Green

Plaintiff in this action for libel and slander appeals from a judgment of dismissal entered after the demurrers of several defendants were sustained without leave to amend. The question posed is whether news media defendants herein are liable in damages for accurately reporting defamatory statements spoken by a city councilman at a council meeting where such statements can be proven false and may have been reported either with knowledge of their falsity or in reckless disregard of their truth. We will hold that the media defendants enjoyed an absolute privilege under the “fair and true report” provision of Civil Code section 47, subdivision 4, and will therefore affirm the judgment.

The following pertinent facts are found in the complaint and attached exhibits, which were incorporated therein by reference and were stipulated to be accurate reports of the events in question.

Dan Green, appellant, is a reserve police officer for the City of Newark. On the evening of May 5, 1979, Green arrested a Chicano youth for trespassing. Witnesses to the arrest included Rudy Venegas and Councilman Louis Cortez, defendants below.

During a Newark City Council meeting on May 10th…