Medico, Philip T. v. Time, Inc

OPINION OF THE COURT

ADAMS, Circuit Judge.

This appeal from a summary judgment in favor of the defendant presents an important question concerning the law of defamation. We must review the district court’s determination that a news magazine enjoys a privilege, under the common law of Pennsylvania, to publish a summary of FBI documents identifying the plaintiff as a member of an organized crime “family.” We affirm.

I

In its March 6,1978 issue, Time magazine published an article describing suspected criminal activities of then-Congressman Daniel J. Flood. The article stated that Stephen Elko, a…