Low
Low v. Golden Eagle Insurance
Opinion
lead Opinion
Sepulveda, J.
While working for appellant insured, U.S. Continental Marketing, Inc., an employee (Employee) filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against his employer, alleging his supervisor (Supervisor) had sexually harassed him; Supervisor was joined as a party defendant. On learning of Employee’s suit, KMEX, a Los Angeles radio station, decided to cover the story behind it. The focus of the KMEX coverage was Employee’s allegation he was forced to have sex with Supervisor in order to keep his job. David Williams, the president of appellant insured, also appeared on the broadcast and answered questions about his organization’s employment practices. The KMEX broadcast prompted Supervisor to file a cross-complaint against appellant and Williams for damages for defamation, based upon an allegedly libelous statement made by Williams to the KMEX interviewer. As set forth in Supervisor’s pleading, the following statements were published during the KMEX interview: 1
“Employee: While [Supervisor] was my supervisor at U.S. Continental Marketing, [he] repeatedly forced me to have sex with him, even though he had AIDS. He also forced me to spend time at his home and pull down my pants and…