Byron Johnson v. Kaija Freborg, A21-1531, Supreme Court, September 20, 2023

Syllabus

1. Analysis of the totality of the circumstances—including the content, form, and context of defendant's Facebook post that accused the plaintiff in this defamation action and two other dance instructors of sexual assault—shows that her speech involved a matter of public concern, namely, sexual assault in the context of the MeToo movement. 2. Because a genuine issue of material fact exists as to the truth or falsity of defendant's alleged defamatory statement, we cannot resolve the issue of actual malice upon appeal accordingly, we remand the matter to the district court for trial on the issues of veracity and actual malice. Reversed and remanded to the district court for further proceedings.