Private Plaintiff (Media
defendant)
Private Plaintiff (Nonmedia defendant
Public Plaintiff
Private Concern
Public concern
? We don’t know for sure. Some
dicta to help though. Definitely no
punitive damages.
Greenmoss: Facts: credit report
given to a room of 5 people. Very
fractured court finds punitives are
OK because there was actual
malice. Falls in the gap in the
Gertz rule
NO ANSWERS EVER. The court has
not told us, so there is no
constitutional protection.
Likelihood of this happening is
very low. Court will usually push
private concerns into the public
concern box.
Gertz says at least negligence, with
caveats for no punitive damages.
Gertz/Milkovich punitive damages
require actual malice
Media D: Sullivan, must prove
actual malice to recover!
Non-Media D: Sullivan (we think?)
Court opinion is unclear. Probably
actual malice. Again, super rare
type of case. Public figures don’t
care what 1 person on the street
thinks. Damages are super low
Issue 1: Identity of Plaintiff. Private versus public
Issue 2: Type of concern. Private versus public
Issue 3: Type of defendant (only matters for private plaintiffs): Media versus non-media