Assignment:
Miles Pizza Pub was the only pizza restaurant in Centerville, Indiana, a community consisting of approximately 10,000 residents. When Allen moved to Centerville, he noticed that Miles was extremely successful, and sought to create his own pizza parlor, Allen's Pizza. To get an edge over Miles, Allen published an advertisement in the local newspaper stating that Miles Pizza sponsored another town's minor league football team, the Richmond Badgers. The citizens of Centerville were outraged to hear such news as the town was extremely devoted to the local minor league football team, the Centerville Warriors. Miles lost significant revenue, and over half of his consumer base. Consequently, Miles sued Allen for defamation, as he had never supported nor sponsored the Richmond Badgers. The court found Allen guilty of defamation, and ordered that Allen compensate Miles for damages that Miles had incurred.
But what if the facts of the case were different? Select each set of facts below that could change the outcome of the case.
A. Instead of publishing the advertisement in a newspaper, Allen verbally told a close friend, Jerry, that Miles had sponsored Centerville's rival minor league football team. But neither the prosecutor nor defendant ever determined whether Jerry shared this statement with others.
B. Instead of publishing the advertisement in the newspaper, Allen spreads a rumor by word of mouth that Miles has a communicable disease. This rumor spreads, and Miles loses three-fourths of his customer base.
C. Instead of publishing the advertisement, Allen tells a close friend that Allen is a slob.
D. Allen has found evidence, billing records and email communications, that reveal that Miles' Pizza was in fact a secret sponsor of the Richmond Badgers.