John S. Burgess v. Reformer Publishing

Plaintiff-appellant, John S. Burgess, appeals an order of the superior court granting summary judgment on plaintiff's libel action in favor of defendants-appellees, Reformer Publishing Corporation and reporter George Carvill. We believe that the trial court erred in ruling, as a matter of law, that plaintiff was a ""public official"" at the time of the alleged libel. We also believe that the trial court erroneously concluded that the publication could not support a defamation action and therefore reverse. In March, 1979, the Brattleboro Reformer printed an article concerning a grand jury investigation of an alleged embezzlement of federal funds by the former president of the then-defunct Mark Hopkins College. The headline read: ""Grand Jury Probes Embezzlement--Mark Hopkins: Burgess Denies Getting Funds.""