Moe v. Wise
Washington Court of Appeals
989 P.2d 1148 (1999)
- Written by Brianna Pine, JD
Facts
After purchasing a boat-manufacturing company, the new owner soon faced serious financial problems and retained attorney Arnold Robbins (defendant) to prepare a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. Following the petition’s filing, Robbins helped the company’s chief executive officer, Joseph Wise (defendant), draft a letter that was then circulated to the company’s creditors, vendors, and a newspaper reporter. The letter explained the company’s need for creditor cooperation, sought the cancellation of certain contracts, and blamed the company’s financial collapse on its former owner, Howard Moe (plaintiff). Specifically, the letter alleged that Moe had misrepresented the company’s projected profit margins, leading to worker layoffs. Moe filed a defamation action against Robbins and Wise, contending that the letter’s accusations were false. Robbins moved to dismiss, arguing that his statements were protected by the common-interest qualified privilege. The trial court agreed and dismissed Moe’s action against Robbins.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Seinfeld, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 899,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 47,000 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

