Graboff v. Colleran Firm (Summary)

Graboff v. Colleran Firm, No. 10-1710 (E.D. Pa. Mar. 28, 2013)

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (“district court”) denied an orthopedic surgeon membership organization’s request for a reversal of the verdict. A surgeon who was working with a law firm on a medical malpractice case sent the firm a draft report summarizing his medical conclusions. The surgeon later learned that the law firm had removed the “draft” label from the report and used it to settle their malpractice suit. As a result, the membership organization suspended the surgeon’s membership for two years for providing false testimony. The surgeon brought suit and was awarded damages.

The district court held that it was reasonable for the jury to conclude that the organization’s article created a false impression of the surgeon. State law entitles a grievant to damages in situations where a publication is susceptible to inferences that cast the subject in a false light. The court believed that the organization’s article did in fact give the false impression that the surgeon was a dishonest and inaccurate expert. The organization was aware of the fact that the law firm misrepresented the draft report as a final report, although this information was not communicated in the article. Since the organization’s publication of the article jeopardized the surgeon’s livelihood as an expert, surgeon was entitled to damages.