Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2014

T. Joseph v. The Scranton Times

T. Joseph v. The Scranton Times
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · Decided November 25, 2014 · Per Curiam
105 A.3d 655; 629 Pa. 311; 2014 Pa. LEXIS 3088 (Atlantic Reporter, Third Series)

T. Joseph v. The Scranton Times

Opinion

*312 ORDER

PER CURIAM.

AND NOW, this 25th day of November, 2014, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is GRANTED. The issues, as stated by petitioners, are:

a) Whether an appellate court may disregard the foundational rules requiring deference to the trial court’s factual findings and credibility determinations?
b) Whether a court may disregard the First Amendment constraints on defamation actions by concluding that the injury-in-fact liability element of a defamation claim is established without proof of reputational harm caused by defamatory statements?
c) Whether a court may disregard the First Amendment constraints on defamation actions by holding that proof of actual malice relieves plaintiffs of their burden to prove injury-in-fact?
d) Whether a court may disregard the First Amendment constraints that require a defamation plaintiff to prove falsity and fault on the part of a media defendant and order a retrial on damages only where the record does not establish that a plaintiff met his constitutional burdens?

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