Haynes and Boone, LLP Partner Jason Bloom was featured in a D Magazine online article about a defamation case he argued before the Texas Supreme Court. The court ruled in favor of the publication on Friday.
Here is an excerpt of the ruling:
We now turn finally to Reyes’ petition complaining that the court of appeals erred in holding that D Magazine was entitled to summary judgment on his claims for defamation, conspiracy to defame, and negligence, and in refusing to reverse summary judgment in favor of D Magazine on his claim of defamation per se.
The court of appeals considered every one of the 15 statements in the D Magazine article of which Reyes complained and concluded that they were either true, or rhetorical hyperbole, or subjective opinion, or otherwise nonverifiable. None, the court summarized, “qualifies as a false statement of verifiable fact,” and therefore none is defamatory. “[S]tatements that are not verifiable as false cannot form the basis of a defamation claim.” Reyes disagrees with the court of appeals’ conclusion, but only for reasons the court fully considered. We need not reiterate the court’s analysis here. Having carefully reviewed it, along with Reyes’ arguments, we conclude that the court reached essentially the correct result.
To read the full article, click here.