PJC Business 2024

D EFAMATION , B USINESS D ISPARAGEMENT & I NVASION OF P RIVACY

PJC 110.3

Isaacks , 146 S.W.3d at 161. “Whether a statement is an opinion is a question of law.” Tatum , 554 S.W.3d at 639. Courts “answer this legal question from the perspective of a reasonable person’s perception of the entirety of the communication, not from isolated statements,” considering “the speaker’s method and style” and “whether the overall language conveys a personal viewpoint about the facts”—that is, an opinion. Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity , 662 S.W.3d at 363–64. Applying this method in a defa mation case brought by pro-abortion activists against anti-abortion activists who described abortion as “murder” and the pro-abortion groups as “criminal organiza tions,” the court held that, in the context of the American debate over abortion, these statements were constitutionally protected opinion. Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity , 662 S.W.3d at 364–68.

383