PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS, A/K/A PETA, A DELAWARE NON-PROFIT CORPORATION; PERFORMING ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY, A/K/A PAWS, A CALIFORNIA NON-PROFIT CORPORATION; JEANNE ROUSH, OTTAVIO GESMUNDO, AND PAT DERBY, Appellants, vs. BOBBY BEROSINI, LTD., A NEVADA CORPORATION, AND BOHUMIL BEROUSEK, A/K/A BOBBY BEROSINI, INDIVIDUALLY, Respondents., 111 Nev. 615

Summary

Respondent animal trainer was secretly filmed while he disciplined orangutans backstage. Appellants, animal rights organizations and individuals, released the video and made statements concerning its contents. Respondent sued appellants for libel and invasion of privacy and a jury returned a verdict for respondent. The court reversed the judgment. The court held that the distribution of the video was not false or defamatory because it was an accurate portrayal of respondent's discipline method and respondent believed he was doing nothing wrong. A statement that respondent "regularly abused" the animals was an evaluative opinion and not libelous. A statement that respondent beat the animals with steel rods was not defamatory because whether the rods in question were steel or wood was immaterial. The court held that the secret filming was not an intrusion on respondent's expected seclusion because his only expectation was freedom from interference with his animals and the use of the ...