Summary
The Supreme Court of Virginia held that a statement falsely attributing a quotation to the plaintiffs could constitute an actionable statement of fact in a defamation action. The court rejected the circuit court's conclusion that the statement was a protected expression of opinion, reversed the judgment sustaining the demurrer, and remanded for further proceedings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the alleged statement that Tharpe told Saunders he was going to "screw the Authority like he did Fort Pickett" was a constitutionally protected expression of opinion or an actionable statement of fact.
- Whether a false attribution of a quotation may support a defamation claim regardless of whether the matters asserted within the quotation are true or false.
Holdings
- The alleged statement was an actionable statement of fact, not a protected expression of opinion, because the attribution that Tharpe made the quoted statement was capable of being proved true or false.
- A false attribution of a quotation to a plaintiff may constitute an actionable statement of fact and support a defamation claim regardless of whether the factual or opinion content within the quotation is true or false, when the attribution itself allegedly injures the plaintiff's reputation.
Key quotations
“Applying these principles, Saunders' statement that "Tharpe told me that Tharpe was going to screw the Authority like he did Fort Pickett" is indisputably capable of being proven true or false.” (at 7)
“Therefore, regardless of the truth or falsity of the matters asserted in the quote attributed to Tharpe, Saunders' statement is an actionable statement of fact.” (at 10)
Factual background
Shearin Construction, acting through Jeffrey Tharpe, performed excavation work at Fort Pickett and later at Butcher's Creek Landfill. After disputes concerning compensation for rock encountered during the projects, competitor J. Harman Saunders allegedly told a county administrator that Tharpe had said he was going to "screw the Authority like he did Fort Pickett." Tharpe and Shearin alleged that Tharpe never made that statement, that Saunders knowingly or recklessly fabricated the attribution, and that the statement harmed their business reputations and caused related litigation and financial losses.
Procedural history
Tharpe and Shearin Construction filed an amended complaint alleging that Saunders falsely attributed a defamatory statement to Tharpe. Saunders and Saunders Construction demurred, arguing that the statement was an expression of opinion and therefore not actionable. The Circuit Court of Halifax County sustained the demurrer on that ground. The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed and remanded.
Remand instructions
The case was remanded for further proceedings after reversal of the judgment sustaining the demurrer on the ground that the alleged defamatory statement was opinion.