Date: 05-07-2001

Case Style: Collins v. Detroit Free Press

Case Number: 218313

Judge: Per Curiam

Court: Court of Appeals of Michigan

Plaintiff's Attorney: C. William Garratt and Sarah C. Arnold of Garratt & Bachand, P.D., Bloomfield, Michigan

Defendant's Attorney: Herschel P. fink and Cameron J. Evans of Honigman Miller Schwart and Cohn, Detroit, Michigan

Description: Defendants appeal by leave granted the trial court's order denying their motion for summary disposition of plaintiff 's defamation action. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

Plaintiff was the United States Representative for Michigan's 15th Congressional District, located in Detroit. In 1996, plaintiff was seeking reelection to a fourth term, and she faced opposition in the August primary election. In May 1996, plaintiff was interviewed by defendant Ann Hazard-Hargrove, an employee of defendant States News Service in Washington, D.C.1 The interview was tape-recorded and transcribed. The Washington defendants provided the tape and the transcript of the interview to defendant Detroit Free Press, Inc. On July 17, 1996, the Detroit Free Press published a story, based on the interview, concerning plaintiff 's views on racism. The article attributed the following quotation to plaintiff:

All white people, I don't believe, are intolerant. That's why I say I love the individuals, but I hate the race. . . . [Emphasis added; ellipsis in original.]

On July 30, 1996, plaintiff issued a news release in response to the story. Plaintiff explained that she had "summarized [her] thoughts on racism by stating that [she] loved the individual but that '[she] hated the (sins committed by) the white race against people of color throughout history.'" On July 31, 1996, a story circulated on the Associated Press wire service repeating the original quotation and indicating that defendants had verified the quotation and found it to be accurate.

On August 9, 1996, after plaintiff had lost the primary election for her congressional seat, the Detroit Free Press published a retraction. The Free Press admitted that plaintiff had been quoted "incorrectly," said that it "clearly made a mistake," and indicated that the Free Press would consider disciplinary action against the reporter and editors involved. After the tape and transcript of the interview had been reviewed, the Free Press admitted that plaintiff had actually said:

All white people, I don't believe, are intolerant. That's why I say, I love the individuals, but I don't like the race. [Emphasis added.]

Plaintiff filed the instant action asserting claims of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, intentional publication of injurious falsehoods, false light invasion of privacy, violation of the consumer protection act, and conspiracy. Defendants moved for summary disposition, arguing that the "gist" or "sting" of the original article was substantially true. The trial court rejected this argument and determined that "hate" and "dislike" had substantially different meanings, especially in this context. The court was satisfied that "the word 'hate' can have a major effect on the minds of the readers, particularly in the minds of the readers in a jurisdiction such as Detroit." The trial court further stated that plaintiff had presented evidence of fault amounting to negligence on the part of the Washington defendants. The court denied defendants' motion for summary disposition.

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Click the case caption above for the full text of the Court's opinion.

Outcome: Reversed and remanded.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: None