San Francisco Bay Guardian, Inc. v. SUPERIOR COURT OF CITY AND CTY. OF SAN FRANCISCO
Opinion
Opinion
Perley, J.
The San Francisco Bay Guardian, Inc., and Bruce B. Brugmann, the Bay Guardian’s publisher (petitioners), seek a writ to require respondent court to grant their motion for summary judgment. We issue the writ for the reasons explained below.
Facts
On March 19, 1992, real party filed a complaint for damages against petitioners based upon the fact that he did not write the above letter. The complaint sets forth causes of action for libel, invasion of privacy, false light and infliction of emotional distress.
On December 31, 1992, petitioners moved for summary judgment on the ground that each cause of action is barred by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Petitioners contended that real party is a local public figure in the matter of his ownership and operation of a residential hotel. They contended that the parody section of the paper was an obvious April Fool’s joke which could not be taken as fact. They attached to their motion a complete copy of the issue of March 27, 1991, and copies of numerous news releases regarding real party’s legal battles to rent to tourists in the face of the City’s efforts to limit his right to do so by enforcement of a…