Franklin E. CHALK, Frederick D. Feinstein, Roy A. Graham, Billy Joe Gressett, Donald E. Jones, Langford L. Knight, F. Gregory Malta, William F. Parten, Robert E. Pierce, Roger E. Shirley, Charles F. Speed and Aaron K. Wilson, Appellants
v.
David J. BERTHOLF and Joe H. Bryant, Jr., Appellees.
Court of Appeals of Mississippi.
*292 J. Stewart Parrish, Meridian, attorney for appellants.
Wayne E. Ferrell, Jackson, attorney for appellees.
EN BANC.
MYERS, P.J., for the Court.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND STATEMENT OF FACTS
¶ 1. Franklin E. Chalk, Frederick D. Feinstein, Roy A. Graham, Billy Joe Gressett, Donald E. Jones, Langford L. Knight, F. Gregory Malta, William F. Parten, Robert E. Pierce, Roger E. Shirley, Charles F. Speed, and Aaron K. Wilson filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Lauderdale County against David J. Bertholf and Joe H. Bryant, Jr. alleging slander. All of the appellants are current, former, or retired high-ranking commissioned and non-commissioned officers of the 186th Air Refueling Wing of the Mississippi Air National Guard in Meridian. Appellee John H. Bryant, Jr. is a retired Mississippi Air National Guard officer, formerly of the 186th Wing. Appellee David J. Bertholf is a retired United States Air Force officer who, prior to his retirement, had been assigned by the Inspector General of the United States Air Force to investigate claims of wrongdoing filed by Joe H. Bryant, Jr. against members of the 186th Wing. The appellants assert that Bertholf and Bryant published slanderous statements against them on a radio talk show program conducted on May 27, 2003, on WMOX/1010 AM in Meridian, Mississippi, causing damage to their good names and reputations. However, the appellant's *293 complaint failed to include the language of the alleged slander or the substance of the words used against them.
¶ 2. Bertholf and Bryant answered the complaint, asserting various affirmative defenses, including that the complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted pursuant to Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Later, Bertholf and Bryant moved for summary judgment under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 56 asserting that there were no genuine issues of material fact for the trial court to decide and the complaint and an unauthenticated transcript of the radio talk show were attached as exhibits to the motion. Thereafter, a hearing was held on the matter and the circuit court converted the motion for summary judgment into a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, ruling in favor of Bertholf and Bryant. However, the entry of dismissal was stayed for a period of thirty days in order to allow the appellants time to amend their complaint to include more specificity as to which statements they alleged to be slanderous, information as to how the statements were slanderous and to whom the statements were directed. The appellants failed to amend their complaint before the expiration of the thirty day period of leave, and the circuit court dismissed their cause of action with prejudice, finding the complaint to be deficient under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 8. The dismissal of the complaint is now appealed and the appellants request review of the following issues:
I. WHETHER A CIRCUIT COURT MAY CONVERT A MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT INTO A MOTION TO DISMISS UNDER RULE 12(b)(6)?
II. WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED IN GRANTING DISMISSAL UNDER RULE 12(b)(6)?
¶ 3. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶ 4. Motions to dismiss under either Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 12 or Rule 56 raise questions of law and are reviewed de novo. Hartford Cas. Ins. Co. v. Halliburton Co.,
DISCUSSION
I. WHETHER A CIRCUIT COURT MAY CONVERT A MOTION FOR *294 SUMMARY JUDGMENT INTO A MOTION TO DISMISS UNDER RULE 12(b)(6)?
¶ 5. The matter of dismissal initially came before the circuit court as a motion for summary judgment pursuant to Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 56. However, after a hearing on the matter, the circuit court converted the appellee's motion for summary judgment into a motion for dismissal, and ultimately dismissed the case pursuant to Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), based upon the complainants' failure to state a claim for relief. During the hearing, Bertholf and Bryant introduced as an exhibit the transcript of the radio talk show; however, the appellants disputed the completeness of the transcript. Consequently, the trial court threw out the transcript of the radio show because its completeness was at issue.
¶ 6. On appeal, the appellants argue that the circuit court erred in converting the motion for summary judgment into a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) because the trial judge considered evidence outside of the pleadings. The appellants point out that the appellees attached, as an exhibit to their memorandum in support of the motion for summary judgment, the transcript of the radio talk show. Further, the appellants assert that the motion was to be treated as a Rule 56 motion for summary judgment because during the motion hearing on the matter, the circuit court heard live testimony and admitted into evidence a transcript and tape recordings from the radio talk show. Based on the evidence the trial court took during the motion hearing and the evidence attached to the motion, the appellants assert that the judgment should be considered one for summary judgment not one for dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6). Bertholf and Bryant contend, however, that the circuit court, in its review during the motion hearing, was limited in its review only to the four corners of the complaint, and argue that all other matters were excluded. Thus, Bertholf and Bryant assert that the circuit court properly dismissed the appellant's complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), after converting the appellee's motion for summary judgment to one for dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6).
¶ 7. Our supreme court has well established that "[u]nder certain conditions, motions for summary judgment and for judgment on the pleadings are interchangeable." Hartford,
II. WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED IN GRANTING DISMISSAL UNDER RULE 12(b)(6)?
¶ 8. At issue is whether the appellants properly alleged a claim for slander so as to survive a motion for dismissal. After the appellants failed to amend their complaint to provide more specificity regarding the allegedly slanderous statements, the circuit court dismissed the complaint pursuant to Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), finding that the complaint failed to satisfy the notice-pleading requirements of Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 8. The trial court found that the complaint was insufficient on its face, as the appellants merely alleged that Bertholf and Bryant made slanderous statements, but refused to "specifically identify those remarks or to identify which remark slandered which plaintiff."
¶ 9. The appellants assert that the circuit court erred in ruling that their complaint lacked sufficient details in order to survive a motion for dismissal. The crux of the appellants' argument is that the purpose of Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 8 is to give notice of the claims, and that the pleading of the specific facts upon which the claims will be proved is not required. At the hearing, the appellants defended the motion to dismiss by arguing that the motion was premature because discovery was not complete. In opposition, Bertholf and Bryant argue that they were not afforded proper notice through the pleadings because notice pleading under the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure require a plaintiff to plead every element of slander, including the fact that a false and defamatory statement was made. More specifically, Bertholf and Bryant argue that a complaint for slander should include the specific slanderous statements made by each defendant, a statement regarding to whom those statements were directed, and a statement describing how the defendant's statements were slanderous. According to Bertholf and Bryant, failure to include such specificity in the complaint is fatal and dismissal of a complaint lacking such information is warranted under Rule 12(b)(6).
¶ 10. The substance of the appellants' complaint alleging defamation reads in pertinent parts:
On Tuesday, May 27, 2003, the Defendants voluntarily appeared on a radio talk show program conducted by the WMOX/1010 A.M. radio station in Meridian, Mississippi, which program was broadcast to the general public throughout the area of Lauderdale County and surrounding counties.
* * * *
Statements made and published by the Defendants as described herein above slander the good name and reputation of each of the Plaintiffs, expressly or impliedly, causing injury to the said Plaintiffs for which each should be permitted to recover.
Absent from the complaint, however, are the words or substance of the words alleged to constitute slander.
*296 ¶ 11. Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 8 establishes the general rules of pleading and only requires "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." When a complaint is reviewed for sufficiency under Rule 12(b)(6), the review is limited only to the face of the pleading. Hartford,
¶ 12. "[T]he question whether said-to-be-offending words are defamatory may be decided by the Court without submission to the trier of fact." Lawrence,
(a) a false statement that has the capacity to injure the plaintiff's reputation;
(b) an unprivileged publication, i.e., communication to a third party;
(c) negligence or greater fault on part of publisher; and
(d) either actionability of statement irrespective of special harm or existence of special harm caused by publication.
Speed v. Scott,
¶ 13. We are mindful that the promulgation of Rule 8 was intended to lessen the pleading requirements so that a plaintiff's rights "are not lost by poor drafting skills of counsel." M.R.C.P. 8 cmt. However, we must also remember that "[a]lthough Rule 8 abolishes many technical requirements of pleadings, it does not eliminate the necessity of stating circumstances, occurrences, and events which support the proffered claim." M.R.C.P. 8 cmt. While the use of discovery tools becomes helpful to a defendant in developing his defense, a defendant must be able to ascertain from the outset of the litigation the circumstance(s), occurrence(s) and event(s) of his conduct that form the basis of the suit against him.
¶ 14. In this appeal, we must determine whether the appellant's complaint alleging *297 defamation pled sufficient detail pursuant to Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 8. "In construing our rules, we sometimes look for guidance to the federal cases, since the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure were patterned after the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure." Penn Nat'l Gaming, Inc.,
¶ 15. One federal district court opinion in particular, Mitchell v. Random House, Inc.,
Dismissal of defamation suits for failure of the complaint to state a cause of action or to state a claim upon which relief may be granted occurs with relative frequency. One substantial factor is *298 that the communication complained of is usually before the court at the outset; indeed in many jurisdictions it is required that complaints themselves set forth the allegedly defamatory statement. Thus, unlike most litigation, in a libel suit the central event the communication about which suit has been brought is usually before the judge at the pleading stage. He may assess it upon a motion to dismiss first hand and in context.
The trial court may therefore, at the earliest stages, make sound determinations as to issues relating to the communication of which complaint is made. Thus courts routinely consider on motions to dismiss issues such as whether the statement at bar is capable of bearing a defamatory meaning, whether it is "of and concerning" the plaintiff, whether it is protected opinion, whether there is jurisdiction over the defendant, and whether the suit is barred by privilege and frequently grant motions on these grounds and others.
Id. at 1258 (quoting R. Sack, Libel, Slander and Related Problems 533-34 (1980)).
¶ 16. In the decision of Berry v. Safer, No. 5:03-CV-3(Br)(S),
¶ 17. One federal court construed Mississippi pre-rules statutory law to require a plaintiff "to plead the `words or matter' constituting the alleged defamation." Lenoir v. Tannehill,
¶ 18. With this guidance in the interpretation of the Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 8 pleading requirements in mind, we turn to the case sub judice. We find that the appellants' complaint failed to comply with the relaxed, notice-pleading requirements of Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 8 in two ways. First, the complaint failed to specify which of the twelve plaintiffs was slandered by which of the two defendants. Second, the complaint failed to set forth the statements, paraphrased or verbatim, that constituted slander. Without setting forth any information in the complaint regarding the statements, to whom the statements were directed, by whom the statements were made, and how the statements were slanderous, the allegation that appellees made `slanderous statements' constitutes a bare legal conclusion with no support in the complaint. Had the complaint alleged that the entire radio broadcast occurring on May 27, 2003, was slanderous, then we would be facing a different situation. *299 However, the appellants did not claim that the entire radio broadcast occurring on May 27, 2003, was slanderous. Rather, the appellees were only given notice that something either Bertholf or Bryant (or both) said on their morning radio show on the date of May 27, 2003, was allegedly slanderous toward one or all of the twelve complainants. Because the complaint did not contain any information as to the substance or effect of the statements with which the appellants allege they were slandered, Bertholf and Bryant were left with approximately two hours worth of radio air time to analyze and attempt to guess which parts of the radio show the appellants alleged slanderous in order to begin their defense.
¶ 19. Failure to provide any substance regarding the allegedly slanderous words in the complaint against the appellees was fatal to the appellant's claim. Even after the trial judge granted the appellants leave to amend their complaint to include more specificity regarding the allegedly slanderous words, the appellants refused to do so. We agree with the trial court that the appellant's complaint failed to state a claim for which relief could be granted, albeit under a different analysis. But, as a reviewing appellate court, we are most "interested in the result of the decision, and if it is correct we are not concerned with the routestraight path or detourwhich the trial court took to get there." Kirksey v. Dye,
¶ 20. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LAUDERDALE COUNTY IS AFFIRMED. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO THE APPELLANTS.
KING, C.J., IRVING, CHANDLER, ISHEE, and CARLTON, JJ., CONCUR. GRIFFIS, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY LEE, P.J.; BARNES, J. JOINS IN PART. ROBERTS, J., NOT PARTICIPATING.
GRIFFIS, J., Dissenting:
¶ 21. I respectfully dissent on two separate grounds. First, the trial judge's decision did not dismiss all claims alleged in the plaintiffs' complaint. Second, the trial judge erred in granting the motion to dismiss. I would reverse and remand for further proceedings.
¶ 22. My first issue is jurisdictional. The trial judge simply did not dismiss all claims alleged. The complaint asserted four separate claims. Count I asserted a claim for "Slander." The plaintiffs alleged that the statements made by the defendants on a radio program slandered them, and they were damaged thereby. Count II asserted a claim for "Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress." The plaintiffs alleged that the statements were intentionally made with an intent to harm the plaintiffs and were sufficiently outrageous as to cause emotional distress. Count III asserted a claim for "Injurious Falsehood/Trade Libel." The plaintiffs alleged that the statements were derogatory to plaintiffs' business interests and constituted injurious falsehood and disparagement causing loss to the plaintiffs. Court IV asserted a claim for "Punitive Damages." The plaintiffs alleged that the acts and omissions of the defendants evidence a willful, wanton or reckless disregard for the plaintiffs and constituted gross negligence.
¶ 23. The trial judge's written and spoken words indicate that he viewed this as simply a slander action. It was not. The plaintiffs' complaint asserted four separate *300 claims. The trial judge did not consider whether the motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) was appropriate for Count II (Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress), Count III (Injurious Falsehood/Trade Libel), or Court IV (Punitive Damages). Hence, I am of the opinion that the trial court's judgment was not a final judgment and was not certified, pursuant to Rule 54(b) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. I am of the opinion that this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider the appeal. I would dismiss this appeal and remand to the trial court for further proceedings.
¶ 24. My second issue is that I am of the opinion that the trial judge's decision was erroneous. The defendants filed a pleading identified as a "Motion for Summary Judgment." To support the motion, the defendants attached the complaint, a transcript of the radio program that aired on May 27, 2003, and a memorandum brief. The plaintiffs responded with their own evidence.
¶ 25. At the conclusion of the second hearing on the motion for summary judgment, the trial court concluded:
I think [the] motion for summary judgment is premature. However, I do think a 12(b)(6) motion is appropriate in that I think, looking at the Complaint the essence of a slander case is that there must be some verbal communication that is published. It must meet a lot of elements, but the first thing it has got to be is a statement about somebody directed at somebody. And there is absolutely nothing in the Complaint, nothing filed by the Plaintiff in all this file since this case has been filed that would indicate any slanderous remark. That does not meet the test of Rule 8, nor does it fall in line with the PACCAR case as to what is required. . . .
In the order, dated July 8, 2005, the trial judge held:
The Complaint in this cause merely alleges that slanderous remarks were made on the talk show on May 27, 2003. It fails to specifically identify those remarks or to identify which remark slandered which plaintiff. This does not satisfy Rule 8 MRCP according to PACCAR Financial Corp. v. Howard,615 So.2d 583 (Miss.1993) and therefore does not state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6).
The Court finds based solely on consideration of the pleadings and the conclusions that no set of facts could establish a claim from the Complaint as it now exists that this cause should be dismissed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). However, Plaintiffs are granted thirty (30) days from the date of this order to amend the Complaint to allege the specific slanderous statements by each Defendant, who the statements were directed toward and how they were slanderous. If the Complaint has not been amended within the thirty day period this Order shall become final.
¶ 26. My review of the trial court's decision begins with an examination of the legal authorities cited by the trial judge, PACCAR Financial Corp. There, the defendants appealed a jury verdict in a conversion action. PACCAR Financial Corp.,
While Miss. R. Civ. P. 8 abolishes many technical requirements of pleadings, it does not eliminate the necessity of stating circumstances, occurrences, and events which support the proffered claim. Although Miss. R. Civ. P. 15(b) permits trial of issues not raised by the pleadings with the express or implied consent of the parties, the Comment to the Rule states:
it is an invariable principle of practice that the admissible proof in any case must come within the allegations of the pleadings and that it avails nothing to prove what is not charged.
A party, however, is entitled to have jury instructions given regarding all material issues presented in the pleadings or evidence. Likewise, a party is entitled to have his theory of the case presented to the jury through instructions, provided there is evidence to support it. Having reviewed the record, we find, therefore, that despite any deficiencies in the pleadings, there was sufficient evidence introduced at trial to show that Hawk acted as PACCAR's agent to warrant the complained of instruction to the jury.
PACCAR Financial Corp.,
¶ 27. I include a discussion of PACCAR Financial Corp. to show that it does not stand for the proposition the trial court asserted. Indeed, in footnote 3, the majority agrees that PACCAR Financial Corp. does not support the trial court's ruling.
¶ 28. Likewise, at the hearing, the trial court extensively discussed and ultimately relied on Harold's Auto Parts, Inc. v. Mangialardi,
In essence, we are told that 264 plaintiffs were exposed over a 75-year period of time to asbestos products associated with 137 manufacturers in approximately 600 workplaces. We are not told which plaintiff was exposed to which product manufactured by which defendant in which workplace at any particular time. We do not suggest that this lack of basic information is the result of recalcitrance on the part of plaintiffs' counsel; perhaps plaintiffs' counsel has not furnished the information.
Mangialardi,
*302 ¶ 29. In 3M Co. v. Glass,
We held the Mangialardi plaintiffs' failure to provide this "core information" within their complaint violated Rules 8, 9, 10 and 11, of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. Specifically, we stated that "such information must include, at a minimum, the name of the defendant or defendants against whom each plaintiff makes a claim, and the time period and location of exposure." Id. at 495. Though some have complained that these simple requirements place too great a burden on plaintiffs' counsel in mass tort cases, we do not agree. We think it reasonable to expect counsel to know prior to filing suit the identity of each client, the defendant each client proposes to sue, the alleged harm committed by specific defendants against each client, and the location and period of time the harm was committed.
Footnote 5. Our decision in Mangialardi cannot fairly be read to say that every fact and detail must be pled. For compliance with Mangialardi, it is enough to say, for instance, that "plaintiff A brings suit against defendant B for XYZ wrongful conduct committed at defendant's ABC facility during the years 1999, 2000 and 2001."
Id.
¶ 30. The majority's decision is based on federal court interpretations of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The bases for each of these decisions are Mississippi cases that predate the adoption of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. Neither Rule 8 nor Rule 9 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure requires that the complaint include the specific slanderous statements made by each defendant/appellee, to whom those statements were directed, and how they were slanderous. Indeed, Mississippi cases that predate Rule 8 did not require the exact statements to be included in the complaint. Holland v. Kennedy,
¶ 31. I believe it important to address only one federal decision, Mitchell v. Random House, Inc.,
Under Mississippi law, the trial court in a defamation case must make the threshold determination of whether the language in question is actionable. Brewer v. Memphis Publishing Co.,626 F.2d at 1245 . In this regard, Mississippi recognizes the common law rule that
any written or printed language which tends to injure one's reputation, and thereby expose him to public hatred, contempt or ridicule, degrade him in society, lessen him in public *303 esteem or lower him in the confidence of the community is actionable per se.
Fulton v. Mississippi Publishers Corp.,498 So.2d 1215 , 1217 (Miss.1986) (quoting Ferguson v. Watkins,448 So.2d 271 , 275 (Miss.1984)). Moreover, to state a claim for defamation, it is necessary that the defamation be "clear and unmistakable from the words themselves and not the product of innuendo, speculation or conjecture." Ferguson,448 So.2d at 275 .
Mitchell,
¶ 32. We must recognize that the instant case deals not with "written or printed language" but instead deals with a spoken word on a radio program. The instant case differs from Mitchell, because the actionable words were not written in a book but were spoken over the radio. The transcript of the radio program was not available to the plaintiffs and a transcript was presented by the defendants in response to the motion for summary judgment.
¶ 33. The majority cites us to the following excerpt from Mitchell:
Dismissal of defamation suits for failure of the complaint to state a cause of action or to state a claim upon which relief may be granted occurs with relative frequency. One substantial factor is that the communication complained of is usually before the court at the outset; indeed in many jurisdictions it is required that complaints themselves set forth the allegedly defamatory statement. Thus, unlike most litigation, in a libel suit the central event-the communication about which suit has been brought-is usually before the judge at the pleading stage. He may assess it upon a motion to dismiss first hand and in context.
The trial court may therefore, at the earliest stages, make sound determinations as to issues relating to the communication of which complaint is made. Thus courts routinely consider on motions to dismiss issues such as whether the statement at bar is capable of bearing a defamatory meaning, whether it is "of and concerning" the plaintiff, whether it is protected opinion, whether there is jurisdiction over the defendant, and whether the suit is barred by privilege and frequently grant motions on these grounds and others.
R. Sack, Libel, Slander and Related Problems 533-34 (1980); see also Lenoir v. Tannehill,660 F.Supp. 42 , 44 (S.D.Miss.1986) (plaintiff in defamation action required under Mississippi statute to plead "words or matter" constituting alleged defamation); Miss Code Ann. § 11-7-53 (1972).
Mitchell,
¶ 34. In addition, the cite to Lenoir makes it appear that Mississippi law is settled that the defamatory or slanderous "words or matter" must be pled. If we look at Lenoir, the following is the exact language used:
Defendants/Counterplaintiffs are required under the statute to plead the "words or matter" constituting the alleged defamation. See Valley Dry Goods Co. v. Buford,114 Miss. 414 ,75 So. 252 , 254 (1917) (pleader must allege the words or synonymous words which constitute the slander); cf. Asay v. Hallmark Cards, Inc.,594 F.2d 692 , 699 (8th Cir.1979) (use of in haec verba *304 pleadings on defamation charges preferred in federal courts to facilitate responsive pleadings). The Defendants/Counterplaintiffs' allegations of defamation fall far short of this pleadings requisite.
Lenoir,
¶ 35. The complaint here named twelve plaintiffs and two defendants. The complaint alleged that these plaintiffs sued the defendants for wrongful conduct committed "[o]n Tuesday, May 27, 2003, [when] the Defendants voluntarily appeared on a radio talk show program conducted by the WMOX/1010 A.M. radio station in Meridian, Mississippi. . . ." As a result of the remarks made on the May 27, 2003 radio broadcast, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants: "slander[ed] the good name and reputation of each of the plaintiffs" (Count I); "intentionally . . . harm[ed] the said plaintiffs and were sufficiently outrageous as to cause emotional distress" (Count II); published "matters derogatory to plaintiffs' business interests to third parties constitut[ing] injurious falsehood or disparagement causing pecuniary loss" (Count III); and "acts and/or omissions . . . constitute such a departure from the accepted standard of behavior expected from and owed to the plaintiffs by the defendants as to evidence a willful, wanton, or reckless disregard for the welfare of others, . . . constituting gross negligence and justifying an award of punitive damages" (Count IV).
¶ 36. I am of the opinion that the plaintiffs' complaint was indeed sufficient to plead a claim for slander pursuant to the notice pleading requirement of Rules 8 and 9 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. Therefore, I conclude that the trial court erred in granting a motion to dismiss. I would reverse and remand for further proceedings. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
LEE, P.J., JOINS THIS OPINION. BARNES, J., JOINS THIS OPINION IN PART.
NOTES
Notes
[1] We note that in the case of Lawrence, the plaintiffs attached the entire article from which they alleged a portion libelous. After the court reviewed the allegedly slanderous statement, the defamation complaint was found to be deficient on its face for failure to state a claim for which relief could be granted.
[2] We note, however, that our supreme court has mentioned the issue which lies before us today in Holland v. Kennedy,
[3] Within its order, the trial court cites the cases of PACCAR Financial Corp. v. Howard,