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Diaz v. NBC Universal, Inc.
Citation: 337 F. App'x 94Docket: No. 08-1190-cv
Court: Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; July 16, 2009; Federal Appellate Court
Plaintiffs-appellants Louis Diaz, Gregory Korniloff, and Jack Toal, former DEA special agents, appeal a district court's ruling that dismissed their defamation complaint against NBC Universal. The complaint was filed on behalf of approximately 400 former DEA agents, alleging that a legend in the film *American Gangster* defamed them by incorrectly stating that a collaboration between a police officer and a drug trafficker led to the convictions of three-quarters of the DEA in New York City. The appellate court reviews the dismissal de novo, emphasizing that a defamation claim must show the statement was "of and concerning" the plaintiffs. The court applied the group libel doctrine, concluding that the statement referenced the entire DEA group, and plaintiffs could not demonstrate that the legend specifically targeted them as individuals. The group mentioned in the legend is large, making it difficult to establish a personal reference. Additionally, the film portrays corrupt officers as part of the NYPD’s Special Investigations Unit, not the DEA, further distancing the plaintiffs from the allegedly defamatory statement. The court also rejected a narrower claim from the appellants regarding a specific nine-member DEA search team, stating that the reference must be assessed against the broader group defined in the legend. Ultimately, the court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the case, noting that the plaintiffs did not contest the denial of injunctive relief or the dismissal of emotional distress claims on appeal, leading to those claims being deemed abandoned.