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Nixon Peabody LLP v. Beaupre2/7/2002
Argued November 1, 2001
In a complaint filed in Superior Court alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, and other tortious acts, appellee Lawrence K. Beaupre, a former editor of The Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper, sued the Enquirer, Gannett Satellite Network, and other parties for actions, which he asserts, ultimately caused the unlawful termination of his employment and other consequential injuries. This appeal is from a denial of a joint motion to dismiss the action on the basis of forum non conveniens. Appellants contend that the trial court erred by giving undue deference to the choice of forum of a non-resident plaintiff; disregarding the factual evidence that nearly all material witnesses reside in Ohio; holding that the District has a strong interest in this case; and engaging in an unnecessary and inappropriate conflict-of-laws analysis. We affirm.
I. Factual Background
For present purposes, the allegations of the complaint must be accepted as true. Blake v. Professional Travel Corp., 768 A.2d 568, 569 (D.C. 2001). Appellee Beaupre was vice president and editor of The Cincinnati Enquirer (Enquirer), an Ohio newspaper owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (Gannett). Gannett is a Delaware corporation with headquarters in Arlington, Virginia and operations nationwide. Two Enquirer journalists, Michael Gallagher (Gallagher) and Cameron McWhirter (McWhirter), conducted a year-long investigation into the business practices of Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (Chiquita). Chiquita is a New Jersey corporation with its principal place of business in Cincinnati, Ohio. Chiquita threatened to sue the Enquirer as early as August 24, 1997. Thereafter, Gannett retained the services of Nixon Peabody, a law firm with offices in Washington, D.C. Prior to publication, appellee provided drafts of a series of articles written by Gallagher and McWhirter for review. The articles were reviewed by Gannett executives, counsel in Arlington, and Nixon Peabody attorneys in Washington. The drafts reviewed by counsel contained excerpts of Chiquita voice mail messages, obtained by Gallagher. These excerpts were included in the final version of the articles. Appellee discussed questions surrounding the articles with Gannett executives, in-house counsel, and Nixon Peabody attorneys. On May 3, 1998, the Enquirer published articles regarding Chiquita.
Following publication of the articles, litigation was again threatened. As a consequence, Gannett and Chiquita entered into settlement discussions. Chiquita was represented by the Washington office of Kirkland & Ellis. Gannett was represented by Nixon Peabody, led by Robert C. Bernius (Bernius), and Gannett's in-house counsel. Ultimately, Gannett fired Gallagher and a settlement agreement was executed on June 27, 1998. The parties to the agreement were Chiquita, Gannett, Gannett Satellite, Enquirer, McWhirter, and appellee. Chiquita withdrew its threat of litigation in exchange for a public apology, monetary benefits, and an agreement that appellee and McWhirter would not write about Chiquita in the future. Appellee alleges that Gannett and Chiquita entered into a secret agreement to remove him from his position of editor-in-chief.
Following the settlement, an internal investigation and report that placed responsibility on appellee for the Chiquita controversy was completed by in-house counsel and Nixon Peabody. Appellee alleges he was "scapegoated" in an effort to protect senior Gannett executives, as well as the drafters of the report, from criminal prosecution. At the same time as settlement negotiations occurred, a criminal investigation commenced in Ohio. Gallagher pleaded guilty to two felony offenses. Henry J. DePip
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