Engler Appeals Oprah Case,
Disputing Judge’s Rulings

AMARILLO — Texas cattle feeder Paul Engler is appealing a federal court's ruling against him in his lawsuit against television talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

Lawyers for Engler filed an appeal with the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Friday. The initial suit was filed in June 1996, alleging Winfrey, her production company and a guest on her show of April, 16, 1996, falsely disparaged the safety of U.S. beef.

In the six-week trial in Amarillo earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson threw out Engler's contention that Winfrey violated a Texas food disparagement law by ruling that cattle are not a perishable food product as defined by the state law. The suit continued under much harder to prove common law business disparagement practices, and the jury found Winfrey and the defendants did not damage the Texas cattlemen bringing the suit.

Engler says food disparagement laws in Texas and 13 other states are at stake in the appeal. He says the cattle feeding industry deserves protection under the state's food disparagement statute.

Kevin Isern, Engler's Amarillo attorney, says the appeal is based on the judge's ruling throwing out the state statute, incorrect evidentiary rulings, the judge's instructions to the jury, and the jury charge.

Isern says the jury charge was submitted incorrectly by Judge Robinson, and she incorrectly instructed the jury on issues dealing with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and business disparagement.

Because of these errors, Isern says, the jury came back with a verdict they should not have reached. Had they been instructed properly, he says, they would have returned a different verdict.

While Isern says he thinks they have found glaring errors in the judge's rulings, he admits he doesn't know what the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will do.

Other cattlemen who had joined Engler in the initial lawsuit have not appealed.