Gast v. Brittain

Fletcher, Chief Justice.

We granted certiorari in this case to determine whether the Court of Appeals correctly held that a letter written by the defendant, Andrew Gast, could reasonably be interpreted to state or imply defamatory facts about the plaintiff, Doyle Brittain, Sr. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to Gast and held that his letter could imply objective defamatory facts that are capable of being proved false. Because the letter does not constitute actionable libel, however, we reverse.

Before sending the letter that became the basis of this…