Jerome R. Lewis v. Time Incorporated
Opinion
Opinion
Duniway, J.
Lawyer Jerome Lewis appeals from a judgment against him in his action against TIME Inc. for defamation. We affirm.
I. Facts.
The cover story. of TIME magazine’s April 10, 1978 issue was a 10-page article entitled “Those #*X§!!! Lawyers.” This case is about one subsection of that article, titled “Ethics Enforcement.” In relevant part, it stated:
Lewis, the only lawyer criticized by name in this section of the article, sued in California state court on March 2, 1979. He alleged libel, slander, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and named as defendants TIME Inc., Mid-Cal Periodical Distribution, and Does I through XV. Mid-Cal was dismissed from the case before it was served, but Lucky Stores, Inc., a seller of the magazine, was served as defendant Doe I on April 12,1979.
A month after TIME was served on April 30, it removed the case to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. It alleged diversity between Lewis, a citizen of California, and defendants TIME and Mid-Cal, both non-California corporations. Lewis moved to remand the case to state court, arguing that Lucky, which had been served as a Doe, was a…