Gifford v. National Enquirer
United States District Court for the Central District of California
1993 WL 767192 (1993)
Facts
Kathie Lee Gifford, and her husband Frank, (plaintiffs) were television personalities. Kathie Lee co-hosted a daytime talk show and Frank was a sports broadcaster and co-host of Monday Night Football. The Giffords filed suit against the National Enquirer (defendant), a tabloid news publication, after an article entitled Kathie Lee’s Baby Secret: The High-Tech, No-Sex Way She Got Pregnant, contained statements that the Giffords alleged were false and defamatory. The article stated that the Giffords were a “desperate couple” who resorted to artificial insemination to conceive a child and, more specifically, utilized a procedure called “sperm spinning” to increase the probability of having a girl. The article noted that the Giffords were “hypocrites” because they had repeatedly made public statements that they did not believe in artificial insemination based upon their religious beliefs. The National Enquirer filed a motion to dismiss the Giffords’ complaint.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Baird, J.)
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