# Lewis v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States

> Supreme Court of Minnesota · July 3, 1986 · 389 N.W.2d 876

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9691238

## Case

- **Full name:** Carole LEWIS, Et Al., Respondents, v. the EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES, Petitioner, Appellant
- **Court:** Supreme Court of Minnesota
- **Decided:** July 3, 1986
- **Citations:** 389 N.W.2d 876; 62 A.L.R. 4th 581; 1 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1269; 1986 Minn. LEXIS 829
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurring in part by Coyne
- **Judges:** Amdahl, Simonett, Coyne, Kelley
- **Cited by:** 246 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9691238

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- recognizing qualified privilege applies to statements regarding employees discharge, because of public interest that reasons be available to both discharged employee and prospective employers; without privilege, employers may not inform employees of reasons for discharge
- recognizing that doctrine applies in defamation action following separation of employment and person making defamatory statement knows that “the defamed person has no reasonable means of avoiding publication of the statement”
- holding that liability exists only where “defamed person has no reasonable means of avoiding publication of the statement or avoiding the resulting damages”

## Opinion text

COYNE, Justice
(dissenting in part and concurring in part).
I join in Justice Simonett’s opinion dissenting in part and concurring in part.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9691238. Public record. Not legal advice.