Brown v. Kelly Broadcasting Co.
Supreme Court of California
771 P.2d 406 (1989)
Kelly Broadcasting (defendant) aired a news story accusing Brown (plaintiff), a licensed contractor, of shoddy and incomplete work for a client; Brown sued for defamation. Kelly argued California's statutory "interested-person" privilege, protecting good-faith communications between people who share an interest in the subject matter, effectively created a public-interest privilege shielding media reporting on matters of public concern. The trial court granted Kelly summary judgment, the court of appeal reversed, and Kelly appealed.
Whether a public-interest privilege exists that shields the news media from defamation liability for statements about private individuals concerning matters of public interest.