gov.uscourts.nysd.447706.538.0.pdf

Case 1:15-cv-07433-LAP Document 538 Filed 01/06/17 Page 1 of 10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK --------------------------------------------------X .. ............................................. VIRGINIA L. GIUFFRE, Plaintiff, v. 15-cv-07433-RWS GHISLAINE MAXWELL, Defendant. --------------------------------------------------X Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment Laura A. Menninger Jeffrey S. Pagliuca HADDON, MORGAN, AND FOREMAN, P.C. 150 East 10th Avenue Denver, CO 80203 303.831.7364  Case 1:15-cv-07433-LAP Document 538 Filed 01/06/17 Page 2 of 10 TABLE OF CONENTS PRELIMINARY STATEMENT .................................................................................................... 1 FACTS ............................................................................................................................................ 1 SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD .................................................................................... 10 ARGUMENT ................................................................................................................................ 12 I. Ms. Maxwell is not liable for republications of her January 2015 statement that she did not authorize or request and by entities she did not control. ....................................................... 12 A. Summary judgment is warranted to the extent plaintiff seeks to impose liability on any media’s republication of all or a portion of the January 2015 statement. ........ 12 B. Because plaintiff is a limited public figure, imposing liability upon Ms. Maxwell for republication of the January 2015 statement would violate the First Amendment. ............................................................................................................ 16 C. Plaintiff should be barred from introducing into evidence any republication of an excerpt from the January 2015 statement. ............................................................... 17 II. Summary judgment is warranted under the New York Constitution. ................................... 18 A. The January 2015 statement constitutes nonactionable opinion. ............................ 18 B. In this Rule 56 proceeding, this Court’s Rule 12(b)(6) opinion does not control the question of law whether the January 2015 statement constitutes nonactionable opinion. .................................................................................................................... 31 III. The pre-litigation privilege bars this action. .......................................................................... 33 IV. Ms. Maxwell’s January 4, 2015, statement is nonactionable. ............................................... 38 V. The defamation claim should be dismissed because the publication is substantially true. ... 39 VI. Plaintiff cannot establish actual malice by clear and convincing evidence. .......................... 40 A. Facts. ....................................................................................................................... 40 B. Plaintiff carries the burden of proving actual malice by clear and convincing evidence. .................................................................................................................. 48 C. Plaintiff is a public figure who must prove actual malice. ...................................... 49 1. Plaintiff successfully invited public attention to influence others. ........... 51 i  Case 1:15-cv-07433-LAP Document 538 Filed 01/06/17 Page 3 of 10 2. Plaintiff voluntarily injected herself into public controversies related to the subject of this litigation. ............................................................................ 53 3. Plaintiff assumed a position of prominence in the public controversies. . 53 4. Plaintiff has maintained regular and continuing access to the media. ...... 54 D. Plaintiff must also prove actual malice to overcome the defenses of reply and pre- litigation privilege. .................................................................................................. 54 E. The January 2015 statement was substantially true, and plaintiff cannot produce clear and convincing evidence of its falsity. ........................................................... 56 1. The January 2015 statement accurately denied that Ms. Maxwell met Plaintiff when Plaintiff was 15 years old in 1999. .................................... 56 2. The January 2015 statement accurately denied that Ms. Maxwell “regularly participate[d] in Epstein’s sexual exploitation of minors” and that “the Government knows” such fact. .................................................. 58 3. The January 2015 statement accurately denied that “with [Ms. Maxwell’s] assistance, [Epstein] converted [Plaintiff] into what is commonly referred to as a ‘sex slave.’” ................................................................................... 59 4. The January 2015 statement accurately reported that Plaintiff alleged “sexual relations” with Professor Dershowitz which he denied. .............. 60 5. The January 2015 statement accurately denied that Ms. Maxwell created and distributed child pornography and that the Government knows of and possesses such child pornography. ........................................................... 62 6. January 2015 statement accurately denied Maxwell acted as “madame” for Epstein to traffic Plaintiff to the rich and famous. .................................... 63 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 68 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ..................................................................................................... 70 ii  Case 1:15-cv-07433-LAP Document 538 Filed 01/06/17 Page 4 of 10 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Adelson v. Harris, 973 F. Supp. 2d 467, 490 (S.D.N.Y. 2013) ......................................... 29 Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp. v. Hoeper, 134 S. Ct. 852, 861 (2014) ............................... 48 Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251-52 (1986). ....................................... 11 Aronson v. Wiersma, 483 N.E.2d 1138, 1139 (1985) .................................................. 22,24 Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514, 535 (2001) ................................................................. 48 Biro v. Condé Nast, 883 F. Supp. 2d 441, 458 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) ...................................... 39 Biro v. Condé Naste, 963 F. Supp. 2d 255, 269 (S.D.N.Y. 2013)..................................... 49 Black v. Green Harbour Homeowners’ Ass’n, 798 N.Y.S.2d 753 (App. Div. 2005), ...... 34 Celle v. Filipino Reporter Enters. Inc., 209 F.3d 163, 176-77 (2d Cir. 2000) .................. 51 Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986) .......................................................... 12 Chambers v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 2016 WL 3533998, at *8 (D.N.J. June 28, 2016) .............................................................................................................................. 33 Chau v. Lewis, 935 F. Supp. 2d 644, 665 (S.D.N.Y. 2013) .............................................. 23 Collier v. Postum Cereal Co., 134 N.Y.S. 847, 853 (App. Div. 1st Dep't 1912) .............. 55 Contemporary Mission, Inc. v. N.Y. Times Co., 842 F.2d 612, 617 (2d Cir. 1988) .......... 50 Curtis Publ'g Co. v. Butts, 388 U.S. 130 (1967) ............................................................... 49 Davis v. Boeheim, 22 N.E.3d 999, 1006 (N.Y. 2014) .................................................. 22,31 Davis v. Costa-Gavras, 580 F. Supp. 1082, 1096 (S.D.N.Y. 1984) ................................. 12 Dibella v. Hopkins, No. 01 CIV. 11779 (DC), 2002 WL 31427362, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 30, 2002) ........................................................................................................................ 23 Don King Prods., Inc. v. Douglas, 742 F. Supp. 778, 780 (S.D.N.Y. 1990), and Meiri v. Dacon, 759 F.2d 989, 998 (2d Cir. 1985)) .................................................................... 11 iii  Case 1:15-cv-07433-LAP Document 538 Filed 01/06/17 Page 5 of 10 Elias v. Rolling Stone LLC, No. 15-CV-5953 (PKC), 2016 WL 3583080, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. June 28, 2016)................................................................................................................ 22 Enigma Software Grp. USA, LLC v. Bleeping Computer LLC, No. 16 CIV. 57 (PAE), 2016 WL 3773394, at *11 (S.D.N.Y. July 8, 2016) ...................................................... 19 Faigin v. Kelly, 978 F. Supp. 420, 426 (D. N.H. 1997 ...................................................... 50 Firestone v. Time, Inc., 271 So. 2d 745, 752 (Fla. 1972) .................................................. 13 Fleckenstein v. Friedman, 193 N.E. 537, 538 (N.Y. 1934) .............................................. 40 Flomenhaft v. Finkelstein, 8 N.Y.S.3d 161, 164 n.2 (1st Dep't 2015) ............................... 33 Folwell v. Miller, 145 F. 495, 497 (2d Cir. 1906) ............................................................. 13 Franklin v. Daily Holdings, Inc., 21 N.Y.S.3d 6, 12 (App. Div. 2015) ............................ 39 Frechtman v. Gutterrnan, 979 N.Y.S. 2d 58 (App. Div. 2014) ........................................ 34 Front, Inc. v. Khalil, 28 N.E.3d 15, 16 (N.Y. 2015) ......................................................... 33 Geraci v. Probst, 938 N.E.2d 917, 921 (N.Y. 2010) .................................................... 13,18 Germain v. M & T Bank Corp., 111 F. Supp. 3d 506, 534 (S.D.N.Y. 2015) .................... 19 Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323 (1974 .................................................. 16, 48, 49 Goforth v. Avemco Life Ins. Co., 368 F.2d 25, 28 n.7 (4th Cir.1966). .............................. 39 Goldstein v. Cogswell, No. 85 CIV. 9256 (KMW), 1992 WL 131723, at *27 n.32 (S.D.N.Y. June 1, 1992) ................................................................................................ 33 Gross v. New York Times, 623 N.E.2d 1163, 1169 (N.Y. 1993) ....................................... 28 Harte-Hanks Communic’ns, Inc. v. Connaughton, 491 U.S. 657, 666 n.7 (1989) ........... 48 Hawkins v. Harris, 661 A.2d 284, 289-91 (N.J. 1995) ..................................................... 33 Horne v. Matthews, No. 97 Civ. 3605(JSM), 1997 WL 598452 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 25, 1997) ....................................................................................................................................... 23 Huggins v. Moore, 726 N.E.2d 456, 460 (N.Y. 1999) ...................................................... 48 iv  Case 1:15-cv-07433-LAP Document 538 Filed 01/06/17 Page 6 of 10 Immuno AG v. Moor-Jankowski, 567 N.E.2d 1270, 1282 (N.Y. 1991) ...................... 11, 19 Indep. Living Aids, Inc. v. Maxi-Aids, Inc., 981 F. Supp. 124, 128 (E.D.N.Y. 1997)....... 28 International Publishing Concepts, LLC v. Locatelli ........................................................ 37 James v. Gannett Co., 353 N.E.2d 834, 838 (N.Y. 1976) ..................................... 14, 23, 49 Jewell v. NYP Holdings, Inc., 23 F. Supp. 2d 348, 366 (S.D.N.Y.1998) .......................... 40 Kane v. Orange Cnty. Publ’ns, 649 N.Y.S.2d 23, 26 (App. Div. 1996) ........................... 56 Karaduman v. Newsday, Inc., 416 N.E.2d 557, 560 (1980).............................................. 18 Kirk v. Heppt, 532 F. Supp. 2d 586, 593 (S.D.N.Y. 2008). .............................................. 33 Klein v. McGauley, 29. A.D.2d 418, 420 (2nd Dep't 1968) ............................................... 34 Lehman Bros. Commercial Corp. v. Minmetals Int’l Non-Ferrous Metals Trading Co., No. 94 CIV. 8301(JFK), 1995 WL 380119, at *6 n.2 (S.D.N.Y. June 26, 1995) ......... 21 Lerman v. Flynt Dist. Co., Inc., 745 F.3d 123, 136 (2d Cir. 1984) ................................... 49 Mann v. Abel, 885 N.E.2d 884, 885-86 (N.Y. 2008) ........................................................ 29 Martin v. City of Oceanside, 205 F. Supp. 2d 1142, 1147 (S.D. Cal. 2002), aff’d, 360 F.3d 1078 (9th Cir. 2004). .............................................................................................. 22 Martirano v. Frost, 255 N.E.2d 693 (1969) ...................................................................... 34 Mashburn v. Collin, 355 So. 2d 879, 885 (La. 1977) ........................................................ 30 Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc., 501 U.S. 496, 510 (1991) ................................... 54 Maule v. Philadelphia Media Holdings, LLC, No. CIV.A. 08-3357, 2010 WL 914926, at *10 (E.D. Pa. Mar. 15, 2010) ........................................................................................ 22 McGill v. Parker, 582 N.Y.S.2d 91, 97 (App. Div. 1992) ................................................ 48 Meiri v. Dacon, 759 F.2d 989, 998 (2d Cir. 1985)………………………………………………11 Mencher v. Chesley, 75 N.E.2d 257, 259 (N.Y. 1947) ...................................................... 14 Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990) ........................................................ 19 v  Case 1:15-cv-07433-LAP Document 538 Filed 01/06/17 Page 7 of 10 New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964) ........................................... 16,48,49 People v. Kocsis, 28 N.Y.S.3d 466, 471 (App. Div. 2016) ............................................... 21 Petrus v. Smith, 91 A.D.2d 1190, 1191 (N.Y. App. App. Div. 1983) ............................... 34 Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps, 475 U.S. 767, 776-77 (1986)........................... 48 In Re Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC, 690 F.3d 161, 175 (3d Cir. 2012), as corrected (Oct. 25, 2012) ............................................................................................................... 39 Rand v. New York Times Co., 430 N.Y.S.2d 271, 275 (App. Div. 1980). ........................ 14 Ratajack v. Brewster Fire Dep’t, Inc. of the Brewster-SE Joint Fire Dist., 178 F. Supp. 3d 118, 158 (S.D.N.Y. 2016) .............................................................................................. 29 Rinaldi v. Viking Penguin, Inc., 420 N.E.2d 377, 382 (N.Y. 1981) .................................. 13 Salyer v. S. Poverty Law Ctr., Inc., 701 F. Supp. 2d 912, 916 (W.D. Ky. 2009) ............. 39 Sexter v. Warmflash, P.C. v. Margrabe, 828 N.Y.S. 2d 315 (App. Div. 2007)). .............. 34 Shenkman v. O’Malley, 157 N.Y.S.2d 290, 294, 297 (App. Div. 1956) ........................... 54 Soley v. Wasserman, No. 8 CIV. 9262 KMW FM, 2013 WL 3185555, at *8 (S.D.N.Y. June 21, 2013)................................................................................................................ 18 Steinhilber v. Alphonse, 501 N.E.2d 550, 550 (N.Y. 1986) .............................................. 19 Time, Inc. v. Firestone, 424 U.S. 448, 488 n.1 (1976) ...................................................... 13 Waldbaum v. Fairchild Publ'ns, Inc., 626 F.2d 1287, 1298 (D.C. Cir. 1980 ................... 51 Rules Fed. R. Civ. P. 56......................................................................................................... 11, 12 vi  Case 1:15-cv-07433-LAP Document 538 Filed 01/06/17 Page 8 of 10 PAGES 1-68 REDACTED Case 1:15-cv-07433-LAP Document 538 Filed 01/06/17 Page 9 of 10 January 6, 2017. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Laura A. Menninger Laura A. Menninger (LM-1374) Jeffrey S. Pagliuca (pro hac vice) HADDON, MORGAN AND FOREMAN, P.C. 150 East 10th Avenue Denver, CO 80203 Phone: 303.831.7364 Fax: 303.832.2628 [email protected] Attorneys for Defendant Ghislaine Maxwell 69  Case 1:15-cv-07433-LAP Document 538 Filed 01/06/17 Page 10 of 10 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that on January 6, 2017, I electronically served this Memorandum in Support of Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment via ECF on the following: Sigrid S. McCawley Paul G. Cassell Meredith Schultz 383 S. University Street BOIES, SCHILLER & FLEXNER, LLP Salt Lake City, UT 84112 401 East Las Olas Boulevard, Ste. 1200 [email protected] Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301 [email protected] [email protected] J. Stanley Pottinger Bradley J. Edwards 49 Twin Lakes Rd. Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards, Fistos & South Salem, NY 10590 Lehrman, P.L. [email protected] 425 North Andrews Ave., Ste. 2 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301 [email protected] /s/ Nicole Simmons Nicole Simmons 70