Jefferson County School Dist. No. R-1 v. Moody's Investor's Servs., Inc.

175 F.3d 848 (1999)

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Jefferson County School Dist. No. R-1 v. Moody’s Investor’s Servs., Inc.

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
175 F.3d 848 (1999)

  • Written by Sharon Feldman, JD

Facts

Jefferson County School District No. R-1 (the district) (plaintiff) issued bonds. The district did not ask Moody’s Investor’s Services, Inc. (defendant) to rate the bonds or provide Moody’s with current financial information. Moody’s published an article stating that it would be rating the bonds after the sale and that the “outlook” on the district’s debt was “negative, reflecting the district’s ongoing financial pressures.” The Dow Jones Capital Markets Reports repeated the statement about the negative outlook. The district sued Moody’s for publishing an injurious falsehood, alleging that the article falsely indicated that the district was not creditworthy and gave the impression that the assessment was based on current information. Dismissing the claim, the district court held that the article was protected by the First Amendment because it did not state or imply a provably false assertion. The district appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Henry, J.)

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