T. Joseph v. The Scranton Times

105 A.3d 655, 629 Pa. 311, 2014 Pa. LEXIS 3088

• Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• Decided: November 25, 2014
• Docket: 407 MAL 2014 (Granted)
• Status: Published

Opinion

ORDER

PER CURIAM.

AND NOW, this 25th day of November, 2014, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is GRANTED. The issues, as stated by petitioners, are:

a) Whether an appellate court may disregard the foundational rules requiring deference to the trial court’s factual findings and credibility determinations?

b) Whether a court may disregard the First Amendment constraints on defamation actions by concluding that the injury-in-fact liability element of a defamation claim is established without proof of reputational harm caused by defamatory statements?

c) Whether a court may disregard the First Amendment constraints on defamation actions by holding that proof of actual malice relieves plaintiffs of their burden to prove injury-in-fact?

d) Whether a court may disregard the First Amendment constraints that require a defamation plaintiff to prove falsity and fault on the part of a media defendant and order a retrial on damages only where the record does not establish that a plaintiff met his constitutional burdens?