Facts:
·
"An Island of Fear" was published by Newsweek in its Feb 23, 1981.
It allegedly portrayed the island province of Negros Occidental as a place dominated by big landowners or
sugarcane planters who not only exploited the impoverished workers, but
also brutalized and killed them with impunity. #peachesdiaries
·
Newsweek
filed a motion to dismiss on the
grounds that
o
the
printed article sued upon is not
actionable in fact and in law;
o
the
complaint is bereft of allegations
that state, much less support a cause of action.
·
Trial
court denied the motion to dismiss. Complaint on its face states a valid cause
of action; and the question as to whether the printed article sued upon its
actionable or not is a matter of evidence.
·
Petitioner:
Complaint failed to state a cause of action because:
o
Complaint
made no allegation the article referred specifically to any one of the private
respondents;
o
Libel
can be committed only against individual reputation;
o
in
cases where libel is claimed to have been directed at a group, there is
actionable defamation only if the libel can be said to reach beyond the mere collectivity to do damage to a specific,
individual group member's reputation.
Issue: WON the complaint
must be dismissed? YES.
·
Corpus
vs. Cuaderno, Sr.:
o
"in
order to maintain a libel suit, it is essential that the victim be identifiable,
although it is not necessary that he be named (19 A.L.R. 116)."
·
Uy
Tioco vs. Yang Shu Wen:
o
Defamatory
remarks directed at a class or group of persons in general language only, are not
actionable by individuals composing the class or group unless the statements
are sweeping.
·
The case at bar is not a class suit. It is not a case where
one or more may sue for the benefit of all
·
We have here a case where each of the plaintiffs has a
separate and distinct reputation in the community. They do not have a common or
general interest in the subject matter of the controversy.
0 comments:
Post a Comment