Lovett v. Citizen

VICTORY, Judge.

Appellant, the Caddo Citizen, appeals an adverse judgment of the district court casting it for damages incurred by the plaintiff as a result of its publishing a false news story stating that plaintiff had been arrested in connection with a burglary. For the reasons expressed herein, we reverse.

FACTS

On April 7, 1988, the Caddo Citizen, the local newspaper in Vivian, Louisiana, published an article in its weekly paper stating that petitioner, Belvin C. Lovett,1 had been arrested in connection with a theft in the Vivian area. No such arrest occurred.2 The error was promptly…