In January 1960, a newspaper column by Alfred D. Rosenblatt published in the Laconia Evening Citizen criticized the fiscal management of a county recreation area, primarily used as a ski resort and supervised by Frank P. Baer as a Belknap County government employee, stating "What happened to all the money last year?

"[2] Baer, who had been fired as supervisor in July 1959, brought a civil libel claim in New Hampshire state court against Rosenblatt.

[4] In October 1965,[6] the case was argued before the court by Arthur H. Nighswander for the petitioner (Rosenblatt) and Stanley M. Brown for the respondent (Baer).

It argued that there was a probability that Baer was a public official and therefore would be required to show actual malice in the depictions presented by the newspaper.

Associate Justice Abe Fortas stated in a jurisdictional dissent,[a] "I would vacate the writ [of certiorari] in this case as improvidently granted," as the original trial had occurred before New York Times Co. v. Sullivan was decided.