|
|
Denver Publishing Co. v. Bueno9/16/2002
>
The older Bueno brothers are in their 40s and 50s now. They're out of prison, but most of their younger brothers will be in for a long, long time.
Joey can't help but look at his older brothers who robbed. They're out of prison now.
The younger brothers recall waking up many nights at 2 or 3 a.m. when their older brothers stumbled home drunk.
Whenever the boys ended up in jail, Della Bueno bailed them out.
"It seems like all the Buenos are destined to be nothing but criminals," David said. [David is a Bueno sibling.]
Eddie Bueno, now fifty-five, left his home when he was thirteen years old and has had virtually no contact with other family members since then. He married his present wife at age twenty-one, and they have three children, all married with families of their own. Eddie Bueno served six years in the United States Army, departing with an Honorable Discharge. His current employment began twenty-five years ago with the City and County of Denver's vehicle maintenance department. He has worked his way up to the position he now holds, center supervisor. He had no involvement whatsoever in his siblings' criminal activities, nor did he seek publicity in his life generally. Quite the contrary, Eddie Bueno purposefully kept secret from most of his friends and family the fact that he was related to the other, more notorious, Bueno children.
The reporter for the News worked on the story for six months. She interviewed numerous law enforcement officials and reviewed court and police department records. She attempted to contact all surviving children, ultimately interviewing seven of them. Three times she attempted to contact Eddie Bueno, but he did not return her calls.
Carnahan and the News insist that the article makes no false statements about Bueno. First, they argue that he did not "stay out of trouble." For this, they point to an "arrest card" in their possession that appears to indicate Bueno had a run-in with police when he was a teenager. No charges, convictions, or other ramifications resulted from that incident and Bueno disputes the card's authenticity. At trial, the judge ruled the arrest card inadmissible for any purpose, and the court of appeals affirmed.
The News further points out a portion of the article it contends rectifies any possible misunderstanding vis-à-vis Eddie Bueno:
Freddie, the youngest, and Eddie, the oldest, are the only two Bueno boys who have stayed out of trouble.
Freddie attributes his clean record to his close relationship with his mother. Of all the boys, Eddie had the closest relationship to their father.
These sentences appear on the last page of the article, seven paragraphs from the end.
II. Procedural History
Bueno sued the News, asserting four causes of action, plus compensatory and punitive damages. He alle
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Show All Case Laws Colorado PEO
|