James P. Caswell v. The Manhattan Fire & Marine Insurance Company

GODBOLD, Circuit Judge:

The defendant, Manhattan Fire & Marine Insurance Co., was granted summary judgment. James P. Caswell, plaintiff, appeals. This Florida diversity case arose out of an allegedly libelous report published by the National Board of Fire Underwriters (now the American Insurance Association) to various insurance companies. 1

The district court granted summary judgment on the grounds that the report was not libelous per se 2 and that the record established defendant’s affirmative defense of privilege. Hence, the issue of whether the report was false was treated as immaterial.

The…