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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc.
Citation:
472 U.S. 749 (1985)Facts
Dun & Bradstreet, a credit reporting agency, erroneously reported to five subscribers that Greenmoss Builders had filed for bankruptcy when in fact it was a former employee who had filed. The error occurred when a 17-year-old employee incorrectly attributed the bankruptcy filing to Greenmoss. Although Dun & Bradstreet claimed it routinely verified information with businesses before reporting, it had not done so in this case. Upon learning of the error, Greenmoss’s president immediately contacted Dun & Bradstreet requesting a correction and the names of subscribers who had received the report. Dun & Bradstreet issued a correction notice but refused to disclose the subscribers’ identities. Greenmoss then sued for defamation, and a jury awarded $50,000 in compensatory damages and $300,000 in punitive damages. The case ultimately reached the Supreme Court on the question of whether the Gertz limitations on presumed and punitive damages applied in this context.
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