Case Brief: Orlando v. Cole1. Case Name, Citation, and CourtOrlando v. Cole 76 Mass.App.Ct 1112, 921 N.E.2d 566 (2010)Appeals Court of Massachusetts2. Key FactsA. Joseph M. Orlando was the attorney of a 17-year-old student in a sexual assault case involving a basketball coach, Thomas A. Atwater.B. Atwater admitted to Orlando of his act, signed an affidavit and confessed to the police.C. Orlando spoke to the local media about Atwaters confession and shown the affidavit.D. Garrick F. Cole, the attorney who was later hired by Atwater, told reporters that the affidavit was inaccurate and Orlandos actions were deceitful and fraudulent.E. Orlando sued Cole for slander but the trial court dismissed the complaint at Coles request.3. IssueDid Coles statement to the reporters contain defamatory connotations and thus perceived by an average reader?4. HoldingYes. The Appeals Court of Massachusetts upheld that Coles statement was defamatory in nature and thus perceived by an average reader. Remanded.5. Courts ReasoningThe Appeals Court of Massachusetts held that:A. If a statement discredits an individual in the minds of any considerable and respectable class of the community, then the statement carries defamatory connotations.B. The law requires that a statement to be determined as whether it is a fact or opinion, because based on the First Amendment, that there is no such thing as a false idea.C. The three terms used by Cole are defamatory in nature since they imply misconduct of an attorney.D. Coles claim that the affidavit was inaccurate is a fact, and not an opinion, since its falsehood can be determined.E. Coles statements were based on undisclosed defamatory facts (unknown communication between Cole and his client) and thus not protected under the First Amendment.