## Facts

- Patricia Galbreath was a public high school teacher who taught a tenth-grade English class for gifted students; Joseph J. Nodar’s son was enrolled in the class.
- Nodar became dissatisfied with the instruction and believed it did not follow the established curriculum and that his son was being mistreated.
- During the public-comment portion of a Broward County School Board meeting, Nodar criticized Galbreath’s competence and conduct, including statements that his son was “harassed” and that Galbreath was an “unqualified teacher.”
- Galbreath sued for defamation, alleging the statements were false, harmed her in her profession (slander per se), and were made with express malice; she sought compensatory and punitive damages.
- A jury awarded Galbreath $5,000 in compensatory damages and $5,000 in punitive damages; the district court affirmed.

## Issues

1. Whether a parent’s statements to a school board at a public meeting criticizing a teacher’s professional competence and conduct are protected by a conditional (qualified) privilege under Florida law.
2. If conditionally privileged, whether the plaintiff proved “express malice” sufficient to defeat the privilege and support compensatory and punitive damages.

## Decision

- The Florida Supreme Court quashed the district court’s decision and ordered reversal of the judgment.
- The Court held the challenged statements were conditionally privileged.
- The Court held Galbreath failed to prove express malice necessary to overcome the privilege.
- As a result, both compensatory and punitive damages were set aside.

## Legal Principles

- A conditional (qualified) privilege protects certain communications made on a proper occasion, from a proper motive, in a proper manner, and based on reasonable or proper cause.
- Communications by a parent to school authorities about a teacher’s performance and a child’s education may be conditionally privileged because the speaker and the school board share a common interest and duty regarding the school’s operation and instruction.
- When a conditional privilege applies, the plaintiff must prove “express malice” to recover for defamation.
- “Express malice” requires proof that the speaker’s primary motive was improper (e.g., spite, ill will, or a desire to injure), not merely that the statements were harsh, angry, intemperate, or even defamatory.

## Conclusion

The court held that parental complaints about a teacher made to a school board in an authorized public forum are protected by a conditional privilege, and that liability (including punitive damages) requires proof of express malice; because that proof was lacking, the defamation judgment was reversed.


Nodar v. Galbreath, 462 So. 2d 803 (Fla. 1984)