Hensley
Hensley v. Life Magazine, Time, Inc.
Opinion
Opinion
Sweigert, J.
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
This is an action for alleged libel brought by plaintiffs, Kirby Hensley and Universal Life Church, Inc., against defendants Time, Inc., its president and its managing editor and one of its reporters, Bill Bruns.
The case is now before the court on motions for summary judgment by both plaintiffs and defendants.
The action arises out of an article entitled “Praise the Lord and Pass the Diplomas” which appeared in the November 14, 1969 issue of Life Magazine, a publication of Time, Inc.
The only portion of the article referring to plaintiff Hensley reads as follows:
No mention of Universal Life Church is made in the article except that, according to plaintiffs’ complaint, one of the church’s identical certificates is identifiable in a photograph accompanying the article.
Notably, the complaint does not allege that any of the above quoted statements about Hensley are false, nor does the complaint challenge the truth of any statements made in the article or in its caption title.
The only allegation of falsity is directed, not at the article, itself, nor at the caption title, but at another descriptive title separately set forth in the Table of Contents of…