Hofmann Co. v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co.

In statements that appeared in a front-page story in the San Francisco Chronicle and elsewhere, employees of a toxic chemical plant criticized a housing development proposed to be constructed next to the plant. The questions before us are whether the employees’ comments included false statements of fact actionable as trade libel and, if not, whether, consistent with the First Amendment, the statements may nonetheless provide the basis for a cause of action for intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.

Statement of the Case

Appellant, the Hofmann Company, filed a complaint alleging that certain employees of respondent E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co. made false statements about the housing development appellant proposed to build near Du Font’s chemical plant in Contra Costa County. As pertinent to this appeal, the complaint stated causes of action for trade libel and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. The trial court initially granted respondent’s demurrer without leave to amend because in “the context in which the alleged defamatory expressions were made, . . . they were expressions of opinion, unambiguous as such, and…