Derek Haskell v. Stauffer Communications, Inc.

Defamation - Invasion of Privacy - On September 2, 1994, the Dodge City Globe printed an article with
the headline, "WANTED - Recent poster evokes memories of town's
Wild West era." The article reported the appearance within Dodge
City of posters resembling old-fashioned "Wanted" notices, which
bore a photograph of Haskell. The text of the poster revealed his
penchant for carrying unconcealed weapons in public, suggested he
should be incarcerated or committed, listed various news articles
and law enforcement agencies to which one could refer for more
information, and suggested a reward.

The news article included a picture of the poster. The news
article clarified that Haskell was not wanted by law enforcement
and that carrying unconcealed weapons is legal. It included
statements from the Dodge City police chief discussing Haskell's
legal but frightening behavior and mentioning the context of the
Dodge City wild west image.

On August 31, 1995, Haskell sued Ted Harbin, the reporter;
Stauffer Communications, Inc., owner of the Dodge City Daily
Globe; and John Doe and Richard Roe for defamation, outrage, and
infringement of his constitutional right to bear arms. John Doe
and Richard Roe are defendants whose names are unknown by Haskell.
They are charged with printing, publishing, and displaying the
posters. Later, Haskell amended the petition to include an
invasion of privacy claim.

Following a May 1997 trial, a jury
awarded Haskell $2,500 on a misappropriation of name or likeness
claim, one of the four bases for invasion of privacy recovery
enumerated in PIK Civ. 2d 14.61.

Unknown

Unknown

Reversed by the Court of Appeals of Kansas. See: ___ P.2d ___, ___ Kan. App. 2d ___ (1999). Note: The above date reflects the appellate court decision date, not the original trial date. Reported by kkm.