Cohen v. Cowles Media Co.

Cohen (plaintiff) provided reporters for Cowles Media Co. and other news organizations (defendants) with information about a gubernatorial candidate on the reporters' promise that he would remain an anonymous source, but the papers' editors later decided to disclose his identity anyway. Cohen sued for breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation; a jury found for Cohen, the court of appeals dismissed the fraud claim but upheld the contract verdict, and both sides appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court.