Young
Young v. CBS Broadcasting, Inc.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Nicholson, J.
CBS Broadcasting, Inc. (CBS), telecast a report regarding Carolyn M. Young, a court-appointed conservator. In its report, CBS dramatized allegations against Young of theft and battery while she served as conservator for an elderly woman. Young sued CBS for defamation. CBS filed an anti-SLAPP motion, asserting the First Amendment. Young prevailed in part. CBS appeals. We reverse because Young acted as a public official for purposes of defamation law and failed to show CBS’s report was made with actual malice.
FACTS
Young has worked as a professional conservator and fiduciary for more than 20 years. In November 2006, and at the request of Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services, Adult Protective Services (APS), Young petitioned the trial court to be appointed as conservator for 86-year-old Mary Jane Mann. APS was seeking the conservatorship to protect Mann from undue influence by one of her adult daughters, Carol Mann Kelly. It had *556 evidence Mann suffered from memory impairment and that Kelly was attempting to take advantage of Mann financially. The court granted the petition and named Young as temporary conservator.