Shihab v. Express-News Corp.

The magazine Texas Monthly published an article that criticized Express-News Corporation (defendant) for fabricating new stories in two newspapers it operated. In response, Charles Kilpatrick, the publisher of Express-News’s two newspapers, wrote a letter to Texas Monthly, as well as 31 people Kilpatrick identified as opinion leaders. In the letter, Kilpatrick accused Aziz Shihab (plaintiff), a former reporter for the newspapers in question, of fabricating two specific stories that had been published in the newspapers. Kilpatrick explained that he had lost confidence in Shihab and fired him. Shihab sued Kilpatrick and Express-News for libel. At trial, no evidence was presented to prove that the two specific news stories discussed in the letter were fabricated. Evidence was presented proving that another article written by Shihab for one of the newspapers had been fabricated. The jury found that (1) the letter was libelous with regard to Shihab, (2) the letter was substantially true, and (3) Kilpatrick knew the letter was false or recklessly disregarded whether it was false when he wrote it. The trial court granted a judgment in favor of Kilpatrick and Express-News, and Shihab appealed. On appeal, Shihab argued that for a truth defense, Kilpatrick and Express-News could not rely only on proof that a third news had been fabricated, without proof that the articles discussed in the letter had been fabricated.