Yeatts v. Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-former employer’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff-former employee’s defamation action, alleging that defendant’s placement of plaintiff’s name on restriction list and statement that plaintiff was suspended in connection with corruption investigation and that he posed significant and unacceptable compliance risk, falsely suggested that he had engaged in criminal misconduct. Fact that plaintiff had been suspended in connection with corruption investigation was not defamatory because it was true statement. Moreover, defendant’s expression that plaintiff posed compliance risk was not defamatory because it was statement of opinion that could not be proven false.