Sisley v. Seattle Public Schools

¶1 To overcome a defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissal in an action for defamation, a plaintiff must establish falsity, unprivileged communication, fault, and damages. Here, the plaintiff failed to do so and thus the summary judgment dismissal of the defamation claim was appropriate. We affirm the trial court’s order.

FACTS

¶2 In March 2009, The Roosevelt News, Roosevelt High School’s student newspaper, published an article entitled, “Sisley Slums Cause Controversy: Developers and neighborhood clash over land use.” The article, written by Emily Shugerman, a student at Roosevelt High…