Busch v. Viacom International

Citation. 477 F. Supp. 2d 764 (N.D. Tex. 2007)

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Citation477 F. Supp. 2d 764 (N.D. Tex. 2007)

Brief Fact Summary.

Busch sued Viacom International after his image and likeness was used in a satirical endorsement that aired on The Daily Show.

Synopsis of Rule of Law.

A defendant cannot be held liable for defamation if a reasonable viewer of a satire would not believe the broadcast to be fact.

Points of Law - Legal Principles in this Case for Law Students.

Liability for misappropriation also will not arise when the information in question is in the public domain, for the public figure no longer has the right to control the dissemination of the information.

View Full Point of Law

Stewart aired a fake endorsement of dietary shake promoted by Pat Robinson on The Daily Show. In the endorsement, a body builder named Busch thanked Robertson for helping him lose 200-pounds with the shake. Although Busch was never mentioned by name, he sued Stewart and Viacom International. When the claim was removed to district court, Stewart was granted a motion to dismiss the complaint.

Issue.

Whether a defendant can be held liable for defamation if a reasonable viewer of a satire would not believe the broadcast to be fact?

Held.

No. Busch’s complaint is dismissed for failure to state a claim. Busch failed to assert that Viacom made any false statements about him and a reasonable viewer would not have believed the advertisement to be an assertion of fact about Busch.

Discussion.

A defendant cannot be held liable for defamation if a reasonable viewer of a satire would not believe the broadcast to be fact. Defamation requires an assertion of fact to be reasonably believable. A plaintiff must claim that a defendant used their likeness in order to publicize a false statement to be believed by viewers. The plaintiff must also claim that the assertion of facts injured his reputation.