Minnesota case law summary by Attorney Richard Clem: Defamation: public figure.

Nathan C. McGuire v. Julie A. Bowlin. MN defamation, public figure

A high school basketball coach is not a public official under the defamation standard of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964).

"We acknowledge that high school basketball is an important piece of the social fabric in many communities. And the wins and losses of a high school basketball team--as well as who plays and who does not--may lead to emotional highs and lows in the lives of the players and their families. Nevertheless, these issues are not the sort of issues that the public has 'a strong interest in debat[ing].' . . . [T]he mere fact that he received a government paycheck in exchange for the performance of his job is insufficient."

Nor was the plaintiff a public figure, since there was no public controversy involved.

No. A18-0167 (Minn. Sept. 4, 2018).

Please see the original opinion for the court's exact language.

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Richard P. Clem is an attorney and continuing legal education (CLE) provider in Minnesota. He has been in private practice in the Twin Cities for 25 years. He has a J.D., cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul and a B.A. in History from the University of Minnesota. His reported cases include: Asociacion Nacional de Pescadores a Pequena Escala o Artesanales de Colombia v. Dow Quimica de Colombia, 988 F.2d 559, rehearing denied, 5 F.3d 530 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1041 (1994); LaMott v. Apple Valley Health Care Center, 465 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991); Abo el Ela v. State, 468 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991).

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