Pendleton v. City of Haverhill

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

This appeal presents a problematic First Amendment question as to whether the plaintiff was a “limited-purpose public figure” required to prove actual malice in order to recover for defamation. After careful consideration of this, and other, issues, we reject the plaintiff’s appeal.

I. THE PREDICATE FACTS

Plaintiff-appellant Toney Pendleton, an African American in his mid-forties, hails from Haverhill, Massachusetts. He is well known in the community both because of his family ties and because of his exploits as a high-school athlete.

A. The Job Market.

Starting in the late…