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GREGORY M. COLLARD Plaintiff
vs.
SMITH NEWSPAPERS INC. an Alabama corporation NEWSPAPER MANAGEMENT COMPANY INC. an Alabama corporation and TLS COMMUNICATIONS INC. an Alabama corporation Defendants.
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Issues:
Wrongful discharge, First Amendment, freedom of speech.
Case Summary:
Gregory M. Collard, the managing editor of the Lincoln Journal, files a civil action against his former employers, Smith Newspapers Inc., Newspapers Management Company, Inc. and TLS Communications Inc. Collard contends he was fired for a series of articles and editorials published in the Journal. The articles criticized a local wealthy family's influence on a local school. Collard asserts he was fired after the family pressured his employer to discharge him. Collard's employers file for summary judgment against him.
Decision of lower jurisdiction:
This is the first judicial review of this case.
Outcome:
Collard loses. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia granted defendant's motion for summary judgment, noting that Collard had not offered a "scintilla" of evidence that his employers did anything more than fulfill their respective agreements to protect the economic welfare of Lincoln newspapers.