Time, Inc. v. Firestone

Infobox SCOTUS case
Litigants=Time, Inc. v. Firestone
ArgueDate=October 14
ArgueYear=1975
DecideDate=March 2
DecideYear=1976
FullName=Time, Inc. v. Mary Alice Firestone
USVol=424
USPage=448
Citation=
Prior=Florida state court grants $100,000 libel claim for the respondent. Florida Supreme Court affirms.
Holding=Mary Firestone can collect libel damages from Time, Inc., because she was not a public figure. She had no special prominence in societal affairs, nor did she thrust herself into a controversy to influence its resolution.
SCOTUS=1975-1981
Majority=Rehnquist
JoinMajority=Burger, Stewart, Blackmun, Powell
Concurrence=Powell
JoinConcurrence=Stewart
Dissent=Brennan
Dissent2=White
Dissent3=Marshall
Abstain=Stevens
LawsApplied=U.S. Const. Amend. I; U.S. Const. Amend. XIV; New York Times, Co. v. Sullivan (376 U.S. 254)

"Time, Inc. v. Firestone", ussc|424|448|1976, was a U.S. Supreme Court case concerning defamation suits against public figures.

Background

Mary Alice Firestone was married to Russell A. Firestone, Jr., an heir to the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company family fortune. Mary filed for divorce, and Russell submitted a counterclaim on the grounds of extreme cruelty and adultery. The judge discounted much of the evidence concerning extramarital affairs. Nevertheless, Time, Inc., publisher of the eponymous weekly news magazine, ran an article about the affairs, despite evidence to the contrary. Mary filed suit in a Florida state court seeking $100,000 in damages for libel.

Court cases

Time alleged that Mary was a public figure and could not recover damages based on the ruling of "New York Times Co. v. Sullivan", which protected media from liability in such suits except in cases where there is knowledge of falsity or a reckless disregard for truth. Both the state court and Florida Supreme Court ruled that Mary was not a public figure, using language defined in "Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc." (1974).

Decision

In a 5-3 decision, with Justice Stevens abstaining, the Supreme Court ruled that Mary was not a public figure and upheld the Florida Supreme Court's decision.