
or special loss may be proven. In Milkovich v. Lorain Journal
Co.,
497 U.S. 1, 10,
110 S. Ct. 2695, 2701 (1990), Chief Justice
Rehnquist quoted the familiar lines from Shakespeare's Othello:
Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls.
Who steals my purse steals trash;
'Tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to
thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.
Defamation law developed as a means of allowing an individual to
vindicate her good name, and also for the purpose of obtaining
redress for harm caused by such statements. Ibid. (citing L.
Eldredge Law of Defamation 5 (1978) (emphasis added)).
“Preventing and redressing attacks upon reputation” is one of the
“important social values” underlying the law of defamation.
Rosenblatt v. Baer, 383 U.S. 75, 86, 86 S. Ct. 669, 676,
15 L.
Ed.2d 597, 605 (1966).
Under New Jersey law, four kinds of statements qualify as
slander per se that is defamation that in and of itself injures
the person: accusing another (1) of having committed a criminal
offense, (2) of having a loathsome disease, (3) of engaging in
conduct or having a condition or trait incompatible with his or
her business, or (4) of having engaged in serious sexual
misconduct. Biondi v. Nassimos,
300 N.J.Super. 148, 154 (App.
Div. 1997).
In this case, in which defendant's allegedly defamatory
statements were written instead of oral, the Court holds that
plaintiff must produce evidence of special damage to her
reputation. This requirement of “temporal losses” (rooted as it
was in antipathy to ecclesiastical courts) serves no legitimate
purpose today. Are we really to expect that a defamed teacher
must produce witnesses who will testify that they believed the
false and malicious gossip spread about her by a teacher who went
on the school trip with her? Would a judge who was falsely
libeled as having been drunk on the bench have to produce lawyers
or judges to say that “yes, indeed we did believe that the judge
was an inebriate”? I should think not.
At common law, a libel plaintiff who established that he was
the subject of a published defamatory statement was presumed,
without the necessity of specific trial proof, to have been
damaged. In Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.,
418 U.S. 323, 349,
94 S. Ct. 2997, 3011,
41 L. Ed.2d 789, 810-11 (1974). Justice
Powell, writing for the majority and disapproving of the doctrine
of presumed damages, commented:
The common law of defamation is an oddity of
tort law, for it allows recovery of
purportedly compensatory damages without
evidence of actual loss. Under the
traditional rules pertaining to actions for
libel, the existence of injury is presumed
from the fact of publication. Juries may
award substantial sums as compensation for
supposed damage to reputation without any
proof that such harm actually occurred.
Without the limiting restraint of trial proof, juries were
able to punish unpopular opinion or unpopular defendants.
Repudiating the common law libel doctrine of presumed damages,
the Court held: "For the reasons stated below, we hold that the
States may not permit recovery of presumed or punitive damages,
at least when liability is not based on a showing of knowledge of
falsity or reckless disregard for the truth." Gertz, supra, 418
U.S. at 349, 94 S. Ct. at 3011, 41 L. Ed.
2d at 810.See footnote 11
The converse proposition, of course, is that, if actual
malice is established, plaintiff is entitled to recover presumed
damages without proof of loss of reputation or damages.
When in Sisler v. Gannett Co., 104 N.J. 256 (1986), we
required a showing of actual malice in order to recover presumed
damages in matters implicating the public concern, we did not
intend the converse _ that consequential special or economic
damages were required as a condition to the recovery of damages
to reputation. Gertz simply held, as a matter of federal
constitutional law, that all such libel plaintiffs must prove
actual injury and damage. Gertz itself explained:
Suffice it to say that actual injury is
not limited to out-of-pocket loss. Indeed,
the more customary types of actual harm
inflicted by defamatory falsehood include
impairment of reputation and standing in the
community, personal humiliation and mental
anguish and suffering. Of course, juries must
be limited by appropriate instructions, and
all awards must be supported by competent
evidence concerning the injury, although
there need be no evidence which assigns an
actual dollar value to the injury.
[Gertz, supra, 418 U.S. at 350, 94 S. Ct. at
3012, 41 L. Ed.
2d at 811.]
Canino v. New York News, Inc.,
96 N.J. 189,(1984) held that
a defamation action survives death under the Survival Act. We
reasoned that the earlier New Jersey courts had held that “libel
or slander, an injury to the person, quite apart from economic
loss, was a trespass or, as it was known then and now, a tort.”
Id. at 195 (emphasis added). At common law, for an injury to the
person, such as an assault or battery, one need not establish
economic damages _ only the hurt itself.
Had this been an action in slander (that is, for oral
defamation), a statement that adversely reflected on the
plaintiff's fitness as a teacher (what is worse than a drunken
teacher?) would fall within the categories of slander per se that
do not require a showing of special damages. Such damages,
referred to as “general damages” in the context of defamation
law, are to be distinguished from an award of mere nominal
damages. They may, upon a showing of slander per se, be awarded
without any proof going to damages upon the theory that the jury,
by its own understanding, is competent to calculate approximate
compensation for the injury to the plaintiff's feelings and
reputation that would naturally flow from the publication of such
derogatory remarks. Charles T. McCormick, Handbook on the Law of
Damages 116 (1935) (citing Doherty v. L.B. Price Merchantile Co.,
132 39,
95 So. 790, 790-91 (1923); Hubbard v. Rutledge,
52 Miss. 581 (1976)). General damages in defamation law constitute those
losses that are normally, usually, and foreseeably caused by the
harm to the plaintiff's reputation. General damages may
encompass not only monetary harm, but also those losses that are
not readily subject to economic calculation, such as losses to
one's enjoyment of life, damage to one's dignity, and damage to
one's relationships with others. Restatement (Second) of Torts §
621 cmt. a. In Dun & Bradstreet, the Supreme Court recognized
that the rationale for the common-law rules was the experience
and judgment of history that “proof of actual damage will be
impossible in a great many cases where, from the character of the
defamatory words and the circumstances of publication it is all
but certain that serious harm has resulted in fact.” 472 U.S. at
760, 105 S. Ct. at 2946, 86 L. Ed.
2d at 603 (citing W. Prosser,
Law of Torts § 112, p. 765 (4th ed. 1971).
It would be a paradox that a written statement that
subjected a teacher to “social opprobrium” (which case law
defines as “public condemnation, hatred, contempt, ridicule or
disgrace” Kimmerle v. New York Evening Journal, Inc., 262
N.Y. 99, 102(1933)) would not be actionable when an oral
statement would be actionable.
I am all for doing away with the jargon of defamation law-
“libel per se,” “libel per quod,” and so forth. I am all for
retaining the common sense judgment of history that a jury, in
its own understanding, is competent to calculate an appropriate
award for damage to reputation. Defamation is a dignitary tort
that injures the person. Damages need not be presumed, but
juries may be instructed that they may find that a person has
been injured when subjected to social opprobrium such that her
fitness to practice a profession has been falsely impugned. Ana
Rocci acknowledges that her case involves a matter of public
concern. She alleges that she can establish that defendants
published the libel against her with actual malice, that is with
reckless disregard for its truth. She should be permitted to
present her case to a jury without having to prove special
damages other than the damage to her good name.
Finally, I need comment but briefly on the Court's reliance
on Costello v. Ocean County Observer,
136 N.J. 594 (1994).
Relying on Costello (a case that involved the non-liability of
busy reporter trying to decipher public documents as a deadline
approached not a gossipy fellow-teacher), the Court further
justifies its dismissal on the basis that plaintiff had
insufficiently pleaded or proved the actual malice (reckless
disregard for truth) required by Sisler, supra, and New York
Times Co. v. Sullivan,
376 U.S. 254,
84 S. Ct. 710,
11 L. Ed.2d 686 (1964), in matters of public concern. That point was never
raised at any time in these proceedings. The only points raised
in defendant's Supreme Court briefs were that plaintiff had
failed to establish the requisite defamation element of damages,
that the Court should eliminate the doctrine of presumed damages
and that plaintiff had failed to establish “actual reputational
injury, either pecuniary or non-pecuniary.”
I would have thought that the time had long since passed
when litigants would be deprived of a day in Court on the basis
of a theory of law neither pleaded nor advanced by a party. In
Vacca v. Stika, Chief Justice Vanderbilt, a principal architect
of our judicial system, explained the goals of our jurisprudence:
The philosophy underlying our present system
of procedure is not something to be
recognized in the abstract, to be much
discussed but less often followed and
applied. The evils of delay, technicalities
and multiplicity of action in order to obtain
complete relief in the courts were the
critical elements that led to the reform
movement in this State, of which the adoption
of our Constitution of 1947 and new rules of
procedure were only the beginning. The
important lesson we all had to learn was that
we must always keep foremost in our minds the
need of a progressive system for the
administration of justice if we are not
gradually to relapse into the old ways of
delay, technicalities and surprise. To
prevent this . . . is the day-to-day
obligation of the bench and bar.
[
21 N.J. 471, 475 (1956) (emphasis added).]
Consistent with that philosophy, the Court has always recognized that "justice is the polestar [of our judicial system] and our procedures must be moulded and applied with that in mind," New Jersey Highway Auth. v. Renner, 18 N.J. 485, 495, (1955), and we have consistently held that "the paramount policies of our law require that . . . the plaintiff be afforded an opportunity to have the claim adjudicated on the merits." Crispin v. Volkswagenwerk, A.G., 96 N.J. 336, 338 (1984). I would do that here. Rather than to surprise plaintiff with a theory that she has never had the chance to meet, I would let her have her day in court.
NO. A-34 SEPTEMBER TERM 1999
ON APPEAL FROM Appellate Division, Superior Court
ON CERTIFICATION TO
ANA ROCCI,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
ECOLE SECONDAIRE MACDONALD-
CARTIER, a foreign entity and
EDWARD TILLI,
Defendants-Respondents,
and
JAVIER MATIACCI RODRIGUEZ and
JOHN DOE (1-10),
Defendants.
DECIDED August 1, 2000
Chief Justice Poritz PRESIDING
OPINION BY Justice Verniero
CONCURRING OPINION BY
DISSENTING OPINION BY Justice O'Hern
Footnote: 1 1In Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc., 472 U.S. 749, 761, 105 S. Ct. 2939, 2946, 86 L. Ed.2d 593, 603-04 (1985), the Court held that the Gertz restrictions on the availability of presumed damages do not apply to all speech. Because there is a "reduced constitutional value [in] speech involving no matters of public concern," presumed and punitive damages may be awarded "even absent a showing of 'actual malice.'"