Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co.

A newspaper column by Theodore Diadiun (defendant), published in the Lorain Journal, stated that anyone who attended a wrestling meet "knows in his heart" that Michael Milkovich (plaintiff), a high school wrestling coach, lied under oath at a related judicial hearing. Milkovich sued for libel; the trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants on the ground that the column was a protected opinion, and Ohio's appellate courts affirmed or dismissed further review before the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.