Curtis Publishing Company v. Wallace Butts, Wallace Butts v. Curtis Publishing Company

Wallace Butts, former Athletic Director of the University of Georgia, instituted this diversity action in the district court against the Curtis Publishing Company, publishers of The Saturday Evening Post. The complaint demanded $5,000,000 general and $5,000,000 punitive damages for an alleged libel contained in an article entitled, “The Story of a College Football Fix,” which was published in the March 23, 1963, issue of the Post. The action resulted in a jury verdict against the defendant for $60,-000 general damages and $3,000,000 punitive damages. The district court granted the defendant’s…