Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. v. Jacobson case brief

Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. v. Jacobson case brief summary
713 F.2d 262 (7th Cir. 1983)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Appellant tobacco company sought review of the judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, which dismissed its libel action against appellees, reporter and broadcaster, as violative of U.S.Const. Amend. I. Appellant argued that appellees' report was libel per se, interfered with business relationships, and disparaged its product.

CASE FACTS
Appellees, reporter and broadcaster, broadcast a summary of a government report that appellant tobacco company encouraged children to smoke cigarettes. The trial court dismissed appellant's libel suit. Appellant sought review, arguing that appellees' program was libel per se, interfered with business relationships, and disparaged its product.

DISCUSSION

• The court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. 
• The court ruled that if appellant's reputation for adhering to the moral standards of the community in which it sold its products was assailed by appellees in a fashion likely to have harmed appellant, appellant was libeled under Illinois law, and appellant's complaint sufficiently pleaded a claim for libel. 
• The court held that appellees' summary of a government report was not privileged if the summary unfairly amplified the report's libelous effect or was solely intended to harm appellant. 
• The court affirmed dismissal of appellant's other claims which the court characterized as make-weight.

CONCLUSION
The court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded the trial court's dismissal of appellant tobacco company's libel suit. The court found that appellant had adequately pleaded that appellee reporter's story was libelous, but the court affirmed dismissal of appellant's claims for product disparagement and tortious interference.

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