Turner v. Wells, Case No. 15-61855-CIV-GAYLES

198 F.Supp.3d 1355

James L. TURNER, Plaintiff,

v.Theodore V. WELLS, Jr.; and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Defendants.

Case No. 15-61855-CIV-GAYLES

United States District Court, S.D. Florida.

Signed July 29, 2016

Peter R. Ginsberg, Scott D. Woller, Peter R Ginsberg Law LLC, New York, NY, Alicia Lyons-Laufer, Sarah Gail Weber, Laufer & Laufer, PA, Boca Raton, FL, for Plaintiff.

Daniel J. Leffell, Daniel H. Levi, Darren W. Johnson, Lewis R. Clayton, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP, New York, NY, Martin Leonard Steinberg, Justin Scott Brenner, Mark Francis Raymond, Hogan Lovells US, LLP, Erin Kristen Kolmansberger, Broad and Cassel, Miami, FL, for Defendants.

ORDER

DARRIN P. GAYLES, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This is an action claiming defamation. Following the widely publicized departure of former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin from the team in the middle of the 2013 football season, the National Football League commissioned Defendant Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP ("Paul, Weiss") to conduct an investigation into allegations that Martin's departure came as a result of a campaign of bullying and harassment occasioned upon him by several of his teammates, namely, Richie Incognito, John Jerry, and Mike Pouncey. Subsequent to that investigation, Defendant Theodore V. Wells, Jr., an attorney and partner at Paul, Weiss and the lead investigator, authored (along with three other Paul, Weiss attorneys) the 144-page Report to the National Football League Concerning Issues of Workplace Conduct at the Miami Dolphins (the "Wells Report" or the "Report"), which detailed the investigation's findings and the conclusions drawn therefrom. Although the Wells Report centered on the bullying scandal and Martin's departure from the team, it also stated facts and drew several conclusions as to Martin's teammates and many other individuals, including then–offensive line head coach James L. Turner, Jr., the Plaintiff here. Turner alleges that the Report contains several false statements and accusations that defamed him and resulted in the termination of his employment with the Dolphins.

Presently before the Court is the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss [ECF No. 25]. The Court has carefully considered the Complaint, the Wells Report, the briefs and arguments of counsel, and the applicable law. For the reasons that follow, the Court finds that none of the challenged statements contained in the Wells Report are actionable for defamation, and no omission or juxtaposition of any facts gives rise to a claim of defamation by implication. Consequently, the Defendants' motion shall be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Turner's Career

According to the allegations in the Complaint, Turner attended Boston College, where he played as a fullback for the Boston College Eagles football team and served as team captain during the 1987 college football season. Compl. ¶ 18. Following his graduation from Boston College, Turner played semi-professional football for a brief time before turning his attention to coaching, beginning with a position as an offensive coach for his former high school team in Braintree, Massachusetts, and as offensive coordinator for an English semi-professional team. Id. ¶ 19. In 1990, Turner joined the United States Marine Corps and became a platoon commander and operations officer, serving for four years in the Middle Eastern, Asian, and European theaters. Id. ¶ 20. He was honorably discharged in 1994 and returned to coaching football. Id. ¶ 21. Between 1994 and 2011, Turner held various coaching positions at Northeastern University, Louisiana Tech University, Harvard University, Temple University, the University of Delaware, and Texas A&M University before being hired as the Dolphins' offensive line coach for the 2012 Season, where he remained until his termination in February 2014. Id. ¶ 21-22.

B. Martin's Departure from the Dolphins and the Defendants' Investigation

On October 30, 2013, the national sports media began reporting that Martin had "gone AWOL" from the Dolphins after a cafeteria "prank" by his teammates. Id. ¶ 31. One commentator reported that the incident was the "final straw" for Martin and, as a result, Martin had checked himself into a treatment facility. Id. Over the following days, reports began to surface containing allegations that Martin had been a victim of locker room bullying and harassment by his Dolphins teammates. Id. ¶ 32. The story quickly gained national attention. Id.

On November 6, 2013, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the NFL had retained Paul, Weiss to conduct "an independent investigation" led by Wells "into issues of workplace conduct at the Miami Dolphins" and to "prepare a Report for the commissioner," which would be made public. Id. ¶¶ 2, 33-34 (internal quotation marks omitted). During the course of the investigation, Wells and other Paul, Weiss partners, associates, and paralegals interviewed current and former Dolphins players, Dolphins coaching staff, and front office personnel; reviewed emails and text messages between Martin and his teammates and coaches; and interviewed Martin's parents, his agent, and his former teammates and coaches at Stanford University. Id. ¶ 36. Turner was interviewed twice during the investigation. The first interview was conducted in person in November 2013 between Wells, two other members of his team, Turner, and a member of the Dolphins' legal staff. Id. ¶ 39. The second interview was conducted via Skype the following month; Turner characterizes this interview as "more accusatory" than the first, with Wells's questioning taking on a "suggestive and aggressive tone," which caused Turner to feel "uncomfortable and defensive." Id. ¶ 43.

C. The Wells Report

On February 14, 2014, the Defendants publicly released the report of the investigation, i.e. , the Wells Report. Id. ¶ 45. Over the course of its 144 pages, the Wells Report found that several Dolphins players subjected Martin to "persistent harassment," making insulting and derogatory comments about Martin and his family, which "contributed to Martin's decision to leave the team." Id. (quoting Compl. Ex. A ("Wells Report") at 4) (internal quotation marks omitted). It also found that Dolphins players and coaches created a culture that both encouraged this bullying and harassment and discouraged Martin from seeking help from coaches or management without being considered a "snitch" or a "traitor." Id. ¶ 49. Ultimately, it concluded that "the treatment of Martin and others in the Miami Dolphins organization at times was offensive and unacceptable in any environment, including the world professional football players inhabit." Id. ¶ 45. (quoting Wells Report at 5) (internal quotation marks omitted). Five days after the Wells Report was released, the Dolphins fired Turner. Id. ¶ 48.

Turner points to four passages pertaining to him within the Report that he alleges contain false and defamatory statements. He alleges that "the Defendants accused [him] of: [1] participating in the ‘harassment’ of a Dolphins player who teammates often joked was gay (though he was not); [2] establishing a so-called ‘Judas Code’ under which players were not supposed to ‘snitch’ on teammates or they could face a fine; [3] knowing about the bullying and harassment directed at Martin but failing to take any action to stop it; and [4] improperly pressuring Martin publicly to defend Incognito after Martin quit the team."Id. ¶ 47.

1. The "Blow-Up Doll" Incident

The Report asserts that "Player 1" (anonymized in both the Report and the Complaint),¹ a Dolphins offensive lineman, was the subject of homophobic taunting. Id. ¶ 79. Among other things, it states that Incognito, Jerry, and Pouncey often called him homophobic slurs in a demeaning tone, and that Incognito accused him of performing oral sex on men and urinating while sitting down, as well as asking him, "[W]here's your boyfriend?" Wells Report at 19. Incognito acknowledged that Player 1 was not actually believed to be gay, but he was spoken to repeatedly and persistently in this manner—or, in Incognito's words, "every day from everybody, high frequency." Id. Incognito and other players also reported that Incognito, Jerry, and Pouncey "routinely touched [Player 1] ... in a mockingly suggestive manner, including on his rear end, while ... taunt[ing him] about his supposed homosexuality." Id.

The Report contends that Turner "was aware of the running ‘joke’ that Player [1] was gay, and on at least one occasion, he participated in the taunting." Id. at 20. Specifically, during the 2012 holiday season, Turner gave the offensive linemen stockings filled with gifts, including a CD of music and a copy of the book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus . Compl. ¶ 80. Turner alleges that the purpose of the gifts was to encourage the players to work on their relationships with their significant others. Id. He also warned the players that if they did not learn to improve their relationships with people outside football, those relationships might not last. Id. To that end, he presented each player with a female "blow-up doll." Id. Each player, that is, except Player 1, to whom Turner gave a male blow-up doll. Id. ¶ 81. Martin told the Defendants he was surprised Turner made this gesture to Player 1, and he was offended that Turner "endorsed the humiliating treatment of Player 1 by participating in it." Id. (quoting Wells Report at 20).

According to the Report, "When interviewed, Turner was asked if he gave Player [1] a male blow-up doll. He replied, ‘I can't remember.’ We do not believe that Turner forgot this incident, which many others recalled." Wells Report at 20. According to Turner, the Defendants did not ask him about the incident during the first interview, but rather waited until the second, "purposely confrontational and accusatory" interview to ask. Compl. ¶ 89. When asked about the incident, Turner questioned its relevance to Martin's...