Novel v. Garrison

294 F. Supp. 825, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9208
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedJanuary 2, 1969
Docket67 C 1895
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 294 F. Supp. 825 (Novel v. Garrison) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Novel v. Garrison, 294 F. Supp. 825, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9208 (N.D. Ill. 1969).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

CAMPBELL, Chief Judge.

This is a libel action brought by plaintiff, a citizen of Ohio, against defendants Jim Garrison, a citizen of Louisiana, (“Garrison”) and HMH Publishing Co., Inc., (“HMH”) a corporation incorporated under the laws of Delaware and having its principal place of business in the state of Illinois. Defendant Garrison is the elected District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Defendant HMH is publisher of a widely circulated magazine known as Playboy. The cause of action alleged herein grows out of an interview given by defendant Garrison to the HMH Publishing Co. and regard *827 ing his widely publicized investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The interview resulted in a lengthy article which was published in Playboy Magazine and which plaintiff alleges was libelous. Defendant HMH does not question the jurisdiction of this court and has filed its answer to plaintiff’s complaint. Defendant Garrison has filed a motion to dismiss in which he argues that this court lacks jurisdiction over his person and also that the case should be dismissed for improper venue.

In support of his motion to dismiss, defendant Garrison has filed an affidavit stating that prior to June 24, 1967 Mr. Mark Lane, an attorney and author, asked Garrison if he would grant an interview to Eric Norden, a free lance writer, for publication in Playboy Magazine. Garrison met with Norden in New Orleans and later communicated with him by telephone while Norden was in Brooklyn, New York. At no time was Garrison personally present in the state of Illinois in connection with the interview which is the subject matter of this action. Garrison further states that he has not been in Illinois more than twice in the past 40 years and not at all in the past two years. Garrison received no payment for the article printed in Playboy.

Before publication of the article, Garrison learned that Playboy’s principal office was in Chicago. 1 In fact, he received a number of telephone calls from Playboy’s Chicago office with reference to the interview. It is clear from a reading of all the pleadings, affidavits and answers to interrogatories filed herein that at the time of publication Garrison knew that the interview would be printed and published by HMH in Playboy Magazine in Chicago, Illinois, and be distributed from Chicago throughout the state of Illinois as well as many other states. 2 Galley proofs of the interview had been sent to Garrison from Chicago and upon receipt Garrison made notations and changes and returned the proofs to Playboy’s office in Chicago. 3 Defendant Garrison participated in numerous and lengthy telephone calls with the Playboy office in Chicago dealing with the subject matter, form and content of the interview. Various documents and memoranda were also exchanged by mail. 4

The interview appeared in Playboy’s issue of October, 1967. There were apparently seven editions 5 of that issue, all edited and printed in Chicago, Illinois, and either delivered here to the post office for mailing or to various carriers for shipment to local points of distribution. Only the central edition is distributed in Illinois. Five of the six editions, other than the central edition, were placed on sale at newsstands and mailed to subscribers at least seven days before they were available to subscribers or purchasers in Illinois. More than sixty per cent of the copies were thus placed on sale at newsstands outside Illinois and mailed to subscribers outside Illinois a week before any copies were placed on sale in Illinois or mailed to Illinois subscribers.

*828 Garrison also appeared on various television shows originating in New York, but carried into Illinois. A newspaper, National Insider, which is edited, printed and published in Illinois, carried a number of articles dealing with the Garrison investigation. One of the articles was by-lined “Jim Garrison” 6 . Garrison denies that any of these articles were written with his authorization. 7 In any event, these articles are not the subject matter of this suit. Plaintiff relates their existence only to illustrate, for jurisdictional purposes, Garrison’s contacts with Illinois.

Plaintiff argues that Garrison is subject to the jurisdiction of this court because by the above activities he has within the meaning of the Illinois “long arm” statute, 8 either (a) transacted business in Illinois; 9 or (b) committed a tortious act within this state. 10

DOING BUSINESS

It is the contention of plaintiff that the Playboy article and the many other articles and television appearances taken together constitute the “transaction of business” within the meaning of the Illinois Act. Garrison, in turn argues that the various articles (other than the Playboy interview) and the television appearances have no bearing on the jurisdictional issue, “since long-arm jurisdiction may be based only on the transactions from which the claim arose.” 11 While I do not necessarily agree that to assert jurisdiction under the Illinois Act a claim must be related to defendants activities within the state, (Gordon v. International Tel. and Tel. Corp., (N.D.Ill., 1967) 273 F.Supp. 164, I do find from all of the facts that even under the liberal interpretation generally afforded the Illinois Act, Garrison was not transacting business or engaged in any business transaction in Illinois. (See Koplin v. Saul Lerner Co. Inc., 52 Ill.App.2d 97, 201 N.E.2d 763 (1964)).

THE COMMISSION OF A TORTIOUS ACT

Plaintiff next argues that by sending the alleged libelous article into Illinois to be edited, printed and published here, and by his participation in that editing and publishing by phone and by mail, Garrison has committed a tortious act within this state. Defendant argues that no tortious act was committed in Illinois because an essential element of the alleged libel — the publication — occurred elsewhere. 12 And, the “single publication” rule, as interpreted by the Illinois courts, limits the place of the tort to the state where it was first published. Garrison further argues that, even were the tort committed here, because this is a libel action certain “First Amendment considerations” prohibit the court from exerting jurisdiction over his person.

THE ILLINOIS LONG-ARM STATUTE

A discussion of the historical setting of the Illinois long-arm statute appropriately starts with International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed.

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Bluebook (online)
294 F. Supp. 825, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9208, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/novel-v-garrison-ilnd-1969.