Shipley v. Knoxville Journal Corp.

NEARN, Presiding Judge,

Western Section.

This is an appeal from an order in a libel action dismissing the action because “the article and headline in question were not defamatory as alleged ...”

Harold Shipley, the Knoxville City Safety Director, filed suit against the Knoxville Journal Corporation and its reporter Ted Griffith alleging that the defendants had libeled him by publishing a front page news story and headline written by defendant Griffith. The complaint charged that the publication was false; that the publication was done out of malice with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless…