Wright v. Haas

LAVENDER, Vice Chief Justice:

Michael Wright (Wright), a Norman, Oklahoma, resident, brought a libel suit against Fielding Haas (Haas), a former Norman city attorney. The alleged defamatory statements were contained in a letter 1 written by Haas that was addressed to the editor of, and published, in The Oklahoma Daily, the University of Oklahoma newspaper. The Haas letter was in response to a letter 2 written by Wright similarly addressed and published in the same newspaper a few days before the Haas response. These letters were preceded by a background of controversy involving a local issue…