Lajuan and Billy WOOD, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. HUSTLER MAGAZINE, INC., Defendant-Appellant, 736 F.2d 1084

Summary

Nude photographs of appellee wife that were taken by appellee husband were stolen by a neighbor and submitted to appellant magazine, who published them. Appellees filed suit for defamation and invasion of privacy and prevailed on the invasion of privacy action. Appellant sought review, and the court affirmed the judgment and award as to appellee wife but reversed the judgment in favor of appellee husband. The court held that the district court properly applied Texas laws because the injury occurred in Texas, appellees resided in Texas, and the parties' relationship was centered in Texas. The district court properly found the statute of limitations for invasion of privacy claims in Texas to be two years. The standard of care was that of a media defendant who invaded a private individual's privacy by placing them in a false light, which was a negligence standard. Appellant's method of verifying submitted information was slipshod and negligent. The district court erred in finding that ...