Della-Donna v. Gore Newspapers Co.

Full title: ALPHONSE DELLA-DONNA, APPELLANT, v. GORE NEWSPAPERS COMPANY, A DELAWARE…

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District

Date published: Aug 11, 1987

510 So. 2d 984 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1987)

Opinion

Nos. 85-2779, 85-2780.

July 8, 1987. Rehearing Denied August 11, 1987.

Consolidated appeals of a final and non-final order from the Circuit Court for Broward County; J. Cail Lee, Judge.

Jonathan W. Lubell of Lubell Lubell, New York, and Robert M. Sturrup of Sturrup Della-Donna, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for appellant.

Marcia E. Levine of Fazio, Dawson, DiSalvo Cannon, Fort Lauderdale, and Karen Coolman Amlong of Amlong Amlong, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for appellee Forman.

PER CURIAM.

AFFIRMED.

DELL and GUNTHER, JJ., concur.

ANSTEAD, J., specially concurs with opinion.

ANSTEAD, Judge, specially concurring.

I write separately only to indicate that my concurrence in an affirmance of the summary judgment is predicated on the lack of clear and convincing evidence of actual malice in this defamation case. It is no secret that ordinarily decisions by summary judgment are looked upon with disfavor by reviewing courts. However, in Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986), the United States Supreme Court suggested that because of the free speech values in question, summary judgments should be liberally granted in libel cases requiring a showing of actual malice where there is a lack of clear and convincing evidence of malice in the record.