Fidelis Agbapuruonwu v. NBC Subsidiary (WRC-TV), LLC, dba NBC4 Washington, et al.

Respondents NBCUniversal Media, LLC and NBC Subsidiary (WRC-TV), LLC d/b/a NBC4 published a television broadcast and online print article about Petitioner, Fidelis Agbapuruonwu, a private individual. In its publications, Respondents partially quoted a statement about Petitioner from a public record which imputed criminal activity to Petitioner and amounted to defamation per se under Virginia law. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that Petitioner could not overcome application of the fair report privilege to this statement, as the actual malice Petitioner would be required to prove had not been plausibly pled in his Complaint. The questions presented are:

1. Whether Twombly and Iqbal require heightened factual pleading of allegations of malice in a common law defamation complaint brought by a private individual against a media defendant, beyond the requirement of F.R.Civ.P. 9(b) that “[m]alice . . . may be alleged generally”?

2. Whether a private individual bringing a common-law defamation claim in federal court based on diversity jurisdiction is entitled to discovery to adduce evidence of malice for the purpose of overcoming a qualified privilege?