Starr v. Beckley Newspapers Corporation

Caplan, Chief Justice:

This case is before the Court on certification from the Circuit Court of Wyoming County. The plaintiff, George Theodore Starr, instituted a libel action in the aforesaid circuit court wherein he sought to recover from the defendant, Beckley Newspapers Corporation, compensatory damages in the sum of $50,000.00 and punitive damages in the sum of $25,000.00. Subsequent to the filing of an amended complaint and answer thereto and the taking of depositions, the defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, the principal ground therefor being that the plaintiff was a public…