Globe Communications Corp. v. R.C.S. Rizzoli Periodici, S.p.A.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
729 F. Supp. 973 (1990)
- Written by Serena Lipski, JD
Facts
R. C. S. Rizzoli Periodici, S.p.A. (Rizzoli) (defendant) was a large, international publisher based in Italy that sold its publications throughout the world, including in the United States and specifically in Florida. Rizzoli published an article in an Italian-language magazine about the singer Cat Stevens, who had changed his name to Yusuf Islam. Globe Communications Corporation (Globe) (plaintiff) published Globe magazine in the United States and Canada. In New York, Len Stone, a Globe reporter, read the Cat Stevens article in the Rizzoli periodical and then wrote an article repeating the allegations for Globe magazine. Globe’s principal place of business was in Florida, and all final publication decisions were made there. Many of the allegations in both articles were incorrect, and Islam filed a defamation suit against Globe. Globe settled with Islam and then filed suit against Rizzoli for intentional misrepresentation, contribution, and equitable subrogation in federal district court in New York. Rizzoli moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that either New York or Italian law should be applied. Globe argued that Florida law applied. Rizzoli countered that application of Florida law would cause an unfair surprise and violate Rizzoli’s due-process rights.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Sand, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 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.