Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Anthony F DeFillipo
Plaintiff(s) / Petitioner(s)
vs.
American Federation of State, County and Municipal et al
Defendant(s) / Respondent(s)
____________________________/
THIS CAUSE, having come before the Court on Defendant THOR MEDIA GROUP,
LLC’s. MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM, following the Court’s
review of the Complaint, the attached exhibit, and the Motion, and otherwise being advised in
expressions of opinion is a question of law properly resolved by the trial court. Smith v. Taylor
County Publishing Co., Inc., 443 So.2d 1042 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983); From v. Tallahassee
The Plaintiff acknowledges the context in which the mailer was published and
distributed as a political election in which the audience would naturally anticipate the use of
rhetorical hyperbole by stating in their Complaint they are a “current candidate for Mayor of
North Miami Beach” (¶12),and the mailer was “mailed to thousands of citizens” (¶17).
CaseNo: 2018-035872-CA-01
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With respect to statements about the conduct of public officials, the protection of the
constitutional guaranty of freedom of speech and the press does not turn upon the truth,
popularity, or social utility of the ideas and beliefs that are offered. New York Times v. Sullivan
In limiting itself to the four corners of the complaint, including the attached exhibit, this
Court finds that statements that Plaintiff alleges are about him, are defamatory and caused him
harm do not state a claim for defamation as a matter of law. The statements Plaintiff alleges
are defamatory do not refer to a specific crime that the Plaintiff committed, but rather fall into
however, this Court is not obligated to reach the same legal conclusion that Plaintiff’s reached.
This Court finds the statements do not contain a provably false assertion of fact, are
name-calling, satire or parody not intended to be believed, and are not actionable under the
First Amendment of the Constitution. The statements do not refer to a specific crime that the
Plaintiff committed. The attached exhibit, also publishes or republishes pure opinion, where the
defendants’ comment or opinion are based on facts which are set forth in the publication or
which are otherwise known or available to the reader or listener as a member of the public.
The complaint does not allege any of the quoted articles contained in the publication
CaseNo: 2018-035872-CA-01
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which form the basis of the opinion in the publication contain false statements of fact, and the
complaint does not allege that Plaintiff has never been arrested for driving with suspended
Biscayne Times, and Miami New Times, and the pictures of the Plaintiff, the Plaintiff’s “like” of
a social media post, and public records form the basis of the opinion, parody, commentary,
and name-calling in the publication. Mere name calling does not rise to the level of sustaining
To the extent that Plaintiff purports to plead through innuendo that the statements in the
mailer are defamatory to him because it refers to him belonging to the “Italian mafia” (¶13) or
“a member of organized crime” or “mafia” (¶17), courts applying the same First Amendment
standards as Florida under the U.S. Constitution have dealt with such a case before, in which
such an allegation was made in a claim for slander per se. In Privitera v. Town of Phelps, 79
A.D.2d 1, 435 N.Y.S.2d 402 (4th Dep’t 1981) the Court held it is not slander per se to charge
another with membership in the Mafia. Unquestionably, words implying criminal conduct,
especially words loaded with the emotional freight of "Mafia", are offensive and hold the
plaintiff up to contempt. But they are not slanderous per se unless they specify a crime or a
crime is readily apparent from properly pleaded innuendo (Citations Omitted). See 50 AM JUR
I. COUNT I of PLAINTIFF’s Complaint For Libel is DISMISSED with leave to amend for
failure to state a claim. See Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988); Hay v. Independent
Newspapers, Inc., 450 So. 2d 293, 295 (Fla. 2d DCA. 1984); From v. Tallahasse
Democrat, Inc., 400 So. 2d 52, 56 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991); Sepmeier v. Tallahassee Dem.,
Inc., 461 So. 2d 193, 196 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Town of Sewall’s Point v. Rhodes, 852 So.
II. COUNT II OF PLAINTIFF’s COMPLAINT FOR LIBEL PER SE IS DISMISSED with leave
DONE and ORDERED in Chambers at Miami-Dade County, Florida on this 13th day of
September, 2019.