Uranga v. Federated Publications, Inc.

In 1995, the Statesman (newspaper) (defendant) published a front-page story regarding alleged sexual activity between adults and teenagers nearly 40 years earlier, in the 1950s. The story centered on activity between a then teenager, Frank Jones, and a man, Melvin Dir; the story led to Jones being removed from college. At the time, Dir was prosecuted for a felony. As part of the prosecution, Dir authored a letter denying that he had used physical force to coerce Jones into sexual activity. In the statement, Dir said that there was no force and that after the incident Jones said that Jones had engaged in sexual activity with his cousin, Fred Uranga (plaintiff). The statement identified Uranga by name. As a part of the prosecution, the statement was entered into the court record. In the 1995 story, the newspaper reproduced a photograph of the 40-year-old statement, which the newspaper had retrieved from the court record. The story’s text, however, did not mention Uranga by name. Uranga requested that the newspaper retract the sentence implicating him, even though there was no dispute as to the accuracy of the photograph of the statement. The newspaper denied the request. Uranga sued the newspaper for, as relevant here, invasion of privacy by public disclosure of private facts. The newspaper moved for summary judgment on First Amendment grounds, which the trial court granted. Uranga appealed.