## Facts

- Lawrence J. Ogden, a former Army officer, sued the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) for libel based on statements in a book titled *Combat Actions in Korea*.
- AUSA, a private corporation, published the book pursuant to a contract with the United States.
- The book included critical commentary about combat handling by a platoon identified as having been commanded by Ogden.
- Ogden alleged he was misidentified as the platoon commander and that the statements were defamatory.
- The book was first published and released in November 1955.
- Ogden filed suit on June 25, 1959, nearly four years after initial publication.
- District of Columbia law provides a one-year statute of limitations for libel.
- Ogden argued that later sales or deliveries of copies within one year of suit constituted new publications creating new causes of action.

## Issues

1. For statute-of-limitations purposes in a libel action, whether each sale or delivery of a copy of a book constitutes a separate publication creating a new cause of action, or whether only one cause of action accrues at the time of first publication.
2. Whether the District of Columbia should apply the single-publication rule to mass-distributed printed works.

## Decision

- The court granted AUSA’s motion for summary judgment.
- The court held that the District of Columbia applies the single-publication rule to alleged defamation in a book or similar mass publication.
- The court ruled that the libel claim accrued at the time of the original general publication in November 1955.
- The court concluded that subsequent sales or deliveries did not create new publications that would restart the limitations period.
- Because the action was filed well beyond one year after first publication, the claim was time-barred.

## Legal Principles

- Under the single-publication rule, mass-distributed written material containing alleged defamatory matter gives rise to only one cause of action for libel.
- The cause of action accrues upon the original publication (first general distribution to the public), and the statute of limitations runs from that date.
- Later sales, deliveries, or distributions of copies from the same publication do not create new causes of action or new accrual dates.
- The number of copies distributed may affect damages but does not multiply claims or extend the limitations period.
- The single-publication rule avoids repetitive suits and prevents indefinite exposure to liability inconsistent with the limitations period’s repose function.

## Conclusion

The court adopted the single-publication rule for the District of Columbia and held that a libel claim based on a book accrues at the time of first general publication; because Ogden sued nearly four years after the book’s initial release, the action was barred by the one-year statute of limitations and summary judgment was entered for the publisher.


Ogden v. Ass’n of the U.S. Army, 177 F. Supp. 498 (D.D.C. 1959)