Kurt A. Maethner v. Someplace Safe, Inc., Jacquelyn Jorud, F/k/a Jacquelyn Hanson Maethner

Summary

The court held that a private defamation plaintiff may not recover presumed damages for statements concerning a matter of public concern without proving actual malice, regardless of whether the defendant is a media organization. Because the lower courts had not determined whether the statements concerned a public or private matter, the court remanded Maethner's claim against Jorud for that determination, while reinstating summary judgment for Someplace Safe on the negligence-based defamation claim. Justice Thissen, concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have allowed a jury to decide whether Someplace Safe acted reasonably, and Justice Anderson concurred while separately agreeing that qualified privilege did not apply.