Trout Point Lodge v. Handshoe

729 F.3d 481 (5th Cir. 2014)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Handshoe, a Mississippi citizen, owns and operates Slabbed.org, a public-affairs blog. A focal point over the last few years has been Aaron Broussard, the former Parish President of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Broussard was indicted and pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and theft in September 2012. D claims that Slabbed.org has been 'instrumental' in reporting the 'ongoing corruption scandal, indictment, and guilty plea' involving Broussard. Broussard owned property in Nova Scotia. The property sat on Trout Point Road, very close to P. D began publishing entries on Slabbed.org alleging a link between Broussard and P and its owners. The Times-Picayune, a New Orleans newspaper, published an article indicating that Broussard had an ownership interest in D and that Jefferson Parish contractors had paid to rent the premises. The Times-Picayune retracted this assertion and issued a correction after P alerted the paper to purported 'factual errors in [its] reporting.' The corporate parent of the Times-Picayune also took the Slabbed.org blog offline after P demanded this retraction. D found another web host for his site and 'began an internet campaign to damage P. D posted several updates regarding P, which the district court noted 'can be characterized as derogatory, mean-spirited, sexist, and homophobic.' P sued D in Nova Scotia for defamation and related claims mostly for imputation of criminal conduct as well as 'unabashed anti-gay, anti-homosexual rhetoric and rants of the defendant,' used to 'amplify and support the three other stings listed above' and 'support and shore up all the other defamatory imputations.' D did not appear, and P got a default judgment. The court awarded P $275,000 in general damages, $50,000 in aggravated damages, and $25,000 in punitive damages. It also awarded $2,000 in costs. P attempted to enforce the judgment in Mississippi. D removed to federal court. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court entered summary judgment in D's favor, finding that P failed to meet its burden to show that 'D was afforded at least as much protection for freedom of speech in [the Nova Scotia] action as he would have in a domestic proceeding or, alternatively, that D would have been found liable for defamation by a domestic court.' P appealed.