Mid-Florida Television Corp. v. Boyles,
467 So. 2d
282 (Fla. 1985).
Plaintiff sued a television station and an investigative reporter for
libel due to negative statements made about him on television. The
Orange County Circuit Court dismissed this action. Ms. Lippincott
represented the plaintiff on appeal to the Fifth District Court of
Appeal. See Boyles v. Mid-Florida Television Corp., 431 So. 2d
627 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983). The appellate court ruled that: 1)
libel per se is a valid cause of action and the plaintiff had
adequately plead this action; 2) the television station could not hide
behind the attorney/client privilege regarding its policy rationale for
programming decisions; 3) plaintiff could not be compelled to submit to
a psychiatric examination simply because he alleged emotional distress
in this lawsuit as a result of the television's action; and 4) the trial
court was correct regarding the dismissal of the claims for intentional
infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.
The television station and the reporter appealed to the Florida Supreme
Court and Ms. Lippincott again represented the plaintiff. The Supreme
Court affirmed the Fifth District and found that the complaint against
the television station and the reporter properly stated a cause of
action for libel and for both compensatory and punitive damages.
