TX Court Expands Libel Rule to Online Media

Houston’s 14th Court of Appeals on Thursday affirmed a summary judgment for a Bryan-College Station media outlet for a libel case brought against it in 2011 by a disbarred attorney who was convicted of forgery.

The plaintiff, Helen Mayfield, sued Gray Television Group, Inc. (d/b/a KBTX-TV) in April 2011 for alleged false statements made in its coverage of her October 2007 felony indictment and subsequent July 2008 conviction. A Houston district court granted summary judgment in favor of KBTX-TV in December 2011, concluding Mayfield’s claims were barred by Texas’ one-year statute of limitations for libel cases.