Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. (472 U.S. 749)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 26, 1985 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 472 U.S. 749 · 105 S. Ct. 2939
- Decided
- June 26, 1985
- Term
- October Term 1984
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Powell
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Powell announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which Justice Rehnquist and Justice O’Connor joined. In Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U. S. 323 (1974), we held that the First Amendment restricted the damages that a private individual could obtain from a publisher for a libel that involved a matter of public concern. More specifically, we held that in these circumstances the First Amendment prohibited awards of presumed and punitive damages for false and defamatory statements unless the plaintiff shows “actual malice,” that is, knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. The question presented in this case is whether this rule of Gertz applies when the false and defamatory statements do not involve matters of public concern. HH Petitioner Dun & Bradstreet, a credit reporting agency, provides subscribers with financial and related information about businesses. All the information is confidential; under the terms of the subscription agreement the subscribers may not reveal it to anyone else. On July 26, 1976, petitioner sent a report to five subscribers indicating that respondent, a construction contractor, had filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy. This report was false and grossly misrepresented respondent’s assets and liabilities. That same day, while discussing the possibility of future financing with its bank,…
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