Please read the mock judicial decision or case, Freeman v. OMalley, et al. below and then complete the two parts of the assignment that follow it.

Freeman case

Martin Freeman v. Barry OMalley, et al., 13 S.E. 41 (N.C. Ct. App. 2020), North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Martin Freeman alleged in his Complaint that in 2014 he was a practicing physical therapist rehabilitating patients primarily recovering from ankle surgery. One of his patients was Mark Winneker, who recently had major ankle surgery where a plate and four screws were inserted into his ankle to try to put back a fractured piece of his ankle that had completely detached from the rest of his ankle. He also had a number of bone spurs removed, and a hole in his ligament filled with marrow from his pelvis.

Winneker went to Freeman for physical therapy approximately 3 months after his surgery. Barry OMalley was Winnekers surgeon. After a month of physical therapy, Winneker felt a lot of pain and went back to OMalley for a CT-Scan, which revealed that two of the screws had cracked in half. Winneker was very upset at the idea of possibly having to have another surgery.

After Winneker went home, OMalley emailed him a picture of Freeman, which was one of 6 pictures of men with a label convicted felons. Winneker was the only recipient of the email and he did not forward it to anyone else. Freeman, however, has never been convicted of a crime. When Freeman found out about the photo array, he filed a lawsuit against OMalley and Winneker for the tort false light. Freeman was seeking an injunction only.

The trial court dismissed Freemans Complaint and Freeman appealed to this Court. This Court must decide whether OMalley and Winnekers actions placed Freeman in a false light such that they are liable to Freeman. This question must be answered in the negative. The tort of false light imposes liability for highly offensive publicity placing another in a false light if the defendant knew that the matter publicized was false or acted in reckless disregard of the truth and the publicity given must be made to the public at large, not merely to one person. Applying this to the facts in the present case, it is evident that OMalley disregarded the truth of the email he sent to Winneker. However, the email was only sent to Winneker and not to the public at large. Therefore, we hold that Freemans lawsuit for the tort of false light fails. The lower court decision is affirmed.

Part 1:

First, you must create a written case brief for the Freeman case. Case briefing and legal analysis are explained in your textbook reading and handout for Week 1. When creating your "case brief" in part one, please follow the example at the end of the Case Analysis and Case Briefs" handout and label all of the parts (procedural facts, facts relevant to legal issue, rule, issue, reasoning, holding, and disposition) of your own case brief just like in the example. You do not have to follow the exact format from the sample but you must list each of the seven parts above and then give the corresponding answer from the case next to each one.

Below is a brief summary of what each part of a case brief means:

(1) Procedural facts these are the facts that show how the case got to the particular court that it is in.

(2) Facts relevant to the legal issue these are the facts that form the basis of the plaintiffs case.

(3) Rule this is the law that needs to be applied by the court in the case.

(4) Issue this is the question that the court needs to answer/decide.

(5) Reasoning - these are the reasons that the court gives for its decision.

(6) Holding this is the final decision the court reached (who the court ruled for).

(7) Disposition this is the appellate courts ruling on the lower courts decision.

Part 2:

Next, after you have created your case brief, in the same document, please answer the following questions regarding the Freeman case. Each question is worth a point.

For each answer, you must:

(1) give the correct answer;

(2) give a correct and complete explanation; and

(3) cite to a specific page in the textbook that correctly supports your answer.

If one of these three requirements is missing in your answer, you will not receive credit for that answer. Everything you need to answer each question is contained in your Chapter 1 reading.

QUESTIONS:

1. Who is the Plaintiff?

2. Who is the Defendant(s)?

3. Is this a civil or criminal case?

4. Is this case dealing with public or private law?

5. Was the Plaintiff seeking equity in the case?

6. Was a treaty involved in the case?

7. In order for the Plaintiff to win his case, does he have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt?

8. Was this case decided in an adversary system?

9. In the case citation, Martin Freeman v. Barry OMalley, et al., 13 S.E. 41 (N.C. Ct. App. 2020), where is the case reported?

10. Continuing with Question 9, what do the numbers 13 and 41 stand for?