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To : Dr. Nancy White From : Emily Lerew Date : Spring 2020 RE : Brief #1**********************Name of Case and Citation: CHARLES CASE, JOE NEWPORT,
To: Dr. Nancy WhiteFrom: Emily LerewDate: Spring 2020RE: Brief #1**********************Name of Case and Citation: CHARLES CASE, JOE NEWPORT, and STERLING GYMNASTICS ACADEMY, LLC, Plaintiff-Appellee, v SHANNON HUNT, Defendant-Appellants. 2019 Mich. App. LEXIS 1229 (2019, Court Of Appeals of Michigan)Facts: Plaintiff Joe Newport began working for defendants company ( Hunts Gymnastics) in July of 2014. Plaintiff Charles Case began working for defendant company ( Hunts Gymnastics) in December of 2014. Both, Newport and Case signed non-competition agreements when starting thier employment with Hunts Gymnastics.As of March 4, 2015, Joe Newport formed his own company (Sterling Gymnastics Company) and in August of 2015 left his employment with Hunts Gymnastics. Soon following was defendant Charles Case who left Hunts Gymnastics on Sept 3, 2015, and began working with Sterling Gymnastics Company.In January of 2016 Hunts Gymnastics filed a lawsuit against the plaintiffs and both parties settled that Sterling, Newport, and Case would pay 25,000 but remained in denying any violations of the Non-Compete Agreement.Both the defendant and plaintiff belong to the USA Gymnastics Organization, this is the national governing body for the sport. On February 9, 2017 the defendants company sent an email to Loree Galimore at USA Gymnastics. The email stated that Sterling Gymnastics Academy was advertising they would give a $50 gift card if they left their previous gym and joined theirs but it was only in a certain geographical area (where Hunts Gymnastics as well as other gyms were located).Plaintiff filed lawsuit against defendant alleging defamation, tortious interference with business expectancies and contractual relations, and false light as a result of the email. The court granted defendant summary disposition,dismissing the complaint. Plaintiffs now appeal to this court.`Issue 1: Was defendant properly granted summary disposition?Rules:A defendant is entitled to summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(7) if the plaintiff's claim is barred "because of release[.]" Wyrembelski v City of St Clair Shores, 218 Mich App 125, 127; 553 NW2d 651 (1996). A party is entitled to summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(10) if "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment . . . as a matter of law." A genuine issue of material fact exists if, when viewing the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, reasonable minds could differ on the issue. Allison v AEW Capital Mgmt., L.L.P., 481 Mich. 419, 425; 751 N.W.2d 8 (2008)Analysis: week 2Conclusion: week 2Issue 2: Does the claim of lost business prove actual damages ?Rules: To set forth a claim of defamation, a plaintiff must demonstrate "(1) a false and defamatory statement concerning the plaintiff, (2) an unprivileged communication to a third party, (3) fault amounting at least to negligence on the part of the publisher,?and (4) either actionability of the statement irrespective of special harm (defamation per se) or the existence of special harm caused by publication."Mitanv Campbell, 474Mich21, 24; 706 NW2d 420 (2005). Similarly,MCL 600.2911provides a cause of action for libel. Libel is "a statement of and concerning the plaintiff which is false in some material respect and is communicated to a third person by written or printed words and has a tendency to harm the plaintiff's reputation."Fisher v Detroit FreePress,Inc, 158MichApp 409, 413; 404 NW2d 765 (1987). However,MCL 600.2911also provides, in relevant part:(2)(a) Except as provided insubdivision (b), in actions based on libel or slander the plaintiff is entitled to recover only for the actual damages which he or she has suffered in respect to his or her property, business, trade, profession, occupation, or feelings.* * *(7) An action for libel or slander shall not be brought based upon a communication involving a private individual unless the defamatory falsehood concerns the private individual and was published negligently. Recovery under this provision shall be limited to economic damages including attorney fees.Further, this Court has stated that:Under subsection 7 [MCL 600.2911(7)], if the publication of the defamatory falsehood is negligent, a private plaintiff must prove economic damages but cannot recover?[*6]? for injuries to feelings. Under subsection 2(a), however, if a private plaintiff proves actual malice, the plaintiff is entitled to, among other things, actual damages to reputation or feelings. [Glazer vLamkin, 201MichApp 432, 437; 506 NW2d 570 (1993).]Analysis: week 2Conclusion: Week 2Issue 3:Where there has been no actual intereference, does the mere allegation of interefernce prove damages?Rules:To set forth a claim of tortious interference with a business relationship or expectancy, a plaintiff must demonstrate "(1) the existence of a valid business relationship or expectancy that is not necessarily predicated on an enforceable contract, (2) knowledge of the relationship or expectancy on the part of the defendant interferer, (3) an intentional interference by the defendant inducing or causing a breach or termination of the relationship or expectancy, and (4) resulting damage to the party whose relationship expectancy was disrupted."Health Call of Detroit v Atrium Home&Health CareServs,Inc, 268MichApp 83, 90; 706 NW2d 843 (2005). The elements of tortious interference with a contract are (1) the existence of a contract, (2) that is breached, (3) as a result of the unjustified instigation by the defendant.Id.at89-90.Analysis: week 2Conclusion: week 2Issue 4:Where Hunt Gymnastics follows the ethics reporting process of USA Gymnastic, the governing gymnastics body, and only emails USA Gymnastics with an ethics concern, Is Hunts email a public broadcast sufficient to place Sterling in a false light.Rules:Invasion of privacy claims fall within four categories, being (1) intrusion upon a plaintiff's seclusion or into the plaintiff's private affairs, (2) public disclosure of embarrassing private information, (3) publicity that places the plaintiff in a false light in public, and (4) appropriation of the plaintiff's likeness or name for the benefit of the defendant.Puetzv Spectrum HealthHosps, 324MichApp 51, 69; 919 NW2d 439 (2018). To maintain an action for false light invasion of privacy, the plaintiff must demonstrate (1) that defendant broadcast to a large number of people or to the public at large (2) information that was unreasonable and highly objectionable by attributing to the plaintiff false characteristics, conduct, or beliefs, (3) thereby placing the plaintiff in a false position.Duran v Detroit News,Inc, 200MichApp 622, 631-632; 504 NW2d 715 (1993). In addition, "the defendant must have known of or acted in reckless disregard as to the falsity of the publicized matter and the false light in which the plaintiff would be placed."Puetz, 324MichApp at 69(quotation marks and citation omitted).
My professors comments:
Issues are too broadly worded. The grade on this assignment will not change but you can fix this in the Week 2 assignment to maximize that grade.
If you discuss ONLY the damages issues in the analysis next week, your analysis will fall short.
My Question:
After reading what the case is about, how do I narrow down my issues and using the Rules I have listed how do I apply an analysis to each issue?
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