Gross v. New York Times Co.
New York Court of Appeals
82 N.Y.2d 146, 623 N.E.2d 1163, 603 N.Y.S.2d 813 (1993)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
Elliot Gross (plaintiff) was the former chief medical examiner of New York City. The New York Times ran a series of articles charging Gross with producing misleading or inaccurate autopsy reports on people who had died in police custody. The articles reported on interviews with pathologists in the medical examiner’s office who asserted that Gross had changed autopsy findings. The import of the articles was that Gross had issued false or misleading reports to protect the police and that his conduct ranged from “highly suspicious” to “possibly illegal.” Gross sued New York Times Co. (defendant) for libel. The trial court dismissed the complaint. The New York Appellate Division affirmed, holding that the articles contained accusatory opinions and the facts on which those opinions were based and that the average reader would recognize the accusations as expressions of opinion rather than statements of fact. Gross appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Titone, J.)
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