The former Starbucks manager who called the police on two non-paying black customers earlier this month may have a good case for bringing a defamation suit against the coffee company.
In numerous public statements, Starbucks and its CEO Kevin Johnson have gone out of their way to imply that the female manager, identified in media reports as Holly Hylton, was acting on subconscious racial motivations when she told the loitering customers to either buy a beverage or get out of her store. Crucially, Starbucks has also strongly implied that, as a factual matter, the manager violated company policy.
Defamation law varies by state, but the gist is simple: Negligently saying, or implying, something that is provably false about a private person constitutes actionable defamation, as long as the statement harms the victim’s reputation.
In Pennsylvania, where the incident occurred, defamation is governed by 42 § 8343. The statute is a typical defamation law, and it puts the burden on the plaintiff to show, among other things, that the statement was made about the defendant, was false, and caused damages.
AAN Staff
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