Cohen v. Cowles Media Co.

Dan Cohen (plaintiff), associated with a gubernatorial campaign, gave two newspapers documents about a rival candidate on the papers' promise to keep his identity confidential; the papers published his name anyway, and he was fired the same day. Cohen sued Cowles Media Co. (defendant), the papers' owner, in Minnesota state court; the trial court ruled for Cohen, but the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed, holding the First Amendment barred enforcement of the confidentiality promise through promissory estoppel, and the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.