ZAGORIN v. DURHAM, 137 Or. App. 273 (1995)

904 P.2d 178

Robert ZAGORIN, Appellant, v. Robert DURHAM, Respondent, and OREGONIAN PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC., an Oregon corporation, dba The Oregonian; Combined Communications, Inc., an Oregon corporation; and The Associated Press, a foreign corporation, Defendants.

16-92-06166; CA A81540Oregon Court of Appeals.Argued and submitted September 13, 1995.
Affirmed October 11, 1995.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Lane County, Maurice K. Merten, Judge.

David C. Force argued the cause and filed the briefs for appellant.

Larry A. Brisbee argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief was Barbara L. Johnston.

Before Warren, Presiding Judge, and Richardson, Chief Judge, and Haselton, Judge.

PER CURIAM

Affirmed.

Page 274

PER CURIAM

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment for defendant, entered on a jury verdict, in this defamation case. We affirm.

All of the issues raised by plaintiff’s two assignments of error relate to the trial court’s rejection of plaintiff’s evidence that he suffered humiliation and emotional distress as a result of alleged defamatory statements made by defendant.[1] The jury was given a special verdict form in this case. It answered “No” to the question: “Has the plaintiff proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant made a defamatory statement with respect to plaintiff?” Because the jury found that defendant did not make a defamatory statement, any asserted error with relation to plaintiffs damages could not have affected the outcome of the case and was harmless.[2] Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.

Affirmed.

[1] Plaintiff’s assignments challenge the trial court’s rejection of evidence and related rulings, including the court’s decisions on jury instructions.

[2] Further, plaintiff provided only selected portions of the transcript for our review, and he did not provide an agreed narrative statement in lieu of a transcript. ORAP 3.05.

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