TX Supreme Court Answers Questions About Defamation in Lawsuit against Paige Patterson
Now the 5th Circuit will use those answers in its decision about the plaintiff’s appeal.
In a case involving a report of sexual assault at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled that a person supplying defamatory material can be held liable even if they weren’t the one who published it.
In this file photo via RNS, Paige Patterson preaches at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary campus in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo courtesy of SWBTS
Jane Roe, who brought the defamation lawsuit, was a student at Southwestern in 2015 when she claims to have reported an attack and rape on campus to then-President Paige Patterson. Patterson was terminated, at least in part, due to his handling of the sexual assault charges.
Roe claims she was defamed in a donor letter supporting Patterson’s reinstatement — a letter that Scott Colter, Patterson’s chief of staff, assisted in drafting and distributing.
Roe says statements in the letter claiming she lied about her rape, engaged in sexual activities in seminary buildings, and provided nude photos to the man who raped her are all false and defamatory.
The federal district court granted a summary judgment in favor of the defendants on the defamation claims, concluding that Colter was not acting as Patterson’s agent. The plaintiff’s claims against Patterson and the seminary would go no further, so she appealed.
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit accepted the case for review on appeal and posed two questions about state law to the Texas Supreme Court:
- Can a person who supplies defamatory material to another for publication be liable for defamation?
- If so, can a defamation plaintiff survive summary judgment by presenting evidence that a defendant was involved in preparing a defamatory publication, without identifying any specific statements made by the defendant?
The Texas Supreme Court answered both questions affirmatively. The court pointed out that a plaintiff claiming defamation must show that the statements were false and defamatory, that the defendant was the source of the statements, and that the defendant intended or knew that the defamatory statements would be published.
About the second question, the court found that the plaintiff has to identify the defamatory statement, but only needs to show that the defendant was the source of the defamation. The court noted that a specific statement for publication may have been made orally or by some other “undiscoverable” means so producing a “verbatim” statement made by the defendant is not necessary.
Oral argument was heard at the Fifth Circuit in April 2024, but the case was paused awaiting the response of the Texas Supreme Court on these two certified questions pertaining to Texas law.
Now that the Texas Supreme Court has answered the questions about defamation law in Texas, the 5th Circuit will issue its decision about whether Roe’s case can proceed forward.
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