Morlan v. Qwest Dex, Inc.
Docket: No. 04-35857; D.C. No. CV-03-01406-MO
Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; December 6, 2005; Federal Appellate Court
Plaintiff Susan E. Morían appeals the summary judgment favoring her former employer, Defendant Qwest Dex, Inc., regarding her state law defamation claims. The court conducts a de novo review and affirms the lower court's decision. The allegedly defamatory statements made by Qwest Dex employees were deemed conditionally privileged, as they were intended to protect the employer's interests. For Morían to succeed in her claims, she needed to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact regarding the abuse of this privilege, which occurs if the speaker's motives are unrelated to the privilege's purpose, if they believe the statement is false, or if they lack reasonable grounds for the statement. Morían contends that certain statements made by employees Dodson, Gibson, Basile, and Groves were motivated by personal reasons and lacked reasonable grounds. However, the court finds that the district court appropriately analyzed the statements in question and did not identify evidence supporting Morían’s claims of privilege abuse. The court affirms the judgment and notes that other claims originally made by Morían were abandoned or stipulated to summary judgment, thus not affecting the appeal. The disposition is not for publication and cannot be cited except as permitted by circuit rules.