Valentine v. City of Oakland

Plaintiff in this action for libel and slander appeals from a judgment of dismissal entered after the demurrers of several defendants were sustained without leave to amend. The question posed is whether news media defendants herein are liable in damages for accurately reporting defamatory statements spoken by a city councilman at a council meeting where such statements can be proven false and may have been reported either with knowledge of their falsity or in reckless disregard of their truth. We will hold that the media defendants enjoyed an absolute privilege under the "fair and true report" provision of Civil Code section 47, subdivision 4, and will therefore affirm the judgment.